Spillane (album)

Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, composed of three file-card pieces, as well as a work for voice, string quartet and turntables.

Spillane
Studio album by
John Zorn
Released1987
RecordedJune–August 1986, June & September 1987 at Radio City Studios, New York, NY; Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco, CA and Metal Box Studio, Tokyo, Japan
GenreAvant-garde
Length54:01
LabelElektra Nonesuch
ProducerJohn Zorn, David Breskin
John Zorn chronology
Cobra
(1987)		 Spillane
(1987)		 News for Lulu
(1988)

It is named after mystery writer Mickey Spillane, whose novels featuring detective Mike Hammer provided the basis for the album's title track. Zorn wrote Spillane on a series of index cards, each containing an outline or instruction for the musicians that was intended to evoke scenes from one of Spillane's novels. One card states: "Scene of the crime #1 -- high harp harmonics, basses and trombone drone, guitar sonorities, sounds of water dripping and narration on top."[1] Thus, the musicians are not given traditional sheet music, but a series of cues or outlines that encourage improvisation.

Zorn later released the composition "Spillane" on the compilation album Godard/Spillane (1999).

Reception

The Allmusic review by Stephen Cook awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Spillane is not only one of the highlights in Zorn's catalog, but also makes for a fine introduction to the composer's vast body of work".[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[3]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Spillane"25:12
2."Two-Lane Highway: Preacher Man/White Line Fever/Nacogdoches Gumbo/East Texas Freezeout/San Angelo Release/Rollin' to Killeen/Blowout/Devil's Highway/Midnight Standoff/Marchin' for Abilene"13:30
3."Two-Lane Highway: Hico Killer/Long Mile to Houston"4:46
4."Forbidden Fruit (Variations for Voice, String Quartet and Turntables)"10:20

Personnel

1 - "Spillane" (25:12)
Recorded (June/August 1986) and Mixed (August 1987) by Don Hünerberg at NBC Radio City Studios, New York City
Written and arranged by John Zorn in collaboration with:

"Two-Lane Highway" (18:16)
2 - Preacher Man/White Line Fever/Nacogdoches Gumbo/East Texas Freezeout/San Angelo Release/Rollin' to Killeen/Blowout/Devil's Highway/Midnight Standoff/Marchin' for Abilene (13:30)
3 - Hico Killer/Long Mile to Houston (4:46)
Recorded (June 1987) and mixed (August 1987) by Don Hünerberg at NBC Radio City Studios, New York City
Conceived and arranged by John Zorn for Albert Collins in collaboration with:

4 - "Forbidden Fruit" (Variations for Voice, String Quartet and Turntables) (10:20)
Recorded September 1987 at Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco, by Howard Johnston, and at Metal Box Studio, Tokyo by Ono Seigen. Mixed September 1987 by Ono Seigen at CBS Roppongi Studios, Tokyo.
Written and arranged by John Zorn in collaboration with:

Credits
  • Produced by John Zorn
  • Two-Lane Highway produced by John Zorn and David Breskin
  • Mastering: Robert C. Ludwig
  • Art direction and design: Carin Goldberg
  • Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz
  • Thanks to David Breskin, Yale Evelev, Peter Clancy, Jennifer Keats, David Bither, Bruce Iglauer, Hilton Weinberg, Andy Haas, Kondo Toshinori, Azuma Eiichi, The Shifting Foundation
  • Albert Collins appears courtesy of Alligator Records
  • On the cover: Shishido Joe in Kuchibue ga Nagareru Minato Machi, courtesy of Nikkatsu
  • Visit Hip's Road in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan

References
  1. John Bracket. Some notes on John Zorn's Cobra. American Music, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring 2010), pp. 44-75
  2. Cook, S. Allmusic Review accessed March 13, 2009.
  3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1543. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
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