JOHN ZORN | MASADA - Masada, Vol, 5 : Hei (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Hei, the fifth release from John Zorn's Masada Quartet, shows the band at their tightest and most agile. In sound and design, it is much like the other nine releases from the Quartet, but it is rivaled only by Masada, Vol 3: Gimmel and Masada, Vol. 6: Vav for the musical acumen and togetherness of the players. A Jewish version of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, Zorn here continues to explore issues of Jewish heritage and identity in the assimilated and diaspora Jewish world. The two opening tracks, "Paran" and "Halisah," show the prodigious talent of the band's frontmen, with Zorn on alto sax and Dave Douglas on trumpet as they groove through Ornette Coleman and Gerry Mulligan-inspired selections from the Masada songbook with a couple of helpings of the Middle East thrown in. These tracks set the tone for what will be the theme of the album, later picked up on with "Neshamah" and "Hafla'ah." While this album is not as aggressive or as transgress as some other Zorn projects, most notably Naked City or The Parachute Years, Zorn and Douglas still prove that they can screech with the best of them on tracks such as "Hobah" as they assert a new Jewish identity. At times, the stellar rhythm section of the Quartet, manned by Joey Baron on drums and Greg Cohen on bass, threatens to overshadow the brass. This is especially true on "Beeroth," the jewel of an album already glimmering in the desert, as Baron plays like a man released from a cage. While more melodic than not, Hei shows that the man known for his outfit of camouflage pants stands alongside the Israeli army as living proof that Jews can fight. David Freedlander  
Tracklist :
1    Shechem    11:25
2    Elilah    4:38
3    Kodashim    4:40
4    Halom    2:00
5    Ne'eman    9:56
6    Abed-Nego    7:14
7    Tohorot    4:39
8    Mochin    6:37
9    Amarim    4:28
10    Khebar    4:40
Credits :
Alto Saxophone [Alto Sax], Composed By – John Zorn
Bass – Greg Cohen
Drums – Joey Baron
Trumpet – Dave Douglas