Redbird (John Zorn album)

Redbird is an album by American composer and saxophonist John Zorn, released in 1995 on the Tzadik label. It is the sixth album to feature Zorn's game piece composition Cobra, and the first studio recording of the piece.

The album features a large ensemble of musicians improvising under the rules of Cobra, a system of musical cues and hand signals that allows for spontaneous composition and interaction. Unlike previous live recordings, this version of Cobra was carefully recorded and mixed in a studio setting, allowing for greater control over the sound quality and sonic textures.

Musicians on Redbird include John Zorn (saxophone, game master), Zeena Parkins (harp, keyboards), Cyro Baptista (percussion), Bill Frisell (guitar), and many others. The music is characterized by its unpredictable shifts in dynamics, texture, and style, ranging from delicate passages of ambient sound to intense bursts of free improvisation.

The album is considered a significant document of Zorn's Cobra project and is notable for its high production quality and the diverse range of musical styles explored within the framework of the game piece.