John Zorn/Pat Metheny - Tap: The Book of Angels, Vol 20

There have been few composers in the history of Western music as prolific as John Zorn, and fewer still with as eclectic a catalog. Among his many diverse projects, in the 1990s into the 2000s, Zorn sought to explore his Jewish heritage and modernize Jewish music, eventually recording over 10 albums (plus some live albums) spanning 200 or so compositions, which would become known as the Masada Songbook. In 2004, Zorn decided to compose a second Masada book, The Book of Angels, and proceeded to compose some 300 more pieces.

With Book of Angels, Zorn decided to turn the songs over to other artists for interpretation. Uri Caine, Marc Ribot, Cyro Baptista, and Medeski, Martin and Wood are among those who have recorded volumes of the songbook. The 20th installment, released jointly this week by both Nonesuch Records and Zorn's Tzadik label, features jazz guitar legend Pat Metheny. Other than the drums, which were provided by frequent Metheny collaborator Antonio Sanchez, Metheny himself recorded all of the instrumentation, which includes: guitar (of course), sitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, flugelhorn, and more. Who knew Metheny was such a multi-tasker.

Listen to the track "Tharsis" below.