As difficult as John Zorn makes it to truly get into his neverending catalog via online channels (legally, may I add) I highly suggest you manage to track down Spillane one way or another. Between this and his work with Naked City, Spillane acts as a perfect introduction to the magnificent world of Zorn’s knee-jerk improvisation, sometimes beautiful soundscapes, and all the sax skronks one can offer. For the first three pieces the players were given index cards suggesting scenes inspired by mystery author Mickey Spillane (dead bodies at a crime scene, bar fights, police chases and the like) and were told to go nuts from there. The mood jumps from big band jazz to rockabilly to grindcore while never letting up its overall thematic tone; you feel as if you are walking from alleyway to alleyway, seeing what new horrors await. The final act, “Forbidden Fruit,” is a piece written for voice, string quartet (namely the Kronos Quartet) and turntable. Each element plays off each other with playfulness and unease, the branded combination of Zorn himself. Track it down by any means and hope to god John puts his stuff on Bandcamp soon.