Spillane (album)

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Released1987
RecordedJune–August 1986, June & September 1987 at Radio City Studios, New York, NY; Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco, CA and Metal Box Studio, Tokyo, Japan
Length54:01
Spillane
Studio album by
Released1987
RecordedJune–August 1986, June & September 1987 at Radio City Studios, New York, NY; Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco, CA and Metal Box Studio, Tokyo, Japan
GenreAvant-garde
Length54:01
LabelElektra Nonesuch
ProducerJohn Zorn, David Breskin
John Zorn chronology
Cobra
(1987)
Spillane
(1987)
News for Lulu
(1988)

Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, composed of three "file-card pieces", as well as a work for voice, string quartet and turntables.

It is named after mystery writer Mickey Spillane, whose novels featuring detective Mike Hammer provided the basis for the album's title track. Zorn wrote Spillane on a series of index cards, each containing an outline or instruction for the musicians that was intended to evoke scenes from one of Spillane's novels. One card states: "Scene of the crime #1 -- high harp harmonics, basses and trombone drone, guitar sonorities, sounds of water dripping and narration on top."[1] Thus, the musicians are not given traditional sheet music, but a series of cues or outlines that encourage improvisation.

Zorn later released the composition "Spillane" on the compilation album Godard/Spillane (1999).

The AllMusic review by Stephen Cook stated: "Spillane is not only one of the highlights in Zorn's catalog, but also makes for a fine introduction to the composer's vast body of work".[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[3]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Spillane"25:12
2."Two-Lane Highway: Preacher Man/White Line Fever/Nacogdoches Gumbo/East Texas Freezeout/San Angelo Release/Rollin' to Killeen/Blowout/Devil's Highway/Midnight Standoff/Marchin' for Abilene"13:30
3."Two-Lane Highway: Hico Killer/Long Mile to Houston"4:46
4."Forbidden Fruit (Variations for Voice, String Quartet and Turntables)"10:20

Personnel

Credits

References

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