on 12/11/03 4:35 PM, Patrice L. Roussel at proussel@ichips.intel.com wrote:

Skip,

Are you not overdoing it?

I mean, saying that Zorn is getting a little heavy on Masada seems to me like a shared feeling among many old timer fans of Zorn music (at least the few left on the list). Or are you simply nit picking on the semantic used by Efren to convey his feeling? Isn't it a natural topic to talk about? Or are we only supposed -- the poor of us not technically equipped -- to simply worship or shut up?

Let's step back for one second and look at Zorn. Here's a guy for whom any one of his phases could have been a whole career (and a satisfying one at that). He's definitely holding onto Masada because it keeps his creative juices flowing. Also, I think as long as John is concerned with Jewishness, he'll express it through the Masada music. As a Jew, I'm thankful for this. It's a wonderful rendition of a culture I'm part of. (Would you look over at Nina Rota and say, "More film music! This guy is played out!"? Or Cecil Taylor and bitch that he's making another album of piano solos?) I'm kind of an old-time fan myself ('84), and a stream of Masada records doesn;t bother me. It sure doesn;t get in the way of him making other things, and lots of 'em. As for my beef with the semantics, perhaps. But words is what we do here. The minute somebody gets into "Zorn should make another record that sounds like this other record he made that I liked", it's past "I didn't like that" and right into "I know better than the artist", I get angry. That's not a technical call -- that's bad manners.

For history (if anybody cares), wasn't Zorn making fun of Lacy and Braxton for putting out so many records? One thing is sure, Zorn has beaten them largely and at a much younger age. I have numbers if you want.

Good point. But I don't think he'd dismiss any of the records Braxton or Lacy made. He's pretty respectful. I bet he even has 'em all.

Don't worry, I am sure that John and Dave will survive to what was said and which I think was fairly innocuous.

Dave might not ;--)

Did your new record project get refused? I mean, something terrible must have happen to you to display such anger.

Actually, no. I got signed this yr, plus my last record made the Downbeat "best of the year" list (not the top 10, just the big one). Which may likely explain things if I seem angry next yr. But thank you for your concern. I maintain -- the minute some dilletante starts saying what an artist should make, that guy needs to be slapped around.