'Masada Guitars" finds three very unusual and accomplished guitarists -- Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell and Tim Sparks -- interpreting the simple, elegant tunes from John Zorn's Masada songbook. Zorn began composing this material in 1993 and, by the time he finished, he'd written 208 of his most lyrical songs.
The book has been around the block a few times, finding itself brought to life by various ensembles that include strings, percussion and horns. In a recent conversation, Ribot noted that these tunes were ripe for yet another instrumentation. "I found a lot of tunes I had never played and I was surprised at how many of them had a real guitaristic quality," he said.
Listeners familiar with the solo-guitar albums by each of these performers can expect more of the same on "Masada Guitars." None of the three breaks new ground here; instead they turn out a total of 21 tunes, each in his deeply personal way.