John Zorn’s Bagatelles - Vols. 13–16 (Tzadik, 2023)

By Lee Rice Epstein

Almost 50 years after he started recording and releasing music, John Zorn has hit an incredible creative peak with his book of 300 Bagatelles. While Zorn's Masada books have had, arguably, the most immediate and wide-ranging impact, these newer compositions build on all of the methods Zorn has used and developed over 50 years. The fourth edition of Bagatelles collects volumes 13–16 and revolves around the theme of horns. Bagatelles, in classical Western practice, tend to be composed for soloists or small groups, and this edition takes beautiful advantage of the range of the bagatelle style. The results from each volume are, in a word, masterful.

First, comes the incredible Volume 13, which features the Speed-Irabagon Quartet, with Chris Speed and Jon Irabagon on tenor saxes, Christian McBride on bass, Ches Smith on drums, and Zorn guesting on alto sax. The quartet rips right into their set with a potent, buzzing energy. As far as this edition goes, it’s the perfect opener. With Speed, Irabagon, McBride, and Smith, it’s a lot like climbing into the proverbial rollercoaster: buckle up and let the ride take you. A lot of Zorn’s music—think Dreamers, Incerto, piano trio—is jazz with the inside turned out, and outside turned in, which is exactly what Speed, Irabagon, McBride, and Smith have done consistently throughout their careers. The music zips along under the guise of a traditional quartet, but throughout, the horns bend and wind their way through McBride and Smith’s fierce rhythms.

Volume 14 has Peter Evans solo on trumpet and piccolo trumpet. What, honestly, can one add to the corpus of writing about Evans’s trumpet playing? What he’s done for trumpet is right up there with Toshinori Kondo, Birgit Ulher, and Axel Dörner. Alongside peers like Lina Allemano, Nate Wooley, and Steph Richards, the trumpet’s been reimagined a dozen times over. Key to this album, however, is how the marriage of Evans and Zorn’s musical imaginations has produced a magical performance. On many of his compositions, Zorn pushes instruments beyond commonly accepted quote-unquote barriers, similar to what Evans has done physically and musically. Together, they are a powerhouse,

Volume 15, Ben Goldberg leads a quartet with Jorge Roeder and Thomas Morgan on bass, and Craig Taborn on piano. Goldberg references the Jimmy Giuffre 3 in his liner notes, and that’s the group that instantly came to mind skimming the lineup. Adding a second bass player might seem to playfully hint at Cecil Taylor’s early Blue Note albums, but that’s not quite what Goldberg is up to here. This may be the most successful small-group Bagatelles set to date, given how brilliantly Roeder and Morgan blend together. Goldberg has a sly wit to his music that he brings to the arrangements of Zorn’s music. Neither one of them (or Taborn, for that matter) gets quite enough credit for the humor and lightness they effortlessly bring to their music. This quartet is a sheer joy to listen to, and I’m more disappointed than ever that I haven’t seen them perform the music live.

On Volume 16, Sam Eastmond breaks the Bagatelles mold wide open, convening a 12-piece ensemble, the first group of British musicians to be invited to record a set of Bagatelles. The lineup is pulled from Spike Orchestra regulars, including Chris Williams on alto sax, Asha Parkinson and Emma Rawicz on tenor sax, Mike Foster on baritone sax, Noel Langley and Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet and flugelhorn, Joel Knee on trombone, Tom Briers on tuba, Moss Freed on guitar, Olly Chalk on piano, Fergus Quill on bass, and Alasdair Pennington on drums. As an arranger, Eastmond has recorded two previous volumes of Zorn’s music, Book of Angels, Volume 26: Cerebus and The Book Beri’ah, Volume 3: Binah. That’s largely due to Eastmond’s cleverness as conductor and arranger—each member of the band has their specific role, and the components of Zorn’s playbook provide a showcase for their individual voices. Where a composition might have a radically condensed line, Eastmond understands how to draw out the many aspects (swing, cartoon music, cut-and-paste, metal, rock) contained within, infusing Zorn’s Bagatelles with mid-century dance band excitement.

The Bagatelles book shines when, as with these (and all previous) recordings, the performers are among Zorn’s closest and most inventive collaborators. In their hands, each tightly honed tune extends upwards and outwards, leading towards some distant, thrilling horizon.