John Zorn's Cobra: Live at the Knitting Factory

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 1½ stars stating "There are some colorful segments, but in general, these self-indulgent performances would be much more interesting to see in person than to hear on record. Taken purely as a listening experience, one is surprised that this material has even been released". Guy Peters stated "If this is your first acquaintance with Zorn’s multifaceted universe, chances are you’ll never visit it again and therefore it only can serve as a treat for those who were there, seriously dedicated fans".

Track listing

All compositions by John Zorn

1. "Hemachatus Haemachatus" - 2:11
2. "Naja Naja Atra" (Organized by David Shea) - 8:43
3. "Many-Banded Krait" - 10:53
4. "Taipan" - 1:30
5. "D. Popylepis" - 3:20
6. "Lampropeltis Doliata Syspila" (Organized by Joe Gallant) - 2:19
7. "Boomslang" - 11:07
8. "Maticora Intestinalis" - 6:13
9. "Acanthopis Antarcticus" - 4:00
10. "Hydrophiidae" - 5:42
11. "Ngu Sam Liem" - 0:53
12. "Ophiophagus Hannah" - 1:25
13. "Boulengerina" - 5:23
14. "Laticaudia Laticaudia" (Organized by Steven Bernstein) - 3:03

Note: All songs are named after subspecies of Cobra snakes

All tracks recorded live at the Knitting Factory, New York City

Track 1 - recorded in January 1992

Track 2 - recorded in February 1992

Track 3 - recorded in March 1992

Track 4 & 5 - recorded in April 1992

Track 6 - recorded in May 1992

Track 7 - recorded in June 1992

Track 8 - recorded in July 1992

Track 9 - recorded in August 1992

Track 10 - recorded in September 1992

Track 11 & 12 - recorded in October 1992

Track 13 - recorded in November 1992

Track 14 - recorded in December 1992

Performers

Christine Bard (1,3,7): drums

Anthony Coleman (1,2,3,7,9): sampler

Mark Degliantoni (1,2,3,9): sampler

Curtis Fowlkes (1,3): trombone

Evan Gallagher (1,2,6,8,10): keyboards, sampler, trombone, cornet

Gisburg (1,4,5,7): voice (soprano), mouth organ, tin whistle

Roy Nathanson (1,3,7,9): soprano, alto, tenor

James Pugliese (1,2,7,9): drums, sampler, percussion

Marcus Rojas (1,13): tuba

David Shea (1,2,9): sampler

Doug Wieselman (1): clarinet

Michelle Kinney (2,13): cello, electronics

Tim Spelios (2): CD players

David Weinstein (2): sampler

Brad Jones (3): string bass

Myra Melford (3): synthesizer

Zeena Parkins (3,7): electric harp

Marc Ribot (3,7): electric guitar

Jay Rodrigues (3): alto

E.J. Rodriguez (3,14): drums, percussion

Bill Ware (3): vibraphone

Jeff Buckley (4,5): voice (tenor)

M. Doughty (4,5): voice (tenor)

Judy Dunaway (4,5,8): voice (mezzo-soprano), electric guitar, balloons

Mark Ettinger (4,5): voice (tenor)

Cassie Hoffman (4,5): voice (soprano)

Nina Mankin (4,5): voice (mezzo-soprano)

Chris Nelson (4,5): voice (baritone)

Juliet Palmer (4,5): voice (alto)

Wilbur Pauley (4,5): voice (bass)

Rick Porterfield (4,5): voice (baritone)

Eric Qin (4,5): voice (baritone)

Kevin Sharp (4,5): voice (throat)

Louie Belogenis (6): drums

Steven Bernstein (6,10,13,14): sampler, trumpet, slide trumpet

Dawn Buckholz (6): sampler

Joe Gallant (6,10): string bass, 6-string contrabass guitar

Randy Hutton (6): synthesizer

Margaret Lancaster (6): soprano, alto

Fred Lonberg-Holm (6,8,11,12): electric harp, tape recorder, CD players, noisemakers, cornet

Vito Ricci (6): electric guitar

Walter Thompson (6,10): alto, baritone, flute

Ed Broms (7): string bass

Tamela Glenn (7): voice (soprano)

Lee Hyla (7): sampler

Tim Smith (7): bass clarinet

Chris Wood (7,9): string bass

Bob Lipman (8): electric guitar, bongos, percussion

Leslie Ross (8,11,12): bassoon, electric bassoon, shawm, various reeds

Blaise Siwula (8): alto, trumpet

Kiku Wada (8): electric guitar

David Watson (8,11,12): electric guitar, trumpet

Steve Waxman (8): electric bass, pocket trumpet, percussion

Michael Evans (9,10): drums, percussion

Craig Flanagin (9): electric guitar

K.J. Grant (9,11,12): electric bass, voice (alto)

John King (9): dobro

Sharon Topper (9): voice (soprano), noisemakers

John Zorn (9): alto

David Cast Castigilione (10,14): tenor, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone

Allan Chase (10): soprano, alto

Hollis Headrick (10): drums

Rolf Sturm (10): electric guitar

Steve Swell (10): trombone

Thomas Ulrich (10): cello

Nick Balaban (11,12): synthesizers

April Chung (11,12): violin

Paul Hoskin (11,12): baritone

Donna Jewell (11,12): voice (soprano)

James Lo (11,12): drums

Makigami Koichi (11,12): voice (tenor)

Matthew Ostrowski (11,12): analog synthesizer

Greg Anderson (13): acoustic, string instruments

David Krakauer (13): clarinet, bass clarinet

Frank London (13): trumpet, percussion

Paul Morrissett (13): kaval, gaida, violin

Andrea Parkins (13): accordion

Sebastian Steinberg (13): electric bass

Alicia Svigals (13): violin

Jane Tomkiewicz (13): percussion

Billy Martin (14): percussion, talking drum

Ben Perowsky (14): drums

Adam Rogers (14): electric guitar

Dan Rosengard (14): synthesizers

Danny Sedownik (14): percussion

Paul Shapiro (14): soprano, tenor, flute

David Tronzo (14): slide guitar