John Zorn, Ner Tamid, from the Masada songbook.

Monday, May 10, 7PM - 10PM:
Stone Seminar 19 - Dave Douglas on the Music of Masada.
At The Stone in NYC.

When John asked me to present a seminar, I thought: why not take a handful of Masada tunes, old and new, and play them with people? We'll have charts in Zorn's all-but-indecipherable-but-incredibly-expressive handwriting, as well as some "cleaned up" versions. Bring your instrument as the goal will be to play as many tunes as we can get through. I learned a lot playing these tunes, and I think people may enjoy coming to get a closer look at how the tunes look and how performances of them work. Word is the composer may even come by and answer some of the many remaining questions I have for him.

Playing this music has always been fun, challenging, and thought-provoking for me. I can't say that I have any answers, but Monday we will open up the book and see where the charts take us. Each of these tunes points in a unique and inspiring direction.

More info and specifics at The Stone website.