Merzdub

Released in 2006 on Tzadik Records as part of the Radical Jewish Culture series, Merzdub is one of Jamie Saft's most conceptually daring and sonically rewarding projects. The album is built entirely upon source material provided by the legendary Japanese noise artist Merzbow (Masami Akita). While a collaboration between a jazz multi-instrumentalist and a noise icon might suggest a chaotic result, Saft instead uses the noise as a foundational texture, filtering and processing it through high-end analog gear to create a lush, meditative dub environment. This record serves as a bridge between the avant-garde jazz of the New York scene and the experimental electronic world. Saft's mastery of the Hammond organ and Rhodes piano is on full display, but here they are used to provide melodic counterpoints to the deep, resonant basslines and the ghostly echoes of Merzbow's original sounds. It remains a singular entry in both artists' discographies, praised for its ability to find serenity within the storm.