John Zorn, George Lewis, Bill Frisell - News For Lulu (1988)

"On news for Lulu, Zorn, Lewis and Frisell have arranged the works of Dorham, Mobley, Clark, and Redd... In unleashing his obsession with the hard-bop masterpieces, Zorn shows us that it is possible to make coherent statements without being limited by genre. And by focusing on a narrow bit of musical history - the Blue Note sound of the late '50s - and placing emphasis on the compositions of musicians most often thought of as improvisers, Zorn begins the process of restoring Dorham, Mobley, Clark, and Redd to their rightful positions. Zorn has heard the truth: the hard-bop sessions on Blue Note produced a brilliant combination of contrasting meters, ostinatos, and blues feeling mediated by the sophistication of bebop. They produced an extraordinary variety of emotions, and continue to define small group dynamics to this day.

Without a rhythm section, [the trio] exposes the way the tunes work, making them even more intense, and taking the project immediately out of the constraints of the jazz tradition... The short tunes, reflecting Zorn's current obsession with hardcore, help make this an endlessly listenable record." Peter Watrous

John Zorn - alto sax
George Lewis - trombone
Bill Frisell - guitar

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