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John Zorn, Mike Patton, Ikue Mori
Saxophonist John Zorn first catapulted to improv infamy in the '70s by introducing birdcalls -- crow, goose, duck -- into his experimental arsenal of raw but deliberate sound-making techniques. A renegade artist who pumps loudness, noise, and offbeat comedy into complex music, Zorn's compositional frameworks for groups like Naked City and his conducted "game pieces" (Cobra, Xu Feng) lean toward musical bombardment that blows up and comes back to life with the recombinant virility of a cartoon villain.

He started collaborating with drummer/drum machinist Ikue Mori (DNA, Fred Frith) more than a decade ago on Locus Solus. Since then he has performed often with Mori, one of Downtown NYC's most notorious percussionists on electronic beats, who at times sounds like she's punching holes through granite.

When Zorn's mix mastery was called upon to hone Mr. Bungle's eponymous debut of 1990, he got an earful of mad throatist Mike Patton, who has since matured from an impulsive, piss-drinking young showman to a sober-minded, microphone-fellating innovator. (He does it for the sound effects; see ADULT THEMES for Voice on Zorn's Tzadik label.)

A strange amalgamation of forces, both as individuals and as a unit, the collective sound-making of Zorn, Patton, and Mori promises experimental rawness with experiential finesse.

-- Sam Prestianni

John Zorn, Mike Patton, and Ikue Mori perform on Friday, Jan. 17, at 9 p.m. at Slim's, 333 11th St. Tickets are $15; call 522-0333.