Taboo and Exile

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I don't know what Music Romance Volume One was, but Taboo and Exile is its successor apparently. Actually, if anyone out there has any background on this record generally, please fill us in. Meanwhile, here's what we know about it... Amid all of Zorn's recent chamber-orientated work, or, of course, his ongoing Masada excursions, T&A stands out as, as it were, 'old school' Zorn: a genre-busting, jump-cutting rollercoaster of a record, which, while eschewing the more overtly collagist tendencies of, say Spillane or The Big Gundown or the early Naked City material, nonetheless crams a whole world of sound and styles into something resembling an imaginary film soundtrack. Along for the ride is a host of regular associates, a virtual roll call of New Music luminaries, arranged in various groupings - duos, trios, quartets and quintets. Stand up: keyboardist Jamie Saft, percussionists and Cyro Baptista and Roberto Rodriguez, guitarists Fred Frith, Marc Ribot and Robert Quine (how's that for a Holy Trinity?!), bassists Bill Laswell and Chris Wood, Slayers's awesome drummer Dave Lombardo, violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Erik Friedlander, double bassist Greg Cohen (the star of a recent evening at London's Barbican centre, onstage all night in the Masada String trio, Bar Kohkba AND Masada, and still smiling at the end of it!), Mr Bungle and Fantomas frontman Mike Patton, drummers Joey Baron and Sim Cain (of Rollins Band fame) and vocalist. Miho Hatori. I don't think I've left anyone out. Oh, Zorn himself, of course, on alto. So... This isn't Zorn at his most groundbreaking for sure, but what the heck, the guy's gotta let his hair down sometime! And note-for-note, it's one of his most enjoyable releases of late, a blast from end to end.