In a celebration of his 65th birthday, producer and composer John Zorn was seen alongside frontman Mike Patton of the rock band Faith No More and drummer Dave Lombardo. Mike Patton is known for his wide vocal range, which, according to VVN Music spans six octaves.

Mike Patton

Patton and Zorn have worked together on projects before, with Zorn having produced Faith No More’s self-titled album in 1991, and Patton having made two solo albums, Adult Themes for Voice (1996) and Pranzo Oltranzista (1997) that contributed to Zorn’s Tzadik label’s Composer Series. In addition the two are members of Hemophiliac together, where Patton performs vocal effects and Zorn accompanies him with saxophone.

Zorn’s birthday celebration took place at The Chapel in San Francisco, and Patton, Zorn and Lombardo were joined by the avant-garde group Secret Chiefs 3. The first 20 minutes of the celebration, a collective labeled Improv Benefit for the Stone consisted of John Zorn on the saxophone, Mike Patton on vocals, John Medeski on keyboard, Kenny Grohowsi on the drums, and Matt Hollenberg on guitar. Around 25 minutes in the Simulacrum, which consists of Medeski, Grohowski, and Hollenberg continued a performance. Cleric followed, with Hollenberg on guitar once again, Daniel Ephraim Kennedy playing bass, Larry Kwartowitz on drums, and Nick Shellenberger doing both vocals and keyboard. Lastly, the Secret Chiefs 3 concluded the night with a set.

According to Faith No More Followers website, there was a strict no cameras policy at The Chapel during this event. If fans would like to take a listen there is a full live audio available as well as a short improv recorded, found below.

Photo Credit Raymond Flotat