John Zorn Masada – Live At Tonic 1999

The world of modern jazz would be a very different beast if it weren’t for the emergence of John Zorn in the 1970s. Unafraid to incorporate a diverse range of styles into his music, Zorn had drawn on heavy metal, punk, classical, and a number of other influences to help drag the genre away from its traditional leanings. Masada are one of his many groups, with a line up completed by Greg Cohen, Dave Douglas, and Joey Baron. This show features Zorn and Masada performing in their native New York City, at a regular haunt for the band, Tonic, on the Lower East Side. The concert was filmed in the summer of 1999, and sees the band performing with their usual enthusiasm, excitement, and ambition to push the boundaries of music back further than many of their contemporaries.