Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9 is an album by the Secret Chiefs 3 performing compositions from John Zorn's second Masada book, "The Book of Angels".[1][2][3] It is the fifth studio album to be released by the Secret Chiefs 3. As with the other volumes of the Book of Angels series, the titles of the songs are characters from Jewish and Christian mythology. The title of the album, Xaphan refers to one of the fallen angels who rebelled with Satan and set the Heaven on fire.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Scene Point Blank |   [4] |
The Scene Point Blank review by Kevin Fitzpatrick stated "Spruance is a noted perfectionist and as such, surrounds himself with great musicians he can count on to deliver the goods. This will always be a good thing and with Xaphan showcasing the likes of Tim Smolens and Ches Smith, you can pretty much guarantee an album of substance, worth, and beauty that has become a cornerstone of both Zorn and Spruances work throughout their career".[4]
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Zorn
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sheburiel" | 5:43 |
| 2. | "Akramachamarei" | 5:46 |
| 3. | "Shoel" | 6:19 |
| 4. | "Barakiel" | 5:49 |
| 5. | "Bezriel" | 4:36 |
| 6. | "Kemuel" | 4:23 |
| 7. | "Labbiel" | 4:22 |
| 8. | "Asron" | 3:32 |
| 9. | "Balberith" | 6:31 |
| 10. | "Omael" | 4:01 |
| 11. | "Hamaya" | 4:20 |
Personnel
- Trey Spruance — guitars (baritone guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar), piano, organ, percussion, autoharp, synthesizer, production, recording, mixing
- Anonymous 13 — voice, viola
- Chippy (Heung-Heung Chin) — design
- Rich Doucette — sarangi
- Timb Harris — violin, trumpet
- Scott Hull — audio mastering
- Shahzad Ismaily — bass guitar
- Jai Young Kim — B3 organ
- Justin Phelps — mixing
- Jason Schimmel — guitar, recording
- Monica Schley — harp
- Ches Smith — drums, congas
- Tim Smolens — cello, upright bass, recording
- Kazunori Sugiyama — associate producer
- Adam Stacey — clavinet
- Arun Venkatesh — recording
- Alex Eddings — Assistant Engineer
- John Zorn — executive producer[5]
Footnotes
- ^ Tzadik website: album details accessed June 22, 2018
- ^ Masada World - Xaphan: The Book of Angels, Volume 9 accessed 25 January 2021
- ^ "Secret Chiefs 3: Xaphan: Book of Angels Vol. 9". Web of Mimicry Online Store. Web of Mimicry. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ a b Scene Point Blank Review, accessed June 22, 2018
- ^ "Secret Chiefs 3 Plays John Zorn – Xaphan: Book Of Angels Volume 9". Discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
External links
- Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9 at Allmusic
- Xaphan at Masada World
- Secret Chiefs 3 Live at The Stone on 2012-10-11 at the Internet Archive – Secret Chiefs 3 perform the music of Xaphan in this live recording
- Secret Chiefs 3 Live at Duende on 2014-02-09 at the Internet Archive – Secret Chiefs 3 perform the music of Xaphan in this live recording
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