This post is by Dan
Recorded 1984 and 1985
Bricolage is one of those marvelous French words that has no direct translation into English. It means assembling something of presumed value from whatever materials are available. A "bricoleur," therefore, would be anyone who practices bricolage. John Zorn's The Big Gundown is a tasty bit of bricolage created in honor of the Italian composer Ennio Morricone, whose soundtracks graced films by Sergio Leone and many others. Zorn is a film buff as well as an alto sax player. His assembly of sound clips and film themes forms one of the most intriguing musical projects of the 1980s. It's a favorite in part because it has no equal, and in part because it's very entertaining.
Morricone's music is not played as it was composed. Rather, bits and pieces are interspersed with sound clips from films. The effect is plentiful aural imagery. Much of it borders on the zany; little of it resembles jazz despite the bricoleur's jazz credentials. It doesn't fit any particular musical category either. It's hard to map the 40 performers to specific tracks and doing so would not serve much purpose in explaining why this project is so fascinating.
You don't need to know much about Morricone's compositions or the films that they were written for to enjoy this album. It stands on its own as a unique contribution to jazz discourse in the 1980s.
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