The Bagatelles Vol. 4 by John Zorn feat. Ikue Mori - Under Review

This is going to be more of a partial non review in that it will focus on why this music appeals to me but it will also include why The Bagatelles Vol. 4 is such an excellent album. I want to explore why music that is difficult in nature works for me. Why is it that I would prefer to listen to this than whatever is popular in the the greater (pop) world?
But before we get to the (non) review - let’s discuss how I got here, as currently I am going down the Tzadik rabbit hole. It all started with a catalog update from Squidco. This update contained two new releases from Tzadik, Chaos Magick by John Zorn* and Of Ghosts And Goblins by Ikue Mori (reviewed here). The former appealed to me because of the Chaos Symbol on the cover (silly I know) and the latter was because I wanted to challenge my preconceptions. I am happy to say it all worked out. *In actuality, John Zorn is the composer/conductor — the music is performed by Matt Hollenberg, Brian Marsella, John Medesk and Kenny Grohowski. This quartet already has several releases that Zorn has composed/conducted.
Chaos Magick led me to tracking down their previous releases and then jumping from there to the band, Electric Masada (more on them and the quartet above in a future post). Of Ghosts and Goblins led me to a new found appreciation for Ikue Mori and an appetite to discover more. All of which, resulted in me doing a deep dive into Tzadik and John Zorn. Which is how I found the The Bagatelles series.
For the uninitiated (including myself), Bagatelles is a musical term meaning*:
"...a short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. The name bagatelle literally means "a short unpretentious instrumental composition" as a reference to the light style of a piece."
Following this, from the one sheet for the release of all four volumes (which are now available individually):
From March to May 2015, John Zorn composed 300 new tunes that were eventually collected into a book of music he called The Bagatelles. After 5 years of performances around the world in venues large and small, the choicest ensembles have gone into the studio and the recordings are finally being made available in a series of limited edition 4-CD BOX sets. Each set will present four ensembles performing a unique program of Zorn’s Bagatelles.
Now that we have that out of the way, lets discuss the music.
I had this album playing the other day and my wife asked me to turn it off because it was bothering her and she described it as demented fun house music. My reply was OK and it does kinda sound like that. However, do not let the simplicity of the melodies/music fool you – this is difficult music. Truly challenging the notions of what is musical and what is not. Instead of "demented fun house music", I would describe it more as stripped down (simple) compositions that Ikue Mori has molded and produced into music that our brains have trouble with; shattering preconceptions of what is/isn't music. On the surface, the compositions lend themselves to being unpretentious/simple but Ikue Mori's interpretations result in our mind's expecting one thing and getting something entirely different. So yes, it is simple but that does not make it any less challenging.
Which brings me back to why does my brain latch on and find beauty and sometimes transcendence is music of this ilk and other people do not see that at all? For them it is akin to noise and it is the opposite of beauty/transcendence. Is it an acquired taste? IE a lifetime of listening to off center music has developed my brain so that I get a dopamine hit if the music is challenging? IE my brain wants the exercise lol
Even if that is true, it still doesn't really answer the question. As I sought out music that was off center and have been on a journey ever since. However, many folks won't embark on this journey – even the gateway "tame" stuff is too much. Is there a trigger for this? I ask because my first true introduction to music was not the avant garde but hard rock/metal of the seventies. I guess one could argue that this was extreme music of the day but it really wasn't. Maybe if you compared Kenny Rogers to Judas Priest but the reality is that Priest is just a rock band that has turned up their amps and distortions. It is still Rock N' Roll after all.
Maybe I shouldn't ask why and just be grateful that I get so much out of music. That seems like the right answer. With that in mind, if you are looking to listen to a "serious" piece of music that is strictly not academic and want to be challenged, then this release is for you. And perhaps over time it will cease to be challenging and you can just simply lose yourself in the music (as I have). I look forward to exploring the other volumes.
Essential.
*from Wikipedia
Picture by Daniel De Los Santos, "Little Stubby", Sargent TX