JOHN ZORN NEW MASADA QUARTET
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
John Zorn’s New Masada Quartet is billed at the Village Vanguard, bringing together Zorn on alto saxophone with guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Kenny Wollesen. Formed in 2019, the quartet works from Zorn’s Masada songbooks, the large body of tunes connected to his Radical Jewish Culture project. Zorn has described the underlying idea as “Ornette Coleman with Jewish scales,” a useful clue to music that can move between composed themes and open improvisation.
The New Masada Quartet is led by New York composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Lage, Roeder, and Wollesen have each recorded at least a dozen albums of Zorn’s music; Lage has also played with Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot. Writers have focused on how fluently this band handles the Masada material. The Arts Fuse heard the players “lock in with exceptional musicianship,” with interplay that blurs “the line between composition and improvisation.” All About Jazz called a performance “white hot and razor sharp,” citing “burning solos, telepathic group interaction, heartfelt lyricism, [and] hypnotic grooves.” The Free Jazz Collective found that the lineup renews the repertoire rather than merely “playing the hits.”
A narrow basement staircase leads to a triangular room with a red curtain and a stage at the point, where musicians play for a small audience of 123. Tables open like spokes from the stage, and the walls hold portraits of jazz legends. The acoustics are excellent, and the only sound before the music begins is the hum of the room. No food is served, only drinks at a bar. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with seating beginning at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively. The atmosphere is focused entirely on the music, with silence requested before the concert begins.