VA - Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach (1997)

A double-CD collection of Tzadik artists and special guests paying tribute to one of the great geniuses of American music. Burt Bacharach's compositions explode the expectations of what a popular song is supposed to be. Advanced harmonies and chord changes with unexpected turnarounds and modulations, unusual changing time signatures and rhythmic twists, often in uneven numbers of bars. But he makes it all sound so natural you can't get it out of your head or stop whistling it. Maddeningly complex, sometimes deceptively simple, these are more than just great pop songs: these are deep explorations of the materials of music. Modern jazz greats (Wayne Horvitz, Bill Frisell, Joey Baron, Dave Douglas, Medeski Martin & Wood), rock luminaries (Robert Quine, Lloyd Cole, Mike Patton, Marc Ribot, Kramer, Yuka Honda, Robin Holcomb) and experimental stars (Fred Frith, Zeena Parkins, Elliott Sharp, Shelley Hirsch) shed new light on a highly original and inspiring composer/arranger who brought the lessons he learned from bebop and Darius Milhaud to the world of pop music. This is the first installment in Tzadik's Great Jewish Music series, which pays tribute to some of the greatest composers of our time. Essential listening for anyone interested in anything.