John Zorn "Pool" 2 x LP (1980) Parachute 11/12

$

39

Baron Elmo Enterprises proudly presents a choice vinyl item from the enormous discography of musical deconstructionist JOHN ZORN: Pool, a double lp set released in 1980 on John's own Parachute label. This was one of John’s earliest releases, an astonishing bout of sound sculpture that sounded like nothing imaginable upon its release nearly three decades ago. This album features two of Zorn's game-based, free improvisation pieces, in which the overall structure of the work is determined by prearranged signals and cues. First up is the title work, a continuous performance that takes up the first three sides of this set. Starting with a group of five players and a prompter, he worked out every possible combination in solo, duo, trio and quartet formats, then worked out a system (inspired by Stravinsky) that gives each player an equal measure of control over the music, "a kind of veto or editing power," utilizing hand signals. The prompter has no control, but "acts as a mirror, or kind of intercom system so that the players can make cue contact quicker and easier." John explains all this in far greater detail (illustrated with pages of his score) in the liner notes.The musicians who risked body and soul to make this piece a reality were Polly Bradfield (violin), Mark E. Miller (percussion, contact microphones, vibraphone), Charles K. Noyes (percussion, saw, khene), Bob Ostertag (electronics)… plus Zorn himself on alto sax, soprano sax, b-flat clarinets and game calls, with Lesli Dalaba as the prompter. Pool is followed by Zorn's Hockey, which appears here in two different versions, each performed by a completely different trio. Version 1 (the electric version, or "the wet look") is a single long performance, while Version 2 (the acoustic version, or "the dry look") consists of four much shorter takes. John says little in his notes about the mechanics of Hockey, other than "My concern is not so much with how things SOUND, as with how things WORK," and to cite comedian Jack Benny as the inspiration for the piece. The Version 1 musicians are Eugene Chadbourne (electric guitar, personal effects), Wayne Horvitz (amplified piano), and Bob Ostertag (electronics). Version 2 is played by Polly Bradfield (violin), Mark Miller (percussion), and Zorn (goose, duck and crow calls, clarinet mouthpiece). This is amazing stuff that will spin your head like a little wheel on a long road... and a valuable prize from the salad days of this most provocative musical genius. Both records and the gatefold jacket are in gorgeous, near-mint condition.

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