John Zorn: Flatlands

For one night, the composer steps out from behind the music. John Zorn joins us in person, opening the evening with a 30-minute talk before a single note is played. What follows is the debut of Flatlands, a new trio drawn entirely from his imagination: guitarist Matt Hollenberg, bassist Simon Hanes, and drummer Ches Smith, three fearless players pulled from across Zorn's orbit. Together they tear through a fresh set of his compositions with virtuosic solos, crushing riffs, and rhythms that pivot on a dime. The music is intense, quirky, and wildly ecstatic—twelve compact stop-on-a-dime kaleidoscopic miniatures that astonishingly defy musical logic and reveal a deep philosophical edge. Filled with infectious riffs, atonal melodies, complex rhythms, virtuosic solos, and ever-surprising structural innovations, “Flatlands” is one of the most mind-bendingly extreme guitar trios ever created.