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".Tzadik website: album details accessed June 22, 2018Masada World - Xaphan: The Book of Angels, Volume 9 accessed 25 January 2021 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
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".Scene Point Blank Review, accessed June 22, 2018
Track listing
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
Footnotes
External links [ Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9] at Allmusic Xaphan at Masada World – Secret Chiefs 3 perform the music of Xaphan in this live recording – Secret Chiefs 3 perform the music of Xaphan in this live recording