Alhambra Love Songs Album Review

John Zorn Releases Instrumetal Bay Area Tribute on Tzadik Records

Aug 19, 2009

Alhambra Love Songs is John Zorn's piano trio homage to the city of San Francisco and some of the artists who have shaped his legacy.

It appears that 2009 is shaping up to be a relatively consonant year for John Zorn. Two of the composer and saxophonist’s Tzadik releases this year have both eschewed the hallmark dissonance that is so often present in much of his work. Along with O’o, Alhambra Love Songs shows off some of Zorn’s most tender and introspective work to date.

Hailed by his own label as being “perhaps the single most charming cd in Zorn’s entire catalog“, Alhambra certainly indeed stands out as a particularly moving record within Zorn’s incredibly vast body of work. Alhambra is infused with some familiar klezmer and middle-eastern elements that are omnipresent in his work. The eleven pieces are tributes to the city of San Francisco and some of the artists who have left an indelible mark upon Zorn, himself.

Rob Burger, Greg Cohen and Ben Perowsky

The intimate and lyrical feel of the album is beautifully interpreted by Zorn alums, Rob Burger, Greg Cohen and Ben Perowsky on piano, bass and drums, respectively. The trio glides effortlessly in and out of Zorn’s compositions with sensibility. Each member plays with precise confidence, yet they still manage to maintain a collective sound that breathes as one, while capturing the essence of the composer’s idea and steering clear of effusive sentimentality.

Tributes to San Francisco, Vince Guaraldi, David Lynch and Clint Eastwood

Opener, Mountain View is dedicated to Vince Guaraldi, most known for his composition of the Peanuts theme. The piece is fun and gambols as Burger manages to evoke the late pianist’s touch with a light, feathery approach. On Pacifica, for filmmaker and mystic, Harry Smith, Burger’s haunting ostinato theme is toyed with by Perowsky and Cohen before it takes a more dramatic, brooding turn.

A funky, grooving Moraga is for Clint Eastwood, the director and composer. Perowsky’s drums snap and crackle deliciously beneath an angular Burger solo. Zorn’s heavy film influence resurfaces on the final track, Tiburon, a tribute to esoteric director David Lynch. The piece is ripe with strange atmosphere and creepy noises that float above Cohen’s odd-metered pedal bass line.

Tzadik Records

It is difficult to assign ranking to Zorn’s immensely eclectic discography on Tzadik and beyond. This may be as far from experimental as he has strayed. While the element of spontaneity remains, the direction is evident and each musician involved has clearly put time into thinking about the music. What results is another beautiful Zorn record; indeed, one of his finest that will only continue to evolve in the ears of the listener each time around.

Track Listing: Mountain View; Novato; Pacifica; Benicia; Half Moon Bay; Moraga; Tamalpais; Larkspur; Alhambra Blues; Miramar; Tiburon

The copyright of the article Alhambra Love Songs Album Review in Contemporary Jazz is owned by Sebastian Albu. Permission to republish Alhambra Love Songs Album Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.