HAving read the long thread here I can't help but want to comment on the following [incidentally I just wrote a long reply to this already but hit the Reply instead of Reply All command -- sorry Bill ]

I happen to agree with Efren, Zach, and Patrice that Masada has gotten old. I don't buy these CDs anymore. Tiring of someone's work doesn't mean I'm telling him what to do, though I may wish he did something else.

Not all of us own the entire MAsada studio and live collection. I own maybe half the studio albums and one live cd, plus BK and Circle Maker. But I still am interested in new Masada releases. I just rediscovered the band in the past year and find a lot of inspiration for my own sax playing as well as Jewish identity. I'm still interested to see where Zorn might take new Masada compositions, whether it's with EM or duets with John Medeski or what have you. That said, what's the big deal about the MST live release? As far as I know there is only one studio release (Isaachar) and a few tunes on BK. I for one really like what Z is doing with the string trio format and find the cello and violin improvisations/conversations still interesting and compositionally inspiring. As for telling Z what to release and not release, let's let the Man have his creative process. I can only imagine that at some level it's lonely for even Z at the top. He's the guy doing all the research -- the listening, reading, meditating, interacting with musicians -- so let's trust his process and see where it takes us. So far it's been a pretty interesting and diverse journey. I for one agree with whomever said that Z will continue with Masada as long as he is interested in exploring his Jewish identity. That's the kind of thing that once you find, you don't easily give up. From a Jewish standpoint, the Masada music is very powerful and unique, and I would do anything for another opportunity to see the band, not _even if_ but _especially if_ he's going to play the same old tunes from Aleph Beit and Gimel. Shalom (and Merry Xmas) Jonathan F _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus&pgmarket=en-ca&RU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin...