This may be the ramblings of an old fool but I was fascinated to listen to
Tony Oxley¹s wonderful album The Baptised Traveller and note Evan Parker¹s
tenor playing. Having not listened to the Oxley recording before I was
struck by the similarity in sound between Parker and what Zorn would be
doing years later.
Is it me or is there quite a close stylistic match between the horn sound on
the disc and Zorn? I think they share a fairly close sonic vocabulary. The
(and here I have to use technical terms) squalls of squiggles followed by
the false high register screams and whistles seem remarkably alike. I
wouldn't mind betting that Parker was a major influence on Zorn as he got to
grips with the alto. (Zorn¹s alto playing can sound, at times, like a tenor
to my ears.)
Any other thoughts on Zorn influences? We all must have our ideas.
I would urge all those on this list to give The Baptised Traveller and its
follow up Four Compositions for Septet a listen. Tony Oxley, Evan Parker,
Kenny Wheeler, Derek Bailey and Jeff Cline with (on the second disc Paul
Rutherford) at their peak.
Apologies if this subject has been covered before.
Cheers
Richard Gardner
