John Zorn - The Hermetic Organ, Volume 8: For Antonin Artaud (2019)

Accused of being a flagrant 'occultist' it took many years before Zorn was able to perform an organ recital in the former Yugoslavia. Finding churches completely unavailable, Zorn performed this Office of The Hermetic Organ at Gallus Hall during his residency at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival and it is one of his best. Including some extended moments with Zorn playing both organ and saxophone simultaneously, the improvisation is intense and varied, with a remarkable compositional arch and wildly dramatic changes of color and timbre. The saxophone blends beautifully with the organ, standing out at times while Zorn plays the organ with his feet, hands and elbows. A beautiful new installment of The Hermetic Organ that draws inspiration from the work of 20th century visionary Antonin Artaud.