Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 1: Masada Guitars is the first album in a series of five releases celebrating the 10th anniversary of John Zorn

John Zorn

John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...

's Masada

Masada (band)

Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s.Masada is as much a "songbook" as a group, comprising more than 500 relatively brief compositions...

 songbook project.

History

Masada Guitars was the first release in 2003 of a series commemorating the tenth anniversary of Zorn's group Masada and the 208-song Masada songbook. Each song is written in accordance with a number of rules, including the maximum number of staves, the modes

Musical mode

In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...

 or scales

Musical scale

In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...

 that are used, and the fact that the songs must be playable by any small group of instruments. The album features 21 Masada songs performed by solo guitar. The tracks are split between three performers: Marc Ribot

Marc Ribot

Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...

, Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell

William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...

 and Tim Sparks

Tim Sparks

Tim Sparks is an American acoustic guitar player, singer, arranger and composer.- Biography:Raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was given his first guitar when a bout of encephalitis kept him out of school for a year...

.

Reception

Masada Guitars received mostly favorable reviews. Allmusic music critic Sean Westergaard stated "Those expecting an electric romp through the Masada songbook might be disappointed; Masada Guitars consists entirely of solo, mostly acoustic performances. Preconceptions aside, this is a beautiful album. Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, and Tim Sparks each bring their own voice to these tunes: Sparks with his rich fingerpicking, Ribot coming from his classical guitar background, and Bill Frisell with his unmistakable ethereal tone."

In his review for All About Jazz

All About Jazz

All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...

, Farrell Lowe writes of the stripped-down nature of the songs revealing their essence, writing: "This recording also reveals how powerful the modern guitar can be. Zorn chose three very distinctive players to interpret these pieces. Each guitarist shapes and cuts his own world of sound out of Zorn's compositions."

Chris Dahlen was less positive about the disc as a whole, considering it too long: "This disc is almost indulgently long, crammed with 21 similar pieces that get dignified, mid-tempo readings. That's a lot of samey acoustic guitar to wade through, and the fact that it's all pretty doesn't justify the length. But the upside is that Zorn knows where he's going, and he knows what he wants from these guitarists; he's just willing to give them a lot of chances to hit it." He calls Sparks' arrangements "rigorous and exciting", Ribot as "plain-spoken" and Frisell the "maverick" of the three.

Acoustic Guitar

Acoustic Guitar (magazine)

Acoustic Guitar is a monthly magazine published in the United States since July/August 1990 by String Letter Publishing. The magazine offers information related to acoustic guitars for players of all levels from beginners to teachers. Each issue includes a half dozen or so songs with notation and...

named Masada Guitars as essential in their article "20 Years of Essential Acoustic Albums".

Track listing

All compositions by John Zorn. Performer's name in parentheses.

1. "Abidan" – 3:31 (Frisell)
2. "Kodashim" – 3:37 (Sparks)
3. "Kedem" – 3:29 (Ribot)
4. "Bikkurim" – 3:00 (Frisell)
5. "Ravayah" – 4:01 (Sparks)
6. "Hadasha" – 2:45 (Ribot)
7. "Katzatz" – 3:37 (Frisell)
8. "Kanah" – 3:27 (Sparks)
9. "Hodaah" – 3:24 (Ribot)
10. "Kisofim" – 4:53 (Frisell)
11. "Sippur" – 2:48 (Sparks)
12. "Sansanah" – 5:54 (Ribot)
13. "Galgalim" – 1:45 (Ribot)
14. "Elilah" – 3:05 (Frisell)
15. "Kedushah" – 4:32 (Sparks)
16. "Shevet" – 3:11 (Ribot)
17. "Kochot" – 3:56 (Frisell)
18. "Tzalim" – 2:21 (Ribot)
19. "Kivah" – 2:33 (Ribot)
20. "Avelut" – 4:05 (Frisell)
21. "Moshav" – 3:54 (Ribot)