''The Parachute Years: 1977–1981'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

7-CD box set by

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

. It features recordings of Zorn's game pieces originally released as self-produced albums on the Parachute label as well as previously unreleased performances. All of the discs in this box set have been subsequently given their own releases on Zorn's

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

label. The first two discs feature Zorn's 1977 composition ''

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

''. The first disc was recorded at

WKCR WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the fir ...

in June 1978 and features Mark Abbott,

Polly Bradfield Polly Bradfield is an American violinist from the New York City free improvisation scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her closest musical associates were Eugene Chadbourne and John Zorn. She also played on records by William Parker and F ...

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

, and LaDonna Smith and Zorn on 6 different takes of "Lacrosse". Takes 3, 4 and 6 were originally released on the Parachute Records double LP ''School'' (1978). The second disc is the original recording of "Lacrosse" which was made by

Henry Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

, Bruce Ackley, and Zorn (dubbed "Twins") in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in June 1977. The third disc features 17 takes (four electric and thirteen acoustic) of the composition ''

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

''. Five of these takes were first released on vinyl on Parachute Records in 1980, (tracks 4-9), along with ''

Pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

'' which features on disc four. The final three discs feature Zorn's ''

Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

'' composition in previously unreleased rehearsal takes and versions released on Parachute Records in 1982.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Joslyn Layne awarded the album 4 stars stating "This box set is for dedicated fans already intrigued by the early annals of Zorn and his musical game theories. However, Zorn skeptics and listeners with less patience for theory (or history) should definitely avoid ''The Parachute Years''. This set will not win anyone over; nor will the theories become more clear upon listening. The recordings in ''The Parachute Years'' helped the participants -- inspired and creative musicians, all -- to grow, but they also have more historical value than listening interest.".Layne, J
Allmusic Review
accessed March 6, 2012 The Penguin Guide to Jazz said "Historically this is arguably as important a set as any Blue Note or Prestige milestone... one can often hear things in this collection which echo more vividly than much of Zorn's more obvious 'outrageous' work". In Jazziz Bruce Carnevale wrote "This is not "music" in terms of traditional rhythm, tonal centres, or anything of that sort. It's hardly even free jazz. Formed by Zorn's formal instructions or moves chosen by the player, the recordings collected here present a discontinuous world of discrete sounds. Zorn's signature jump-cut aesthetic s on display throughout the box. Here, however, a rawness takes form. This music bristles with energy that turns on and off as easily as a light switch".Carnevale, B., Jazziz, March 1998, Volume 15 No. 3, p.70

Track listing

*''Disc one'' #"Lacrosse Take 3" – 23:06 #"Lacrosse Take 4" – 19:06 #"Lacrosse Take 6" – 6:20 #"Lacrosse Take 1" – 7:01 #"Lacrosse Take 2" – 8:08 #"Lacrosse Take 5" – 8:16 *''Disc two'' #"Lacrosse Twins Version" – 29:56 *''Disc three'' # "Hockey (Electric Version): Take 1" - 1:13 # "Hockey (Electric Version): Take 2" - 3:13 # "Hockey (Electric Version): Take 3" - 11:32 # "Hockey (Electric Version): Take 4" - 11:23 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 2" - 3:43 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 4" - 2:14 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 11" - 0:55 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 13" - 1:02 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 1" - 3:10 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 3" - 3:16 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 5" - 1:08 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 6" -1:00 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 7" - 1:07 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 8" - 0:45 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 9" - 1:02 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 10" - 1:07 # "Hockey (Acoustic Version): Take 12" - 1:17 *''Disc four'' # "Pool" - 50:45 *''Disc five'' # "Archery Rehearsal: Pt. 1" - 32:11 # "Archery Rehearsal: Pt. 2" - 16:14 # "Archery Rehearsal: Pt. 3" - 28:33 *''Disc six'' # "Archery: A1-D2" - 20:35 # "Archery: D3-G1" - 20:08 *''Disc seven'' # "Archery: G2-L4" - 23:52 # "Archery: L5-O14" - 23:30 :''All compositions by John Zorn''

Personnel

*''Disc One and Two'' *

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

*Mark Abbott –

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

*Bruce Ackley –

, liner notes *Allen Asaf –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

–

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

twelve string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

, liner notes,

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...

six string bass An extended-range bass is an electric bass guitar with a wider frequency range than a standard-tuned four-string bass guitar. Terminology One way that a bass can be considered 'extended-range' is to use a tuning machine mechanism that allows fo ...

, twelve string acoustic guitar *

– electric guitar *LaDonna Smith – violin, viola *

Davey Williams David Carlous Williams (November 2, 1927 – August 17, 2009) was an American professional baseball player and coach. During his Major League Baseball career, spent entirely with the New York Giants of the National League, the second baseman app ...

–

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, electric guitar, hollow body guitar : ''Disc One recorded at

in June 1978 and Disc Two recorded in San Francisco, California in June 1977.'' *''Disc Three'' *

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

* Mark E. Miller -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Contact Microphone A contact microphone, also known as a piezo microphone, is a form of microphone that senses audio vibrations through contact with solid objects. Unlike normal air microphones, contact microphones are almost completely insensitive to air vibrat ...

Vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

Electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, Personal Effects *

Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robin Holcomb. He ...

- Amplified

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Bob Ostertag Robert "Bob" Ostertag (born April 19, 1957) is a musician, writer, and political activist based in San Francisco. He has published seven books, one feature film, a DVD, twenty-six albums, and collaborated with numerous musicians. Musically, he ...

- Electronics *

- Duck, Goose and Crow Calls,

Clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, Mouthpiece :''Recorded at Sorcerer Sound Studio, New York City on March 1, 1980'' *''Disc Four'' *

* Mark E. Miller -

* Charles K. Noyes -

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

, Knene *

- Electronics *

- Alto And Soprano

Saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

s, Bb

, Game Calls, E-flat

:''Recorded at Sorcerer Sound Studio, New York City on March 1, 1980'' *''Disc Five, Six and Seven'' *

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

Anthony Coleman Anthony Coleman (born August 30, 1955) is an avant-garde jazz pianist. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked with John Zorn on '' Cobra'', ''Kristallnacht'', ''The Big Gundown'', ''Archery'', and ''Spillane'' and helped push modern Jewish music in ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Tom Cora Thomas Henry Corra (September 14, 1953 – April 9, 1998), better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, B ...

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Robert Dick Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist. Life He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa. At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good e ...

Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

Bass Flute The bass flute is a member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Despite its name, its playing range makes it the tenor member of the flute family. Because of the length of its tube (approximate ...

Piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

, Game Calls *

Harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

, Tape, Electronics * Bill Horvitz -

* Kramer -

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

Electric Bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck The ...

George Lewis George Lewis may refer to: Entertainment and art * George B. W. Lewis (1818–1906), circus rider and theatre manager in Australia * George E. Lewis (born 1952), American composer and free jazz trombonist * George J. Lewis (1903–1995), Mexican ...

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

* David Moss -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, Voice, Water,

Hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

Zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

, etc. *

- Alto And Soprano

s, Bb

, Game Calls, E-flat

:''Recorded at the OAO Studio in Brooklyn, New York on September 12 and 13, 1981''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parachute Years, The John Zorn compilation albums 1997 compilation albums Tzadik Records compilation albums Albums recorded at WKCR-FM