Music

John Zorn's Christmas collaborations with Mike Patton are surprisingly listenable

by Tyler Munro

October 18, 2011

John Zorn is typically renowned for his innovative brand of caustic, freak-out jazz, but on his recent Christmas collaborations with Mike Patton the Jewish-American icon goes hard against the grain with two surprisingly listenable—and traditional!—jazzy covers of holiday classics.

On “The Christmas Song” Mike Patton sings in a slow, low tone so surprisingly soothing fans of his will almost be hard pressed to remember his propensity for making gag-and-puke noises on record, and while “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” gives a more aggressively jazzy undertone to the Christmas traditional, its Patton cameo is as brief as it is unnerving, closing the song with a bunch of clicks, slurps and pops. And you thought Justin Bieber’s cookie-inspired Christmas album sounded creepy!

Listen to the two Patton accompanied numbers below and, if they hit the spot, check out Zorn’s A Dreamers Christmas album, available now.

The Christmas Song