John Zorn’s successful career as saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and performer with free-form jazz and experimental improvisational groups such as Masada has sometimes drawn attention away from the New York composer’s equally important contributions to more established classical forms such as the string quartet. Zorn’s output for the latter now extends to over two hours’ music produced across a period of three decades, and while several recordings of the early quartets exist, this two-disc release by the Jack Quartet marks the first complete set.

Zorn states in the booklet notes that he could not have imagined a better interpreter of these works than the Jack Quartet and one can certainly understand why. The so-called ‘moment form’ compositions on disc 1, such as Cat o’ Nine Tails and The Dead Man, generate cartoon-music-style jump cuts, where bite-size chunks of atonal, avant-garde music (think Carter, Messiaen, Kagel and Xenakis) are juxtaposed with equally brief outbursts of Appalachian fiddle tunes, Classical-era minuets, pastiche surf pop or a sultry habanera dance. Accurately rendering such quick-fire transitions requires razor-sharp responses. The Jack Quartet execute these changes with consummate control. More than this, their performances possess an almost sixth-sense awareness and understanding of each player’s position at any given musical moment. The impact is not dissimilar to Zorn’s own performance practice with his improvisational groups.

The Jack Quartet nevertheless really come into their own on disc 2, where Zorn’s more evolved and less abrasive treatment of the block-form aesthetic results in clearer musical pathways and broader narrative shapes, as heard in the haunting, medieval-meets-folk The Remedy of Fortune or delicate, pointillistic gestures punctuating the evocative, mystical The Unseen, inspired by the life of artist Hilma af Klint. Whether going hell-for-leather in the frenzied, chaotic Necronomicon or imparting tender expression to the prayer-like, Pärt-sounding Kol Nidre, the Jack Quartet navigate these Zornian extremes with precision, flair and passion. Highly recommended, this is a benchmark recording that places Zorn’s quartets firmly in the canon of contemporary quartet works.