John Zorn’s Moonchild – Earshot Jazz Festival (Seattle, 11.04.07)
John Zorn at a Jazz festival doesn’t seem out of place. But even though his name adorned the bill, he was simply seated in the theater, as any other spectator might. While he wrote each composition that was performed, it was the trio of Dunn, Baron and Patton who mounted the stage. Much like with the name Zorn, the name Patton is accompanied by a certain set expectations. Of course those expectations don’t generally fit the sense of decorum that goes along with most Jazz fests. Alongside, and more impressive than Patton, Dunn (Mr. Bungle) and Baron (Naked City, Masada) were allowed to showcase their talents and to work out their metallic, yet musically rich rhythms. Obviously, the draw to this show were the names Zorn and Patton, but the Dunn/Barron teaming created such a complete and burdensome sound, that it was difficult to believe that only two men were responsible for the racket. At times, Patton’s hollering, taking his shirt off and animalistic crouching near to the ground with maniacal sneer fronting his facade seemed to over shadow the musical performances. The physicality of Patton leads to the question, is he a performance artist? What he coaxes from his throat seems to be the aural equivalent of free jazz, which to a certain extent is a spectator sport. And perhaps in this situation, Patton is the actor to Zorn’s playwright. Regardless of the answer, the sheer comedic fact that the festival coordinator, emblazoned with a sport coat and slick, adult hipster hair introduced this group from the stage of an aging Seattle landmark was almost worth the $32 dollar ticket price.
