PAT METHENY
Tap: John Zorn’s Book of Angels, Vol. 20
Nonesuch
Influential composer
John Zorn
began writing tunes inspired by his Jewish heritage in the early 90s, and his Masada songbook now numbers more than 500 compositions. Though they had never met, it turned out that guitar legend
Pat Metheny
had been following Zorn’s mammoth creation closely and when the guitarist asked for permission to record a few of them, Zorn sent him the six tunes presented here. Metheny plays every instrument (except drums, for which he called in Antonio Sanchez) and, on a set that ranges from loud multi-instrumental mash-ups to haunting acoustic lullabies, still finds plenty of room for his own bravura improvisations. Unique and daringly original, Tap proves once again that Metheny cannot be put in any box – except perhaps the one marked “genius”.