Rashanim

1. Der Khusid Geyt Tantsn

2. Chroma

3. Meshek

4. Dovid Melech Yisrael/Lecha Dodi

5. Chanshe's Nign

6. Fel Shara/Üsküdar

7. Dybbuk

8. Brooklyn Dance

9. Passing

10. V'shamru

11. Kamancha

Tracks:

Bahir
Makom
Zidon
Shadrakh
Chorek
Anakim
Zemanim
Ahavah
Arad
Terumah

Customer Reviews:

The album title says it all ..........2005-08-09

Once the enfant terrible of new music, with his jump cut compositions and post-modern all inclusive sensibility, composer John Zorn has dedicated himself to the construction of the Masada song-book, a series of tunes that he hopes will eventually become Jazz standards. Based on traditional Yiddish scales and rhythms, Zorn's investigation of his own Jewish heritage has proven to be his most popular undertaking.

His initial forays into this song-book over a decade ago were documented by his own original Masada Quartet and later by chamber music ensembles, including his Masada String Trio. These infectious, tuneful pieces have now been handed over to a new generation to explore.

Rashanim is guitarist Jon Madof's power trio dedicated to exploring such Hassidic themed music and here delivers ten never before recorded Masada tunes for the first time. The trio proves worthy interpreters of such material with a winning combination of virtuosity and youthful abandon. Working its way from the atmospheric and sublime to the blisteringly intense, "Masada Rock" embodies all the best qualities of Zorn's songwriting potential.

Featuring guest soloist Marc Ribot on two cuts, "Masada Rock" never lacks in punch, but more surprising, is Madof's ability to find the subtleties and delicate nuance of Zorn's quieter pieces. The reverb laden surf inflection of the opening cut, "Bahir" is reminiscent of Zorn's own exotic tinged project "The Gift," while the album closer, "Terumah" features acoustic guitar arpeggios backed by the distinctive boing-boing of the Jew's harp, a sound found frequently on Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western soundtracks, one of Zorn's own favorite genres. In complete contrast is the thundering "Zemanim" and punkish "Arad" with their bone crushing power chords and stinging lead work. Overflowing with potential, "Masada Rock" is a brilliant reminder of John Zorn's compositional acumen and an indicator of even greater things to come from Jon Madof.

Great take on Masada, 4 1/2 stars........2005-07-30

Jon Madof's Rashanim is a band that will probably never receive the recognition they deserve. The trio (Madof on guitar, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on bass and oud and Matthias Kunzli on drums and percussion) is a sort of downtown answer to post-punk-- guitar driven rock music without the bombastic flair of commercial rock, but instead of a grinding sound, they've got a downtown air to them, a healthy dose of humor and daring to go along with the stunningly high level of musicianship. And while Madof is the leader of the band, all three are fantastic musicians, with both Blumenkranz and Kunzli stealing attention as much as the leader.

This recording, their second, "Masada Rock" features ten songs never before recorded from the first Masada songbook (note that this is NOT material from Masada Book II) and is released as part of the "Masada 10th Anniversary Series". The band is joined on two cuts by guitar genius Marc Ribot, who seemlessly integrates with them, providing color and luminescence in his own way-- Ribot excels at blending into whatever environment he works in, and he does so here, performing on the explosive and up-tempo opener "Bahir", which right away sets the feel for this album. It is definitely a Masada piece, its got that quality to it that is so hard to describe and goes beyond just the choice of scales. Kunzli is positively brilliant as Madof and Ribot take off, blazing through the theme and ending the piece with a dueling guitar solo that recalls the best Zorn/Douglas wars. Ribot also joins in on the acoustic "Shadrakh", which nicely contrasts the opener with its lovely, quiet playing, but again highlighted by the stellar work of Kunzli below a dueling solo by the two guitarists.

The balance of the record covers a number of different styles and feels, from the clean tone electric guitar sounds that dominated the first record ("Makom", featuring nice playing from the trio) to noisy, loud rock ("Chorek", with one of the best solos Madof takes on the record, drenched in feedback and distortion). Along the way, Madof covers Fantomas-esque metal (albeit vocalless "Zemanim", featuring a blistering distorted bass solo from Blumenkranz) , a Morricone-tinged piece ("Ahavah") and nearly straight post-punk ("Arad").

All in all, its a pretty exciting effort, and really a great addition to any collection. I waffled on the rating a bit, but certainly had I not been thinking of this in context of Zorn, I would have given it five stars. We'll call it four-and-a-half. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

4 1/2 stars--- downtown guitar hero.

Shalosh
Rashanim
Manufacturer: Tzadik
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Jewish & Yiddish Music | Folk | Styles | Music

Klezmer | Folk | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

At the Mountains of Madness
Six Litanies for Heliogabalus
Moonchild
Astronome
50th Birthday Celebration, Vol. 11

ASIN: B000HRMESM
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Tracks:

Ein Gedi
Yosefa
Atbash
Da'at
Cracow Niggun
Kavanah
Jacob and Esau
Jerusalem
Ur Ur Lauter Georg
Ar Aare

Customer Reviews:

4 1/2 stars--- downtown guitar hero........2006-11-04

"Shalosh" is the third album by Jon Madof's Rashanim-- a rock power trio (Madof on guitars, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on bass and Matthias Kunzli on drums) performing thoroughly Jewish jam band-styled punky downtown music. What catches you right away about this record, about all of Rashanim's work really, is a sort of infectiousness to the music-- the instantly hummable melodies, like Monk's work, get stuck in your head and provide a great framework for three very talented young musicians to work their magic.

Still I think in many ways the real difference in "Shalosh" to the prior Rashanim efforts is that it is very much a guitar driven record-- Madof is featured pretty much throughout and is straight up in front, whether soaked in wah ("Ein Gedi"), pretty and delicate (acoustic "Jerusalem") or fierce and punky ("Jacob and Esau"). The strength of his playing carries the record as he dives between near-Klezmer performances ("Cracow Niggun") to punk takes on Dick Dale ("Atbash"). This isn't to imply that Blumenkranz or Kunzli are idle-- on the contrary both dial in fantastically and are in lock-step with the leader, but on both their debut and "Masada Rock", there seemed to be a number of moments where the bassist and drummer stole the show, here those are fewer and further between.

There's admittedly not much revelatory about this record-- it's pretty much a continuation of prior efforts, albeit with a bit more acoustic work, atmosphere ("Ar Aare") and focus than previous records. But it does have the effect of making their previous records pale in comparison. It's missing something to make me think of it as a masterpiece, but it's certainly a fine album. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Superb debut.
Great CD, whether or not you're into Klezmer

Rashanim
Jon Madof
Manufacturer: Tzadik
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Jewish & Yiddish Music | Folk | Styles | Music

Klezmer | Folk | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Masada Rock

ASIN: B00008OM1N
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

Der Khusid Geyt Tantsn
Chroma
Meshek
Dovid Melech Yisrael/Lecha Dodi
Chanshe's Nign
Fel Shara/Uskudar
Dybbuk
Brooklyn Dance
Passing
V'shamru
Kamancha

Customer Reviews:

Superb debut........2005-05-05

Jon Madof is a young guitarist performing in the downtown New York scene centered around John Zorn, Rashanim is a band he's assembled to explore a cross section of the downtown scene-- klezmer, rock, and jazz. Madof is joined by bassist Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz and drummer Matthias Kunzli. All three are exceptionally talented, agile, and inventive in their playing, delivering the goods repeatedly. Madof respects and understands the strengths of the musicians with him, often leaving solo space for both of them to fully express themselves-- to that regard, both Blumenkranz and Kunzli steal the show at times from Madof, but the music is better for it.

And speaking of the music, in general, this is an interesting slice-- Jewish styled melodies are performed in a rock style with substantial improvisation throughout. The performances really take off when the band locks in and hits its stride in a sort of egoless fashion, supporting each other sympathetically. Largely they do throughout the record-- Kunzli is constantly inventive and responsive behind the others, Blumenkranz shows signs of brilliance as a bass soloist, and Madof illustrates fantastic taste in accompanying bass solos as well as ripping loose himself now and again with quite a bit of wit-- he's really got a great sense of inventiveness to his playing.

Overall, this is a great debut, I expect great music from all three of these gentlemen in the future.

Great CD, whether or not you're into Klezmer.......2004-03-29

This is a great CD and belongs in everyone's CD player. I'm not a huge klezmer fan in the traditional sense, but can't help listening over and over all day at work. During the week, its fun, light, jazzy and keeps me awake when the work-day drags. As Shabbat approaches, its an invaluable wind-down to the work week and wind-up to Friday night. Listen to it Friday afternoons or while preparing Friday night dinner.

I highly recommend this CD to anyone looking for interesting, fun jazz, whether or not they are into traditional Jewish music.

World Music: