FEMINA

If one is interested in dipping their toes into the pool of John Zorn's more avant music, this would be a good place to start. At times boisterous and rowdy and at other times soothingly beautiful, Feminia encompasses all that's great about John Zorn the Composer. There is a good mix of the style of his more accessible Film Works series paired with the unpredictability of his "game pieces" (i.e, Cobra, Xu Feng). I'd also perhaps throw in a bit from his classical works as well for reference.

For this recording Zorn enlisted a small ensemble of talented women who should be familiar names to devoted followers of the Tzadik label. If you think you've got what to expect from this CD all figured out because of the title and the cast involved then you're going to be pleasantly surprised. I've heard some of these performer's solo works and I was still highly intrigued how their talents interacted with one another.

Feminia is only 35 minutes, but is filled with many more inspired passages than most CDs double it's length. This is definitely one of the better John Zorn releases of the two dozen or so CDs I have heard of his.