Rashanim w/Jon Madof / Masada Rock

Rashanim were a brilliant choice to perform guitar standards from John Zorn's Masada Collection. This CD, released as part of the Masada 10th Anniversary, is such a pleasure. Madof's guitar, along with guest Marc Ribot, starts off with the perfect surf-inflected guitar of "Bahir" catches both the material and Zorn perfectly. The song plays off Masada while quoting the feel of Zorn's Naked City ensemble. Not bad for a power guitar jazz-rock-klezmer trio.

Tunes that are quieter, such as "Shadrakh" are nonetheless given power by the propulsively insistent drumming. As the pace picks up, the bass shadows Madof's guitar to provide room to listen to the bones of Zorn's compositions with new ears in "Zidon". Every so often, as on "Zemanim" or "Arad", the volume cranks up and the guitar screams. I can hear the various Jewish influences on the music, but also listen to these compositions placed in a general jazz context. I find myself liking much of the material more than I did first time out.

The album ends with a gentle shofar blast, "Terumah." As is the case with many other of the Masada 10th Anniversary recordings, this volume is both a reminder of how good the original music is, and a revelation, as played by Rashanaim. Delightful.

Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 4 Jun 2006

Songs

1. Bahir 4:08
2. Makom
5:19
3. Zidon 4:39
4. Shadrakh 4:57
5. Chorek 4:58
6. Anakim 5:16
7. Zemanim 3:45
8. Ahavah 3:24
9. Arad 3:01
10. Terumah 8:27