Pellucidar: A Dreamers Fantabula cover

Pellucidar: A Dreamers Fantabula

John Zorn · 2015

51 min · 9 tracks · avant-garde jazz

An imaginative blend of avant-garde jazz and cinematic soundscapes that transports listeners to otherworldly realms.

Top tracks — play these first

  • →
    Magic Carpet Ride Start here — The opening track immerses listeners in a lush soundscape with intricate melodies that set the tone for the entire album. Its adventurous spirit encapsulates Zorn's vision of transcending traditional jazz forms.
  • →
    Queen of Ilium — This piece showcases Zorn's knack for blending narrative with sound, featuring dynamic shifts and a rich orchestral palette that draws on mythology. The track exemplifies the album's thematic depth.
  • →
    Jewels of Opar — With its complex rhythms and haunting motifs, this track serves as a highlight of Zorn's compositional style, illustrating his ability to weave together disparate musical threads into a cohesive whole.

Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

Instrumental
69 /100
Alpine
Higher than 94% of albums we've rated

The album's immersive soundscapes and unique instrumentation create a distinct experience in avant-garde jazz.

Composition 25% of the score
7/10

the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics

Craft 20% of the score
8/10

production, performance, arrangement

Durability 25% of the score
6/10

whether it rewards returning to it

Distinctiveness 18% of the score
9/10

whether it sounds like itself

Sequencing 12% of the score
8/10

running order, pacing, length

Influence 4/10

Known within its scene. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Is this for you?

Good fit if you like

  • expansive soundscapes for exploration
  • surreal storytelling through music
  • dynamic journey with varied pacing
  • immersive headphone listening experience

Maybe skip if you

  • seeking straightforward song structures
  • prefer quick, catchy tracks

Where this album fits

In the catalog
Experimental — The album explores avant-garde jazz and cinematic soundscapes, differing from earlier works.
Career context
Released in 2015, Pellucidar: A Dreamers Fantabula marks John Zorn's continued exploration of eclectic sounds following his prolific output in the 2000s. This album arrives after his ambitious projects like the Book of Angels series, showcasing his ability to fuse elements of jazz, classical, and world music into cohesive narratives.
Stylistic neighbors
Mike Patton· The Thing· Merzbow

Tracklist

  • 1 Magic Carpet Ride Start here 7:35
  • 2 Gormenghast 8:28
  • 3 Queen of Ilium 5:18
  • 4 Once Upon a Time 5:13
  • 5 Flight from Salem 4:19
  • 6 Pellucidar 3:34
  • 7 Atlantis 4:59
  • 8 A Perfume from Cleopolis 6:09
  • 9 Jewels of Opar 6:10

Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata