BLASPHEMY AND OTHER SERIOUS CRIMES

The sophomore release of Pitom, of one of John Zorn's Radical Jewish Culture series outfits, symbolizes a dead-end in this important musical and cultural movement that began in early nineties. Pitom, led by guitarist Yoshie Fruchter, is influenced by iconic musical figures from visionary seventies fusion bands like Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as early nineties grunge/punk bands including Nirvana and The Melvins. Blasphemy and other Serious Crimes is even supposed to be a sonic homage to the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), in a manner that mixes the seriousness of the day with a tongue-in-cheek style and sound. (www.allaboutjazz.com)