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This almost acoustic duet is the result of instrumental introspection on both sides, over the long term, so that one day the encounter will happen. These two figures of improvised music, with contrasting backgrounds but common values, explore together the sound matter, and reveal the surprising complementarity of their playgrounds.
Sakina Abdou and Raymond Boni give us to hear the spontaneity of a game cultivated with as much seriousness as casualness, in which the incarnation prevails to any fo…
Haborym (Book Of Angels Volume 16)
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* The magical interplay and incredible virtuosity of this exhilarating trio of string masters has made it one of the most beloved and acclaimed of all Masada ensembles. Back now by popular demand for their first studio recording in over five years, their telepathic interplay and endless creativity had never been stronger. Ten more tunes from the rich and inventive Book of Angels featuring moody ballads, hypnotic grooves, intense burners and of course the trade…
Stolas (Book Of Angels Volume 12)
For this very special release in The Book of Angels series, Zorn has brought together five of the most acclaimed musicians in modern jazz to perform nine of his most distinctive and lyrical compositions. Truly a jazz supergroup, these five master musicians explore Zorn's beautiful and exotic tunes with profound melodic and harmonic knowledge and a depth of feeling that is a joy to hear. One of the most breathtaking CDs in the entire Masada series--a touch of the sublime from the beautiful new Ma…
Live In Sevilla 2000
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Live in Sevilla, recorded and released in the year 2000, is arguably the finest document in this extremely prolific jazz quartet's catalog. If there's anyone who still believes that John Zorn is nothing more than an avant-garde screamer, look no further. The interplay between Zorn's alto and the trumpet of Dave Douglas is nothing short of amazing, and each one's soloing is focused and intense. Joey Baron and Greg Cohen are a fantastic rhythm section; Cohen a…
Live In Jerusalem 1994
Every working band has magical nights – nights when everything fits together and the music takes off into the stratosphere. The Masada Live series documents these unforgettable concerts recorded in venues around the world, bringing these rare special moments to you in beautiful 2 CD packages. This first set presents Masada’s historic visit to Israel, their first appearance at the world famous Jerusalem Festival. A very special moment in the life of one of the most exciting jazz groups working to…
Blue Notes for Mongezi / Blue Notes for Johnny
This bundle includes the following items:"Blue Notes for Mongezi" (2LP, 1976)Otoroku is proud to present the first vinyl reissue of "Blue Notes for Mongezi", one of the most passionate celebrations of a life in music ever laid to tape. Recorded in late 1975 by Blue Notes, then reduced to a quartet - Dudu Pukwana on alto sax, whistle, percussion, and vocals; Johnny Dyani on bass, bells, and vocals; Louis Moholo-Moholo on drums, percussion, and vocals; and Chris McGregor on piano, and percussion …
Masada Anniversary Edition, Vol. 3: The Unknown Masada
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* In the early 90s, John Zorn surprised a lot of people, and considering that he was a composer known for sudden, drastic stylistic shifts and pummeling noise-improv, it was a notable accomplishment. However, rather than shock his audience with sonic terror, Zorn took an alternate route: he grew up. His original Masada Quartet was a markedly different project than he had ever been involved with before: although he'd recorded straight jazz sessions (News for Lu…
Masada Anniversary Edition, Vol. 2: Voices In The Wilderness
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* As John Zorn’s most popular project reaches its tenth year, Tzadik celebrates the Masada songbook with a series of all-star tributes. Following Masada Guitars, Volume 2 is an eclectic and powerful collection of almost two dozen Masada classics artfully arranged by some of the downtown scene’s most creative performers. Zorn’s catchiest and most lyrical tunes performed by rock bands, klezmer groups, vocalists, jazz.
Masada Anniversary Edition, Vol. 1: Masada Guitars
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* In 1993 John Zorn began composing and performing his 208 tunes that now comprise what is known as the Masada songbook. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of this, his most popular musical project, John Zorn has organized a series of CDs, featuring his most illustrious colleagues performing their own unique arrangements of these classics of modern Jewish music. This first release contains three guitarists whose styles are as varied as the compositions they pe…
Music For Violin Alone
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Music for Violin Alone is the debut date as leader for virtuoso violinist Mark Feldman, who has performed as a sideman with countless musicians, in genres ranging from country to avant-garde jazz. Here he performs original, classically styled pieces that exude high drama. The violin arcs over small measures of time, plummets into hurt, soars back up into the air, then lands lightly spinning. Feldman bows out grit and texture with ribbed vibratos, and achieve…
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 1
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* September 2003 marked the 50th birthday of John Zorn, and to celebrate, Tonic hosted a month-long celebration of Zorn's various musical groups and projects. The shows were recorded, and the best of them are being released as a new series on Zorn's "Tzadik" label.
The first offering is the entire early set by the Masada String Trio, recorded on September 4, 2003, with Zorn conducting Mark Feldman on violin, Erik Friedlander on cello, and Greg Cohen, on ba…
Archipelago X
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Laptop wizard Ikue Mori, master keyboardist Brian Marsella and classical percussion virtuoso Sae Hashimoto are Archipelago X, a dynamic new trio born during the 2020 pandemic. Recording at their home studios and exchanging tracks back and forth for months, the music is detailed, evocative and dramatically mysterious, blending electronica, classical, ambient, film soundtrack, pop and jazz into a remarkably original aggregate. Inspiring and engaging music by t…
Obelisk
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Universally acclaimed as a pioneer in live laptop electronics, Ikue’s signature style is still uniquely her own and has influenced two generations of laptop performers. Her new band project Obelisk is a super-band featuring three of the most acclaimed and original players in the Downtown scene—Okkyung Lee, Jim Black and Sylvie Courvoisier. Ikue’s startling compositions blend gorgeous melodies with hypnotic rhythms and evocative soundscapes. Strange and beaut…
Gently Unfamiliar
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* One of the most versatile and active proponents of creative music, Karl Berger is a living legend who has been expanding the Jazz language since the mid-'60s. A pianist, vibraphonist, composer, arranger, conductor and educator of astounding energy and creativity, Karl has worked with many of the greatest names in New Music: Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Gato Barbieri, Anthony Braxton, Bill Laswell and countless others. Following up on his gorgeous 2010 releas…
Live At Tonic 1999
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock* With the growth of saxophonist/composer/bandleader/producer John Zorn's Masada project into a veritable cottage industry that includes Masada Recital, Masada String Trio, Masada Guitars , Electric Masada and The Unknown Masada, it may be easy to forget how, ten years ago, his Masada Quartet, with trumpeter Dave Douglas, bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Joey Baron burst onto the scene with a series of ten rapidly-released studio records that combined a Jewish mu…
The Temple Within
When Matthew Halsall released Salute to the Sun in November 2020, his first new album in five years, he shared the first fruits from an especially fertile period of writing and recording, which also gave birth to the music released here as The Temple Within.
The recording sessions featured Halsall's then brand new band of hand-picked local musicians, brought together through weekly rehearsals and a monthly residency at Yes in Manchester, they forged an immersive, communal sound, drawing on spiri…
Mediumistic Methodology
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 200 copies.* Alto sax player Devin Brahja Waldman lives in New York and leads his own group Brahja and is a member of Heroes Are Gang Leaders and Land of Kush. He also helps run the label Fast Speaking Music with his aunt, celebrated poet Anne Waldman. Master drummer Hamid Drake needs no introduction.
Waldman and Drake’s duo was recorded live at Elastic Arts in Chicago in December 2019. The title of the album, "Mediumistic Methodology", relates to a se…
Still Here, Still Ripping
*Limited edition of 200 copies.* Ideas generate electric guitar technique-- novel finger picking, manual LFO-- from which emerge Songs as technique recedes into the background. Listen to imagine adding your sound. In the moment, it happens: music made together. I am one person, ready. These songs are searching for people, for meaning. In one, I find it. The electric guitar as a folk instrument unfinished in its evolution, invites engagement in its becoming. I have chosen to add and also subtract…
Boiling Point
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 300 copies.* "Boiling Point" is the sophomore release from Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio featuring Matt Mitchell (piano) and Jim Black (drums) and also follows up on 2021's Astral Spirits Grdina / Black duo release "Martian Kitties." The self-titled 2020 debut of Grdina’s Nomad Trio (Skirl Records) was hailed by PopMatters for setting up “loose structures for wild improvising [while also including] a healthy menu of hot unison licks and fleet melodies.” S…
In The Swarm
*In process of stocking.* Few bands in improvised music seem to generate more palpable sonic friction than Brandon Seabrook’s trio with Cooper-Moore and Gerald Cleaver. The group produces a seriously tactile, almost psychedelic sound: the gut-punch of drums, the rumbling twang of diddley-bow, and the slashing, brittle crunch of electric guitar. On Exulations, the trio’s 2020 debut album on Astral Spirits, these sounds coalesced into gritty, propulsive improvisations possessed of an almost three-…