Spy vs Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman is the fifth studio album by American composer and alto saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, featuring the compositions of Ornette Coleman performed in the brief, intense style of Zorn's hardcore miniatures. Alongside Zorn are fellow alto saxophonist Tim Berne, bassist Mark Dresser and drummers Joey Baron and Mike Vatcher.
| Spy vs Spy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Recorded | August 1988 | |||
| Studio | Power Station, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:32 | |||
| Label | Elektra/Musician | |||
| Producer | John Zorn | |||
| John Zorn chronology | ||||
| ||||
The liner notes thank Ornette and Denardo Coleman, Mick Harris (of Napalm Death), Ted Epstein (of Blind Idiot God), Pil (of Lip Cream- a Japanese thrashcore group), The Accused, Craig Flanagan, DRI, CBGB, and "the New York-London-Tokyo Hardcore Triangle".[1] The cover artwork was created by indie comics artist Mark Beyer (of Amy and Jordan fame). The album itself approaches “free” jazz from the perspective of hardcore punk, particularly taking note of the contemporary innovations of thrashcore and grindcore. Zorn would later pursue these preoccupations in the thrash jazz group Naked City.
Like some classic free jazz albums (Free Jazz, Ascension, Archie Shepp's Mama Too Tight), different saxophonists improvise simultaneously in stereo. Tim Berne appears on the left stereo channel, while John Zorn is represented on the right channel.[1]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [3] |
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3½ stars, stating: "The performances are concise with all but four songs being under three minutes and seven under two, but the interpretations are unremittingly violent. The lack of variety in either mood or routine quickly wears one out".[2]
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[4]
Track listing
editAll compositions by Ornette Coleman.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "W.R.U." | 2:38 |
| 2. | "Chronology" | 1:08 |
| 3. | "Word for Bird" | 1:14 |
| 4. | "Good Old Days" | 2:44 |
| 5. | "The Disguise" | 1:18 |
| 6. | "Enfant" | 2:37 |
| 7. | "Rejoicing" | 1:38 |
| 8. | "Blues Connotation" | 1:05 |
| 9. | "C. & D." | 3:05 |
| 10. | "Chippie" | 1:08 |
| 11. | "Peace Warriors" | 1:20 |
| 12. | "Ecars" | 2:28 |
| 13. | "Feet Music" | 4:45 |
| 14. | "Broad Way Blues" | 3:42 |
| 15. | "Space Church" | 2:28 |
| 16. | "Zig Zag" | 2:54 |
| 17. | "Mob Job" | 4:24 |
Personnel
edit- John Zorn - alto saxophone
- Tim Berne - alto saxophone
- Mark Dresser - bass
- Joey Baron - drums
- Michael Vatcher - drums
References
edit- ^ a b Liner notes, Spy vs Spy, 1998.
- ^ a b Yanow, S. AllMusic Review accessed July 22, 2011
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1543. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
External links
edit- Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company