John Zorn – Nothing Is As Real As Nothing (Tzadik, 2023)

By Don Phipps

Composed by, arranged by, and produced by John Zorn, the music on Nothing Is As Real As Nothing continues Zorn’s exploration of music for guitar. Zorn brings together three guitarists, Bill Frisell, Gyan Riley, and Julian Lage, all outstanding musicians on their own right, to perform compositions that blend their contributions together in gentle undulating lines - lines that bring to mind sea journeys and distant shorelines.

But that is not all. There’s the abstract “Eleuthéria” and it’s phrases that wind like a road along some rocky shoreline. And “The Dream Paradox,” which through its abstractions and contemplative dissonance, offers a Penrose triangle of notes, a musical representation of M.C. Escher’s lithograph print “Relativity.” In climbing the thematic stairs suggested by the music, one never reaches the next level. Is this the paradox?

In “The Unameable,” Zorn offers music that caresses and mildly rocks – giving the impression of sea spray and the pleasant smell of salt air. “Endgame,” the final piece, has a calm nature, a purple red sunset, that abruptly changes into a brisk walk and a surprise.

Through their simpatico efforts, the Frisell, Riley and Lage bring the music to life. Their pizzicato fingerings pluck each note with care and their rhythmic pace flows with uniform grace and attention.

One can still ask if nothing is as real as nothing. But on this album, the nothing is beautiful.