| John Zorn | |
|---|---|
 Zorn performing in 2006
|
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Dekoboko Hajime, Rav Tzizit |
| Born | September 2, 1953 |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Improvised music, thrash metal, noise, electronic, surf, contemporary classical music, world, punk jazz |
| Occupation(s) | composer, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Alto saxophone, Keyboards |
| Years active | 1973 – present |
| Label(s) | Tzadik, Avant, DIW, Elektra Nonesuch, Earache, Hat Hut, Shimmy-Disc, Eva, Toy's Factory, Nato, Lumina, Black Saint, Subharmonic, Parachute, Yukon, Rift |
| Associated acts | Naked City, Masada, Painkiller, Hemophiliac, Weird Little Boy |
| Website | www.tzadik.com |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Clarinet, Piano, Theremin, Wind machine | |
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953 in Queens, New York City) is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of Thrash metal (sometimes referred to simply as thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production Surf music is a Genre of Popular music associated with Surf culture, particularly Orange County and other areas of Southern California Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to a period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians Punk jazz describes the amalgamation of elements of the jazz tradition (usually the Free jazz and Jazz fusion of the 1960s and '70s with the instrumentation A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The alto saxophone is a member of the Saxophone a family of Woodwind instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a Musical keyboard. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music. Nonesuch Records is an American Record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through WEA International with business affairs handled For the medical condition known as "earache" see Otalgia. Black Saint/Soul Note is a pair of Italian Jazz Independent record labels Black Saint was established in 1975 by Giacomo Pelliciotti and devoted Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Painkiller (also officially known as Pain Killer) is a band originally formed in 1991 Weird Little Boy is a one-off album by a band of the same name consisting of John Zorn (alto saxophone keyboards samplers Trey Spruance The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The wind machine is a specialist musical instrument used to produce the sound of wind Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Orchestration is the study or practice of writing Music for Orchestra (or more loosely for any Musical ensemble) or of adapting for orchestra music composed In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind Zorn's recorded output is prolific with hundreds of album credits as a performer, composer, or producer. His work has touched on a wide range of musical genres, but he is best-known for his jazz, improvised and contemporary music. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of In the broadest and popular sense Contemporary music is any music being written in the present day Zorn has also led the notable hardcore experimental band Naked City, the klezmer influenced quartet Masada and composed the associated 'Masada Songbooks', written concert music for classical ensembles, and produced music for many films and documentaries. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. See also Secular Jewish music Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר kley - instrument and zemer - song etymologically from Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s
After releasing albums on several independent US and European labels, Zorn signed with Elektra Nonesuch and attracted wide acclaim in 1985 when he released The Big Gundown with his interpretations of music composed by Ennio Morricone. An independent record label (or indie record label) is a Record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the Major record labels Nonesuch Records is an American Record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through WEA International with business affairs handled The Big Gundown is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn. Ennio Morricone OMRI (born November 10, 1928) is an acclaimed Italian Academy Award -winning composer [1] This was followed by the album Spillane in 1987, and the first album by Naked City in 1990 which all attracted further worldwide attention. Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, comprised of three 'file-card' pieces as well as a work for voice string Naked City is an album released in 1989 by John Zorn, featuring the band of the same name. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. [2][3][4][5] Zorn then recorded on the Japanese DIW and Avant labels before forming Tzadik Records in 1995, where he has been prolific, issuing several new recordings each year and releasing works by many other musicians. Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music.
Zorn established himself within the New York City downtown music movement in the early 1980s but has since performed with a wide range of musicians working in many diverse musical areas. The City of New York Downtown music is a subdivision of American music. The scene the term describes began in 1960 when Yoko Ono — one of the Fluxus artists at that time By the early 1990s Zorn was working extensively in Japan, attracted by that culture's openness about borrowing and remixing ingredients from elsewhere, where he performed and recorded under the name Dekoboko Hajime, before returning to New York as a permanent base in the mid 1990's. [6][7][8]
Contents |
Biography
Early life
John Zorn was born in New York City and, as a child, played piano, guitar and flute. The City of New York The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its [9] His family had broad musical tastes and he gained an appreciation of classical and world music from his mother, a professor of education, through his father, a hairdresser, was exposed to jazz, French chansons, and country music, and listened to his older brother's collection of doo-wop, and 1950's rock and roll. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States A chanson ( French for " Song " from Latin cantio) is in general any lyric -driven French songs usually Polyphonic Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based Rhythm and blues music which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity both in the 1950s Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African [10][11] Zorn played bass in a surf band as a teenager and picked up the saxophone after discovering Anthony Braxton's album For Alto while studying composition at Webster College (now Webster University) in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended classes taught by Oliver Lake. Surf music is a Genre of Popular music associated with Surf culture, particularly Orange County and other areas of Southern California Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American Composer, saxophonist, Clarinettist flautist, pianist For Alto is a Jazz double - LP by Composer /multi- reedist Anthony Braxton. Webster University is an American Private university in Webster Groves, a suburb of St Oliver Lake (b Marianna Arkansas, September 14, 1944) is an American alto saxophonist, Flutist, Composer and [12][13] While still at Webster, Zorn incorporated elements of free jazz, avant-garde and experimental music, film scores, performance art and the cartoon scores of Carl Stalling into his first recordings. Webster University is an American Private university in Webster Groves, a suburb of St For the Ornette Coleman album after which this genre was named see Free Jazz A Collective Improvisation. Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955 A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film This article is about Performance art For other uses see Performance (disambiguation The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. Carl W Stalling ( November 10, 1891 &ndash November 29, 1972) was a noted American Composer and Arranger of music [14] After dropping out of college, and following a stint on the West Coast, Zorn moved to Manhattan and gave concerts in his apartment and other small NY venues playing saxophone and a variety of reeds, duck calls, tapes, and other instruments. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York [15] He founded the Theatre of Musical Optics, a performance art collaborative, in 1975 and became a major participant in the fertile, experimental downtown music scene as a composer, performer and producer of music that challenges the confines of any single musical genre. This article is about Performance art For other uses see Performance (disambiguation Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together toward an intersection of common goals — for example an intellectual A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance The performing arts are those forms of Art which differ from the Plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own Body, Face and presence In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other [16] Zorn later used the term 'Theatre of Musical Optics' as the publishing company for his compositions.
Early composition
.jpg/150px-Archery_(album).jpg)
Zorn's early major compositions included several "game pieces", which he describes as "complex systems harnessing improvisers in flexable compositional formats". Game piece is a concept of Experimental music having its roots with composers Christian Wolff (composer and John Zorn. [17] These works, in which groups of performers improvise while following certain structural rules, were often named after sports, and include Baseball (1976), Lacrosse (1976), Dominoes (1977), Curling (1977), Golf (1977), Hockey (1978), Cricket (1978), Fencing (1978), Pool (1979), and Archery (1979) which was recorded at Martin Bisi's studio. Lacrosse is a double Live album by John Zorn. It is made up of different takes his early Game piece, "Lacrosse" Hockey is an album by John Zorn featuring his early " Game piece " composition of the same name Pool is an album by John Zorn featuring his early "game piece" composition of the same name Archery is an album by John Zorn featuring his early "game piece" composition of the same name Martin Bisi is an American producer and Songwriter. He is known for recording seminal records by Sonic Youth, John Zorn, His most enduring "game piece" is Cobra (1984) which Zorn first released in 1987, recorded in subsequent versions in 1994 and 1995, and has revisited in performance many times. Cobra is an unpublished but recorded and frequently performed Musical composition by John Zorn that was conceived as a system with very detailed rules but with no [18][19][20] These compositions use cues, rules, and strategies to combine and contrast improvisations in various, sometimes extreme, ways, enlisting the talents of many downtown musicians in large ensembles for performances of these pieces. A theatrical cue is the trigger for an action to be carried out at a specific time A Strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, most often "winning Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of Downtown music is a subdivision of American music. The scene the term describes began in 1960 when Yoko Ono — one of the Fluxus artists at that time Zorn discusses his history and the musical philosophy behind his early works in the book Talking Music by William Duckworth. William Duckworth (born 1943 is an American Composer who also is an author educator and Internet pioneer [21]
Zorn's first solo saxophone (and duck call) recordings were originally released in two volumes as The Classic Guide to Strategy in 1983 and 1986 on the Lumina label. The Classic Guide to Strategy is a compilation album by John Zorn featuring his two early solo records The Classic Guide to Strategy Volume One (1983 (tracks 1-2 Zorn's early small group improvisations are documented on Locus Solus (1983) which featured Zorn with various combinations of other improvisers including Christian Marclay, Arto Lindsay, Wayne Horvitz, Ikue Mori, and Anton Fier. Locus Solus is an album of improvisations by John Zorn and other musicians Christian Marclay (born 1955 is an American Visual artist and Composer based in New York. Arto Lindsay (born May 28, 1953, Richmond, Virginia) is an American Guitarist, Singer, record producer and experimental Wayne Horvitz (born 1955 is a Composer, Keyboardist and producer (b 17 Dec 1953, Tokyo, Japan) is a Drummer, Composer, and Graphic designer Anton Fier, aka "Andy Fisher" (born June 20, 1956) is an American Drummer, Composer and Bandleader. Ganryu Island featured a series of duets by Zorn with Satoh Michihiro on shamisen, which received limited release on the Yukon label in 1984. Ganryu Isalnd is an album by John Zorn featuring improvisations with Satoh Michihiro. The shamisen or samisen ( Japanese: 三[[wiktionary 味|味]] 線, literally "three flavor strings" also called sangen (literally Zorn has subsequently released these recordings as CDs on Tzadik making them more widely available than the original vinyl pressings. Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music.
Breakthrough recordings
Zorn's breakthrough recording was 1985's The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone, where Zorn offered radical arrangements of the Roman composer's themes from movies including The Big Gundown, A Fistful of Dynamite, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America. The Big Gundown is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn. The Big Gundown is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn. Ennio Morricone OMRI (born November 10, 1928) is an acclaimed Italian Academy Award -winning composer Orchestration is the study or practice of writing Music for Orchestra (or more loosely for any Musical ensemble) or of adapting for orchestra music composed The Big Gundown ( Italian title La resa dei conti - roughly Account Rendered) is a 1966 Spaghetti A Fistful of Dynamite is a 1971 Spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone (original Italian title Giù la Testa Once Upon a Time in the West ( Italian title C'Era una Volta il West) is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western Once Upon a Time in America (Italian title C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 Crime film directed by Sergio Leone The Big Gundown was endorsed by Morricone who is quoted as saying "This is a record that has fresh, good and intelligent ideas. It is realization on a high level, a work done by a maestro with great science-fantasy and creativity. . . Many people have done versions of my pieces, but no one has done them like this". [22] Zorn's versions of Morricone's compositions incorporated elements of traditional Japanese music, soul jazz, and other diverse musical genres. The modern Japanese music scene includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern ranging from rock electro punk folk metal reggae salsa and tango Soul jazz was a development of Hard bop which incorporated strong influences from Blues, Gospel and Rhythm and blues in music for small This list is split into four separate pages List of styles of music A-F List of styles of music G-M List of styles of music N-R Zorn's 15th Anniversary re-release of the album featured additional explorations of Morricone's work.
He first released the composition 'Godard', a tribute to French film-maker Jean-Luc Godard whose jump-cut technique inspired Zorn's compositional approach, on the French tribute album The Godard Fans: Godard Ca Vous Chante? in 1986. Jean-Luc Godard (French ʒɑ̃lyk gɔˈdaʀ (born on December 3 1930 is a French and Swiss Filmmaker and one of the founding members of the Nouvelle Vague A jump cut is a cut in Film editing where the middle section of a continuous shot is removed and the beginning and end of the shot are then joined together This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A tribute album is a recorded collection of Cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions Zorn followed this with his second major-label release Spillane in 1987 composed of three different tribute compositions. Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, comprised of three 'file-card' pieces as well as a work for voice string A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or as was often case in historical contexts of submission The title track featured text by Arto Lindsay set to an array of sonic film noir references, 'Two-Lane Highway' a blues-based form to highlight the guitar of Albert Collins and 'Forbidden Fruit', Zorn's tribute to a Japanese film star, performed by the Kronos Quartet. Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation Albert Collins ( October 1 1932 — November 24 1993 Career Born in Leona, Texas After falling Kronos Quartet is a String quartet founded by Violinist David Harrington in 1973 Further exploration of film noir themes were recorded for radio plays and released by Zorn as The Bribe: variations and extensions on Spillane (1998). Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation The Bribe variations and extensions on Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, consisting of music created for 'Godard' and 'Spillane' were re-released as a single CD, Godard/Spillane, on Tzadik in 1999. Godard/Spillane is a compilation album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn consisting of music created through Zorn's file-card compositional Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music.
These pieces are described by Zorn as "file-card compositions", a method of combining composition and improvisation in which Zorn would write down a description of what he wanted on file-cards and arrange them to form the piece. [23] This method of organizing sound blocks into an overall structure was still largely dependent on the musicians he chose, and the way they interpreted what was written on the file cards.
Jazz interpreter
Beginning in 1986 Zorn participated in several projects focused on modern jazz composers which highlighted his saxophone style. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States These included Voodoo (1986) by The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet, with Wayne Horvitz, Ray Drummond and Bobby Previte and Spy vs Spy (1989) featuring hardcore punk-informed interpretations of Ornette Coleman's music performed by Zorn and Tim Berne on saxophones, Mark Dresser on bass and Joey Baron and Michael Vatcher on drums. Voodoo is an album by The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet which comprises John Zorn on Alto saxophone, Wayne Horvitz on keyboards Ray Drummond Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark ( July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American Hard bop Pianist. Wayne Horvitz (born 1955 is a Composer, Keyboardist and producer Ray Drummond (born November 23, 1946 in Brookline Massachusetts) is a jazz bassist and teacher Robert "Bobby" Previte (born July 16, 1951, Niagara Falls New York) is a Drummer, Composer and Bandleader. Spy vs Spy The Music of Ornette Coleman is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, featuring the compositions of Ornette Hardcore punk (now usually referred to as simply hardcore) is a subgenre of Punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s Ornette Coleman (born March 9, 1930) is an American saxophonist Violinist Trumpeter and Composer. Tim Berne (born 1954 is an American Jazz Saxophone player and Composer. Mark Dresser (b 1952 in Los Angeles) is an American virtuoso Double bass player and composer Joey Baron (born June 26 1955 in Richmond Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer probably best known for his work with [24] News for Lulu (1988) and More News for Lulu (1992) featured Zorn, Bill Frisell and George Lewis performing compositions by Kenny Dorham, Sonny Clark, Freddie Redd, and Hank Mobley. News for Lulu is an album of Hard bop compositions performed by John Zorn, George Lewis and Bill Frisell. More News for Lulu is the second album of Hard bop compositions performed by John Zorn, George Lewis and Bill Frisell. William Richard "Bill" Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American Guitarist and Composer. George E Lewis (born 1952 in Chicago) is a Trombone player composer and scholar in the fields of jazz and experimental music McKinley Howard (Kenny Dorham ( August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American Jazz Trumpeter, Singer Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark ( July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American Hard bop Pianist. Freddie Redd (born May 29, 1928 - New York) is an American Hard bop Pianist and Composer. Henry (Hank Mobley ( July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American Hard bop and Soul jazz tenor Saxophonist He performed on two recordings by organist Big John Patton - Blue Planet Man (1993) and Minor Swing (1995) and contributed to the Sax Legends series (later re-released as The Colossal Saxophone Sessions) in 1993 with a version of Wayne Shorter's composition "Devil's Island" alongside Lee Konitz, who Zorn has described as "one of my all-time heroes". Jon Patton (born July 12, 1935 in Kansas City Missouri, died March 19, 2002 in Montclair New Jersey) sometimes nicknamed Blue Planet Man is a 1993 album by organist Big John Patton which features John Zorn. Wayne Shorter (born August 25 1933) is an American Jazz Composer and Saxophonist, commonly regarded as one of the Lee Konitz (b October 13, 1927) is an American Jazz Composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago Illinois [25]
While Zorn is often considered a jazz musician his schema is considerably broader. He stated "The term “jazz,” per se, is meaningless to me in a certain way. Musicians don’t think in terms of boxes. I know what jazz music is. I studied it. I love it. But when I sit down and make music, a lot of things come together. And sometimes it falls a little bit toward the classical side, sometimes it falls a little bit towards the jazz, sometimes it falls toward rock, sometimes it doesn’t fall anywhere, it’s just floating in limbo. But no matter which way it falls, it’s always a little bit of a freak. It doesn’t really belong anywhere. It’s something unique, it’s something different, it’s something out of my heart. It’s not connected with those traditions. " [26]
Film music
Zorn has written music for documentaries, underground films, television advertisements and cartoons which are documented in the Filmworks albums on the Tzadik label. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style genre or financing A television advertisement or television commercial (often just commercial or advert (US or ad (UK is a span of television programming produced An animated cartoon is a short hand-drawn (or made with computers to look similar to something hand-drawn Film for the cinema, Television or computer Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music. Some of these film scores are jazz-influenced, others classical, and most feature ensembles comprised of rotating combinations of downtown musicians. A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Downtown music is a subdivision of American music. The scene the term describes began in 1960 when Yoko Ono — one of the Fluxus artists at that time Zorn has often used his cinematic and television commissions to experiment with line-ups and forms that would become more established parts of his musical canon.
Zorn stated that "After my record The Big Gundown came out I was convinced that a lot of soundtrack work was going to be coming my way". [27] While Hollywood acclaim was not forthcoming he attracted the attention of many independent filmmakers. An independent film, or indie film, is a film that is produced outside of the Hollywood Studio system, a series of oligopolistic practices by several The first director to commission him was Rob Schwebber for the 1986 short White And Lazy. His work for Sheila McLaughlin's film, She Must Be Seeing Things (1986), featured the future members of Naked City. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. In 1990 he composed the soundtrack for the Raul Ruiz film The Golden Boat. Raúl Ruiz (born 25 July 1941 in Puerto Montt, Chile) is a Chilean filmmaker and one of the most prolific filmmakers of All these soundtracks appeared on Filmworks 1986-1990 along with a sixty-four second interpretation of the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly which was first relased on Nonesuch Records and subsequently on Tzadik. Filmworks 1986-1990 features the first released film scores of John Zorn. The Good the Bad and the Ugly ( Il Buono il Brutto il Cattivo) is a 1966 Italian epic Spaghetti western film directed Nonesuch Records is an American Record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through WEA International with business affairs handled Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music.
Zorn's second Filmworks release documented his Music for an Untitled Film by Walter Hill (1996) which was composed for the film Trespass (1992) but replaced by a score by Ry Cooder. Trespass is a 1992 action Crime film directed by Walter Hill, and starring Bill Paxton, Ice Cube, Ryland "Ry" Peter Cooder (born 15 March 1947, in Los Angeles, California) is an American Guitarist, Singer, and [28] Filmworks III: 1990-1995 (1997) featured the first recordings by the Masada lineup for Joe Chappelle's Thieves Quartet (1993) along with early drafts for the Cynical Hysterie Hour project, duets with Marc Ribot which featured in Mei-Juin Chen's Hollywood Hotel (1994), and a series of commercial soundtracks for the advertising firm Weiden and Kennedy, including one directed by Jean-Luc Godard - a long-term Zorn inspiration. Filmworks III 1990-1995 features the scores for film and advertisements by John Zorn. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Filmworks VII Cynical Hysterie Hour is a 1989 album by John Zorn featuring music written for a a series of Japanese animated shorts that were created by Kiriko Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer. A television advertisement or television commercial (often just commercial or advert (US or ad (UK is a span of television programming produced Wieden+Kennedy (W+K earlier spelled Wieden & Kennedy) is an independently owned American Advertising agency best known for its work for Nike Jean-Luc Godard (French ʒɑ̃lyk gɔˈdaʀ (born on December 3 1930 is a French and Swiss Filmmaker and one of the founding members of the Nouvelle Vague Filmworks IV: S&M + More (1997) featured music to films directed by Hiroki Ryuichi, Maria Beatty, Kim Su Tieler, and Jalal Toufic. Maria Beatty is an internationally acclaimed Filmmaker born in Caracas Venezuela from New York City New York and currently based in Paris who has been directing Jalal Toufic is a Lebanese artist filmmaker and author of Undying Love or Love Dies born to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother Filmworks V: Tears of Ecstasy (1996) consists of 48 sound cues lasting around one minute which were recorded in a single day for a film by Japanese underground director Hiroyuki Oki and performed by Zorn with Cyro Baptista on percussion and the guitars of Marc Ribot and Robert Quine. Filmworks V Tears of Ecstasy is a film score by John Zorn. The album was released on Zorn's own label Tzadik Records, in 1997 Cyro Baptista (born December 23, 1950) is a Brazilian musician teacher and recording artist specializing in percussion in the genres of Jazz and Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer. Robert W Quine ( December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004) was an American Guitarist, known for his innovative Guitar solos Filmworks VI: 1996 contains three soundtracks produced in 1996 for Dina Waxman's Anton, Mailman, Henry Hills' Mechanics Of The Brain, and Maria Beatty's The Black Glove. Filmworks VI 1996 features three scores for film by John Zorn. Maria Beatty is an internationally acclaimed Filmmaker born in Caracas Venezuela from New York City New York and currently based in Paris who has been directing
Filmworks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour re-released the themes that Zorn produced for a Japanese cartoon which had only been previously available in limited release in Japan. Filmworks VII Cynical Hysterie Hour is a 1989 album by John Zorn featuring music written for a a series of Japanese animated shorts that were created by Kiriko Zorn regained the rights to these recordings by trading a booking at The Knitting Factory to Sony executives. The Knitting Factory is a New York City, Hollywood, Boise, and Spokane music club and concert house originally specializing in Jazz is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with [29] Filmworks VIII: 1997 features music for Joan Grossman and Paul Rosdy's documentary Port Of Last Resort (1998), which detailed the experiences of Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai during the years preceding World War II, performed by the Masada String Trio with the addition of Min Xiao-Fen (pipa), Marc Ribot (guitar) and Anthony Coleman (piano) as well as the soundtrack to Ela Troyano's Latin Boys Go To Hell performed by Cyro Baptista and Kenny Wollesen on drums and percussion. The pipa ( is a plucked Chinese String instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese Lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body
Zorn's next soundtrack work did not appear until 2001 with Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d featuring music for an award winning documentary about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski. Trembling Before G-d ( 2001) is a Documentary film about Gay and Lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality Sandi Simcha DuBowski is an American director and producer Best known for his work on Homosexuality and religion, DuBowski directed the 2001 documentary Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2001) features music for Martina Kudlacek’s documentary on the life and work of underground film legend Maya Deren. The documentary In the Mirror of Maya Deren ( Im Spiegel der Maya Deren, 2002) is a film about Avant garde filmmaker Maya Deren Maya Deren ( April 29, 1917, Kiev – October 13, 1961, New York City) born Eleanora Derenkowsky, was an
The following year, 2002, was a very productive one for Zorn's cinematic scores. Filmworks XI: Secret Lives (2002) featured the Masada String Trio with Jamie Saft (piano) and Vanessa Saft (vocals) performing music for Aviva Slesin’s documentary film on Jewish children hidden from the Nazis. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Filmworks XII (2002) features music for three documentaries; Charles Dennis’ Homecoming: Celebrating Twenty Years of Dance at PS 122 is performed by Zorn on keyboards and glass harmonica with Mark Feldman (violin), Jennifer Charles (vocals) and Jamie Saft (wurlitzer); the soundtrack to Shaolin Ulysses, a film by Martha Burr and Mei-Juin Chen about Shaolin Monks in America performed by Min Xiao-Fen on pipa, Marc Ribot on guitar, Trevor Dunn on bass, and Roberto Rodriguez and Cyro Baptista on percussion; and variations on the theme for Family Found, a documentary on outsider artist Morton Bartlett directed by Emily Harris, performed by cellist Erik Friedlander and vocalist Jennifer Charles. Performance Space 122, also known as PS 122, is a not-for-profit arts organization and one of the oldest Off-off-Broadway theaters in New York City. The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, hydrocrystalophone, or simply armonica (derived from "armonia" the Italian The Wurlitzer electric piano was one of a series of electromechanical stringless pianos manufactured and marketed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company Corinth The pipa ( is a plucked Chinese String instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese Lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body Morton Bartlett ( Boston, 1903-1992 was one of the most notable 20th century outsider artists who worked in photography Zorn released his third soundtrack of 2002 with Filmworks XIII: Invitation to a Suicide, written for Loren Marsh's black comedy and performed by Rob Burger on accordion, Trevor Dunn on bass, Erik Friedlander on cello, Marc Ribot on guitar, and Kenny Wollesen on vibraphone, marimba and drums. Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded The accordion is a portable box-shaped Musical instrument of the hand-held Bellows -driven free-reed aerophone family sometimes referred to as a Squeezebox Trevor Roy Dunn (born January 30, 1968) is an American musician The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. Erik Friedlander is an American Cellist and composer based in New York City. The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Kenny Wollesen is a drummer and percussionist based in New York City The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a Musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family In some parts of Africa the term "marimba" refers to the Kalimba. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells
Filmworks XIV: Hiding and Seeking (2003) again featured Trevor Dunn on bass, Marc Ribot on guitar, and Kenny Wollesen on vibraphone, as well as Cyro Baptista on percussion and vocals by Ganda Suthivarakom providing the soundtrack to Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky's documentary about an Orthodox Jewish father attempting to alert his sons of the dangers of creating barriers between themselves and those outside their faith. Hiding and Seeking Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust is 2004 Documentary film about Menachem Daum, an Orthodox Jew and Trevor Roy Dunn (born January 30, 1968) is an American musician The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Kenny Wollesen is a drummer and percussionist based in New York City The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a Musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family Cyro Baptista (born December 23, 1950) is a Brazilian musician teacher and recording artist specializing in percussion in the genres of Jazz and Oren Rudavsky (born c 1957 is an award-winning documentary filmmaker specializing in work on religion ouside the mainstream [30]
Filmworks XV: The Protocols of Zion released in 2005 was Zorn's first album exclusively featuring him on keyboards with Cyro Baptista on percussion, and Shanir Ezra Blumenkranzon on bass and oud providing music for a documentary film by Marc Levin about a resurgence of antisemitism in the United States in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Protocols of Zion is a 2005 Documentary film by Marc Levin about a resurgence of Antisemitism in the United States in the Cyro Baptista (born December 23, 1950) is a Brazilian musician teacher and recording artist specializing in percussion in the genres of Jazz and The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The oud ( عود ʿūd, plural أعواد, a‘wād; kaban; Persian: بربط barbat; ud Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality Marc Levin (born in 1951 is a Jewish American Filmmaker who is perhaps best known for his film Slam (1998 which won Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Filmworks XVI: Workingman's Death (2005) again featured keyboard work by Zorn with Blumenkranzon, Baptista, and Ikue Mori on electronic percussion performing themes for Michael Glawogger's documentary portraying hazardous employment undertaken in the Ukraine, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and China. (b 17 Dec 1953, Tokyo, Japan) is a Drummer, Composer, and Graphic designer
Filmworks XVII (2006) featured music for Martina Kudlacek's documentary Notes on Marie Menken intertwined with Zorn's percussive score for Beth Cataldo's portrait Ray Bandar: A Life with Skulls. Marie Menkevicius ( 25 May 1909 in New York City, New York - 29 December 1970) was an American experimental filmmaker and Ray Bandar (1922 - is a Scientist, Researcher, Teacher, Naturalist, and Artist living in the San Francisco, California Filmworks XVIII: The Treatment (2006) featured music for Oren Rudavsky's romantic comedy based around the tango music of Astor Piazolla and performed by Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on bass, Rob Burger on accordion, Mark Feldman on violin and Kenny Wollesen on vibraphone. Oren Rudavsky (born c 1957 is an award-winning documentary filmmaker specializing in work on religion ouside the mainstream Tango is a style of music that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay. Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla ( March 11, 1921 &ndash July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango Composer and The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The accordion is a portable box-shaped Musical instrument of the hand-held Bellows -driven free-reed aerophone family sometimes referred to as a Squeezebox Mark Feldman (born 1955 in Chicago Illinois, United States is a Jazz Violinist Feldman worked in Chicago from 1973 to 1980 and in Nashville Tennessee The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member Kenny Wollesen is a drummer and percussionist based in New York City The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a Musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family
Filmworks XIX: The Rain Horse (2008) was written for an animated children's film by Russian director Dimitri Gellar and featured Greg Cohen on bass, Erik Friedlander on cello and Rob Burger on piano. The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. Erik Friedlander is an American Cellist and composer based in New York City. The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers
Hardcore
.jpg/150px-John_Zorn-Naked_City_(album_cover).jpg)
Zorn established Naked City in 1988 as a 'compositional workshop' to test the limitations of a rock band format. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. [31] Featuring Zorn on saxophone, Bill Frisell (guitars), Fred Frith (bass), Wayne Horvitz (keyboards), Joey Baron (drums), and occasional vocals from Yamatsuka Eye, Bob Dorough, and later Mike Patton, Naked City incorporated Zorn's appreciation of hardcore bands like Agnostic Front and Napalm Death with his other influences and experimented with compositional form and cover versions. William Richard "Bill" Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American Guitarist and Composer. Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Wayne Horvitz (born 1955 is a Composer, Keyboardist and producer Joey Baron (born June 26 1955 in Richmond Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer probably best known for his work with real name, born 1964 in Kobe) is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist best known as a member of Boredoms. Bob Dorough (born December 12 1923) is an American Bebop and Cool jazz Pianist, Composer and Vocalese singer Michael Allan Patton (born January 27 1968) is an American singer Songwriter, Composer, multi-instrumentalist and Video Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Agnostic Front is an American band that formed Napalm Death are In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released [32]
Named after a 1945 book of graphic black and white photographs by Weegee the band performed an aggressive mix of jazz, rock, blues, country music, and thrash metal later combined with classical compositions and ambient music styles. Weegee was the Pseudonym of Arthur Fellig ( June 12 1899 – Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Thrash metal (sometimes referred to simply as thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes Zorn has stated that "Naked City stated with rhythm and blues/Spillane type things then went into this hard-core thing. . . because I was living in Japan and experiencing a lot of alienation and rejection. . . My interest in hard-core also spurred the urge to write shorter and shorter pieces. "[33] Following the release of their self-titled album Naked City released Torture Garden a collection of 42 'hardcore miniatures'; intense brief compositions often lasting less than a minute, in 1989. Naked City is an album released in 1989 by John Zorn, featuring the band of the same name. Torture Garden is a compilation album by John Zorn 's band Naked City featuring Yamatsuka Eye on vocals Some of these tracks had featured on Naked City and others would resurface on the bands next full-length release, Grand Guignol (1992), which also included performances of works by Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin, Orlande de Lassus, Charles Ives, and Olivier Messiaen. Naked City is an album released in 1989 by John Zorn, featuring the band of the same name. Grand Guignol is the second full-length studio album released by John Zorn 's band Naked City in 1992 on the Japanese Avant label Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Скря́бин Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin; sometimes transliterated as Skriabin Orlande de Lassus (also Orlandus Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, Roland de Lassus, or Roland Delattre) (1532 (possibly 1530 &ndash June Charles Edward Ives (October 20 1874 – May 19 1954 was an American Composer of modernist Classical music. Olivier Messiaen ( December 10 1908 &ndash April 27 1992 was a French Composer, organist and ornithologist. The band's third album, Heretic (1992), featured more of these short improvisations produced for the soundtrack of an underground S/M film Jeux des Dames Cruelles. Underground culture, or just underground, is a term to describe various Alternative cultures which either consider themselves different from the Mainstream Sadism refers to Sexual or non-sexual gratification in the infliction of Pain or humiliation upon or by another person The band released a second EP, Leng Tch'e, in 1992 featuring a single composition which lasted just over half an hour. An extended play ( EP) is a Vinyl record, CD, or Music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify Leng Tch'e is the fourth release from John Zorn 's band Naked City. Radio was released in 1993, was the first Naked City album composed solely by Zorn, and featured tracks drawing on a wide range of musical influences including Charles Mingus, Little Feat, Ruins, Booker T. and the M.G.'s, Colin Wilson, Albert King, Chuck Brown, Orchestra Baobab, the Accüsed, the Meters, Tony Williams' Lifetime, Anton Webern, Sammy Cahn, Frank Sinatra, Morton Feldman, Igor Stravinsky, the Melvins, Beatmasters, Septic Death, Abe Schwartz, Ivo Papasov, Naftule Brandwein, Repulsion, Led Zeppelin, Bernard Herrmann, Santana, Extreme Noise Terror, Conway Twitty, Siege, Ornette Coleman, Corrosion of Conformity, Massacre, Quincy Jones, Sam Fuller, Funkadelic, Carcass, Liberace, Jan Hammer, Eddie Blackwell, Charlie Haden, Mick Harris, Carole King, Red Garland, Boredoms, Jerry Reed, SPK and Roger Williams in addition to Zorn's previously identified touchstones. This article is about a recorded album for other uses see Radio (disambiguation. Charles Mingus ( 22 April 1922 &ndash 5 January 1979) was an American Jazz Bassist, Composer, Little Feat is an American band formed by Singer-songwriter, Frontman and Guitarist Lowell George and keyboard player Bill Ruins is a Japanese Experimental rock duo of Drum set and electric bass guitar. Colin Henry Wilson (born June 26, 1931 in Leicester) is a prolific British writer Albert King ( April 25 1923 &ndash December 21 1992) was an American Blues Guitarist and Singer For the New Age musician see Chuck Brown (New Age musician. Chuck Brown (born 1934 is an African-American Jazz The Accüsed is a Thrashcore and Crossover thrash band from Seattle WA. The Meters were an American Funk band based in New Orleans Louisiana. The Tony Williams Lifetime was a jazz-rock fusion group led by Jazz Drummer Tony Williams. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Anton Webern (December 3 1883 &ndash September 15 1945 was an Austrian Composer Sammy Cahn ( June 18, 1913 &ndash January 15, 1993) was a 4-time Academy Award -winning American lyricist songwriter Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor Morton Feldman (January 12 1926 – September 3 1987 was an American Composer, born in New York City. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to The Melvins is an American Sludge metal band that usually perform as a Power trio. Beatmasters is a team of Dance music Songwriters, Musicians and producers who were highly successful in the UK during the late Septic Death (Boise Idaho was a Hardcore punk band fronted by artist Brian " Pushead " Schroeder on vocals Abe Schwartz (1881-1963 was a well-known Klezmer musician of the 1920s Ivo Papazov (Иво Папазов (born 16 February 1952 in Kardzhali) nicknamed Ibryama (bg Ибряма is a Bulgarian Naftule Brandwein, or Naftuli Brandwine, (1884&ndash1963 was a Jewish Clarinetist and one of the most influential figures in the history of Klezmer Repulsion were an early Grindcore / Death metal band from Flint Michigan. Led Zeppelin were Bernard Herrmann ( June 29, 1911 &ndash December 24, 1975) was an American composer noted for his work in Motion pictures. Santana is a flexible number of musicians accompanying Carlos Santana since the late 1960s Extreme Noise Terror (often abbreviated to ENT) are a Crust punk and Grindcore band originally from Ipswich, England. Conway Twitty (born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, September 1 1933; died June 5 1993) was one of the United States ' most successful Siege was an influential American Hardcore punk group from Weymouth Massachusetts. Ornette Coleman (born March 9, 1930) is an American saxophonist Violinist Trumpeter and Composer. Corrosion of Conformity (also known as COC) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina formed in 1982 Massacre was an improvising and Experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1980 by guitarist Fred Frith, bassist Bill Laswell Quincy Delight Jones Jr (born March 14, 1933) also known as Q, is an American Music Impresario, conductor See Samuel Fuller (Mayflower physician for the Mayflower doctor Funkadelic was an African American music band most prominent during the 1970s Carcass are a Grindcore / Death metal act based in Liverpool, England. Wladziu Valentino Liberace He had a twin who died at birth and he was born with a Caul, which in his family as in many societies was taken as a sign of genius and an exceptional Jan Hammer (jan hamɘ (born 17 April 1948, in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, today part of the Czech Republic) is a Ed Blackwell ( October 10, 1929 &ndash October 7, 1992) was an American Free jazz Drummer born in New Orleans Charles Edward Haden (born August 6, 1937) is a Jazz Double bassist probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Michael John Harris (commonly known and credited as Mick Harris or occasionally M Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American Singer, Songwriter, and Pianist. William "Red" Garland ( May 13, 1923 &ndash April 23, 1984) was an American Hard bop Jazz Pianist Boredoms ( (or more recently V∞redoms) is a Noise rock band from Osaka, Japan. Jerry Reed Hubbard ( March 20, 1937 &ndash August 31, 2008) known professionally as Jerry Reed was an American SPK, formed in 1978 in Sydney, Australia, was a 1980s and early 1990s Industrial music and Noise music group Roger Williams (born October 1, 1924) born Louis Weertz, is one of the most popular Pianists in American Popular music A touchstone is a small tablet of dark stone such as Fieldstone, Slate, or Lydite, used for Assaying Precious metal Alloys [34] The final recording from the band Absinthe (1993) featured a blend of ambient noise styled compositions with tracks titled after the works of Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire and other figures in the fin de siècle Decadent movement, and a dedication to Oliver Messiaen. Absinthe is the final recording from the band Naked City. Unlike the band's other Genre -mixing releases the music on Absinthe is consistently Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes Paul-Marie Verlaine (vɛʁˈlɛn March 30, 1844 &ndash January 8, 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist Fin de siècle (fɑ̃ dɛ si'ɛːkl French for ‛end of the century‘ was a cultural movement between 1880 and the beginning of World War I. In 19th century European and especially French literature, Decadence was the name given first by hostile critics and then triumphantly adopted by some writers Olivier Messiaen ( December 10 1908 &ndash April 27 1992 was a French Composer, organist and ornithologist. Zorn disbanded Naked City after this release but briefly reformed the band for a European tour in 2003.
Zorn also formed Painkiller with Bill Laswell on bass and Mick Harris on drums in 1991. Painkiller (also officially known as Pain Killer) is a band originally formed in 1991 Bill Laswell (born February 12, 1955 in Salem Michael John Harris (commonly known and credited as Mick Harris or occasionally M Painkiller's releases also featured short grindcore and free jazz inspired compositions as well as longer dub and ambient styled pieces. For the fictional character with this name see Grindcore (Transformers. For the Ornette Coleman album after which this genre was named see Free Jazz A Collective Improvisation. Dub is a form of music which evolved from Reggae in the late 1960s Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes
Both bands attracted worldwide interest, particularly in Japan, where Zorn had relocated following a three-month residency in Tokyo. [35] Zorn collaborated with, and produced, numerous Japanese 'noise' artists including Merzbow, Otomo Yoshihide, Melt Banana and frequent collaborator Yamatsuka Eye. is a Noise music project created in Tokyo, Japan in 1979 under the direction of musician. is a Japanese Composer and Multi-instrumentalist. He first came to international prominence in the 1980s as the leader of the Noise rock group Melt-Banana is a Japanese Noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast andnoisy music mixed with experimental Electronica that might be described real name, born 1964 in Kobe) is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist best known as a member of Boredoms. Many of these artists have now released albums on Tzadik and some regularly travel to New York to perform.
Releases from both bands were criticized for their graphic album covers. The cover of the eponymous album by Naked City used the Weegee photograph 'Corpse with Revolver C. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Weegee was the Pseudonym of Arthur Fellig ( June 12 1899 – A. 1940' which shows a gangland killing as did their later live album. A gangland killing is a Murder carried out by organized criminals. Naked City Live is the first and only live album released by Naked City. [36] The Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence protested against Zorn because they believed that the images used in the graphic design of Naked City's Torture Garden and Leng Tch'e portrayed degrading images of Asian people. Torture Garden is a compilation album by John Zorn 's band Naked City featuring Yamatsuka Eye on vocals Leng Tch'e is the fourth release from John Zorn 's band Naked City. To avoid problems, Zorn removed the original albums from retail sale and later replaced the artwork with new packaging titled Black Box. Black Box is a compilation album by John Zorn 's band Naked City featuring Yamatsuka Eye on vocals [37] Painkiller's Guts of a Virgin EP was banned in the UK because of the cover photograph and the album Execution Ground was also released with the original cover photograph of a lynching removed. Lynching is an Extrajudicial punishment meted out by a mob Lynching an enumerated Felony in some states in the United States, is defined by some
Zorn left Electra Nonesuch after the company's response to the artwork for Naked City's Grand Guignol releasing the remaining Naked City albums on a Japanese-based label, Avant. Nonesuch Records is an American Record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through WEA International with business affairs handled Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Grand Guignol is the second full-length studio album released by John Zorn 's band Naked City in 1992 on the Japanese Avant label Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. [38] Zorn later re-released the Naked City and Painkiller albums as box sets with restored artwork after forming his own record label.
Zorn recorded Hemophiliac in 2002 with Mike Patton and Ikue Mori which continued his interest in hardcore improvisations. Michael Allan Patton (born January 27 1968) is an American singer Songwriter, Composer, multi-instrumentalist and Video (b 17 Dec 1953, Tokyo, Japan) is a Drummer, Composer, and Graphic designer The first release from this trio was a double CD set which was signed by the performers. Limited to 2,500 copies this album soon became a highly sought after collectors item. [39] The trio also released a live recording as part of Zorn's 50th Anniversary Series.
In 2006 Zorn released two albums of compositions performed by the hardcore voice/bass/drums trio of Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron: Moonchild: Songs Without Words and Astronome. Michael Allan Patton (born January 27 1968) is an American singer Songwriter, Composer, multi-instrumentalist and Video Trevor Roy Dunn (born January 30, 1968) is an American musician Joey Baron (born June 26 1955 in Richmond Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer probably best known for his work with Moonchild Songs Without Words is an 2006 album by John Zorn freaturing performances by Joey Baron, Mike Patton, and Trevor Dunn (sometimes Astronome is an album by John Zorn featuring the "Moonchild Trio" of Joey Baron, Mike Patton and Trevor Dunn. A third album with the trio, but also featuring Zorn, Ikue Mori, Jamie Saft and chorus, Six Litanies for Heliogabalus, was released in 2007. (b 17 Dec 1953, Tokyo, Japan) is a Drummer, Composer, and Graphic designer Jamie Saft is a keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist composer sound engineer and producer living in upstate NY Six Litanies for Heliogabalus is an album by John Zorn. It is the third album to feature the "Moonchild Trio" of Mike Patton, Joey Baron
Concert music
John Zorn has established a diverse repertoire of music written for chamber musicians and orchestras. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well As Zorn's interest in Naked City waned he "started hearing classical music in [his] head again. "[40] Zorn began composing the suites Elegy (dedicated to Jean Genet), which was released in in 1992 and Kristallnacht, which was released in 1993, which both used chamber music arrangements of strings, percussion and electronic instruments. In Music, a suite is an ordered set of Instrumental or Orchestral pieces normally performed in a Concert Elegy is an album by John Zorn. It is a contemporary classical chamber music piece dedicated to Jean Genet consisting of four movements titled after colors Jean Genet (ʒɑ̃ ʒəˈnɛ in French ( –) was a prominent controversial French writer and later political activist. Kristallnacht is an album by John Zorn that is based on the events before during and following the infamous Night of Broken Glass. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber
Zorn was quoted in 1998 as saying "Sometimes I get the feeling that people just don't see me as a composer, but it's what I've always been since I was eight years old. . . I've always thought of myself as a composer, but the world has had a hard time looking at me as a composer because a lot of what I compose is controversial. "[41] The establishment of Tzadik allowed Zorn to release many compositions which he had written, over the previous two decades, for classical ensembles. Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Zorn's earliest released 'classical' composition (for five flutes), 'Christabel' was written in 1972 and first appeared on Angelus Novus in 1998. Redbird (containing new compositions for bass drums and a harp/viola/cello/percussion quartet inspired by Agnes Martin) and The Book of Heads (35 etudes for solo guitar written in 1978 for Eugene Chadbourne and realised by Marc Ribot) were released in 1995 as part of Tzadiks Composer Series. Agnes Martin ( March 22, 1912 &ndash December 16, 2004) was a Canadian - American painter, often referred to as The Book of Heads ( 1978) composed by John Zorn, is a set of 35 Etudes for solo guitar An étude (a French word meaning study) is an instrumental Musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty usually designed to provide practice Eugene Chadbourne ( January 4, 1954 in Mount Vernon New York) is an American, Improvisor, Guitarist and Banjoist Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer. Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music. Zorn credits the composition of his 1988 piece for string quartet "Cat O' Nine Tails", commissioned and originally released by the Kronos Quartet, to awakening him to the possibilities of writing for classical musicians. A string quartet is a Musical ensemble of four String instruments &mdash usually two Violins a Viola and Cello &mdash or a piece Kronos Quartet is a String quartet founded by Violinist David Harrington in 1973 Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music This composition was featured on String Quartets (1999) and Cartoon/S&M (2000) along with variations on "Kol Nidre", inspired by the Jewish prayer of atonement which was written at the same time as (but not part of) the first Masada book. Kol Nidre ( Aramaic: כל נדרי) is a Jewish prayer recited in the Synagogue at the beginning of the evening service on Yom Kippur Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s [42] Duras:Duchamp (1997) consists of two 'tribute' compositions, the first dedicated to Marguerite Duras has four movements lasting roughly thirty-four minutes influenced by the composition of Olivier Messaien, the second "69 Paroxyms for Marcel Duchamp" lasts just over thirteen minutes. Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras (maʀgəʁit dyˈʁas in French ( April 4, 1914 – March 3, 1996) was a French Marcel Duchamp (maʀsɛl dyˈʃɑ̃ (28 July 1887 &ndash 2 October 1968 was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist Aporias (1998) was Zorn's first full-scale orchestral release featuring pianist Stephen Drury, the Hungarian Radio Children's Choir and the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well Stephen Drury (born 1955 is an American Pianist, conductor and Electronic musician. The American Composers Orchestra ( ACO) is an American orchestra based in New York City. Dennis Russell Davies (born 16 April 1944, Toledo, Ohio, US) is an American conductor and pianist
Songs for the Hermetic Theatre (2001) featured four experimental compositions; "American Magus", was Zorn's first piece of electronic music dedicated to Harry Smith; "BeuysBlock", a meditation on the work of Joseph Beuys; "In the Very Eye of Night", a tribute to Maya Deren; and "The Nerve Net", Zorn's first piece of computer music. Harry Smith may refer to Harry Everett Smith (1923–1991 American magus archivist ethnomusicologist student of anthropology record collector experimental Joseph Beuys (ˈjoːzɛf ˈbɔʏs May 12, 1921 – January 23, Maya Deren ( April 29, 1917, Kiev – October 13, 1961, New York City) born Eleanora Derenkowsky, was an Madness, Love and Mysticism (2001) featured "Le Mômo", inspired by Antonin Artaud, performed by Stephen Drury (piano) and Jennifer Choi (violin); "Untitled", dedicated to Joseph Cornell, a cello solo for Erik Friedlander; and "Amour Fou" featuring the trio. Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud ( September 4, 1896, in Marseille – March 4, 1948 in Stephen Drury (born 1955 is an American Pianist, conductor and Electronic musician. Jennifer Choi is an American violinist based in New York City. Joseph Cornell ( December 24, 1903 &ndash December 29, 1972) was an American artist and sculptor one of the pioneers and most celebrated Erik Friedlander is an American Cellist and composer based in New York City. Chimeras (2003) was inspired by Arnold Schoenberg's atonal composition "Pierrot Lunaire". Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds 'Pierrot lunaire ("three times seven poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire'" commonly known as Pierrot Lunaire
Several of Zorn's later concert works drew inspiration from mysticism and the works of Aleister Crowley in particular. Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley (ˈkroʊli (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947 was a British Occultist Writer, mountaineer Magick (2004) featured the Crowley Quartet on "Necronomicon: for string quartet" and "Sortelage" written for two bass clarinets. The Necronomicon is a Fictional book appearing in the stories by horror novelist H Mysterium released in 2005 featured "Orphée" performed by a sextet of flute, viola, harp, harpsichord and electronics; "Frammenti Del Sappho" for female chorus; and "Wulpurgisnacht" for string trio. Rituals (2005) featured Zorn’s five movement opera for mezzo soprano and ten instruments composed for the Bayreuth Opera Festival in 1998. The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of Operas by the 19th century German composer From Silence to Sorcery (2007) features three compositions; "Goetia" consists of eight variations for solo violin performed by Jennifer Choi; "Gris-Gris" is composition for thirteen tuned drums performed by William Winant; and "Shibboleth" is a tribute to Paul Celan scored for clavichord, strings and percussion. Jennifer Choi is an American violinist based in New York City. William Winant is a virtuosic and highly-regarded American percussionist In addition to Contemporary classical music, he has also performed Paul Celan (ˈpaʊl tseˈlaːn November 23, 1920 – approximately April 20, 1970) was the most frequently used Pseudonym of
Zorn's concert works have been performed all over the world and he has received commissions from the New York Philharmonic and Brooklyn Philharmonic. The New York Philharmonic is the oldest active Symphony Orchestra in the United States, organized during 1842 The Brooklyn Philharmonic is an American Orchestra based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. [43]
Masada Books
John Zorn recorded Kristallnacht in November 1992, his premiere work of radical Jewish culture, featuring a suite of seven compositions reflecting the infamous Night of Broken Glass in late 1938 where Jews were targets of violence and destruction in Germany and Austria. Track listing "Jair" &ndash 453 "Bith Aneth" &ndash 624 "Tzofeh" &ndash 513 "Ashnah" &ndash 620 "Tahah" Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Kristallnacht is an album by John Zorn that is based on the events before during and following the infamous Night of Broken Glass. Political radicalism or simply radicalism is adherence to radical views and principles in Politics. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic In Music, a suite is an ordered set of Instrumental or Orchestral pieces normally performed in a Concert Kristallnacht ( literally "Crystal night" or the Night of Broken Glass was a Pogrom in Nazi Germany on November 9–10 1938 [44] The experience prompted Zorn to further explore his Jewish heritage and led to an interest in Jewish musical styles. [45] Zorn then set himself the task of writing 100 compositions within a year incorporating klezmer styles with his already broad musical palette. See also Secular Jewish music Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר kley - instrument and zemer - song etymologically from Within three years the number of compositions had grown to 200 and became known as the first Masada book. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s The initial releases featuring this compositional approach were ten albums by Masada appearing on the Japanese DIW label from 1994. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Masada (later referred to as 'acoustic' Masada) was an Ornette Coleman-inspired quartet with Zorn on saxophone, Joey Baron (drums), Dave Douglas (trumpet), and Greg Cohen (bass) that band played jazz-styled compositions based on Sephardic scales and rhythms. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Ornette Coleman (born March 9, 1930) is an American saxophonist Violinist Trumpeter and Composer. Joey Baron (born June 26 1955 in Richmond Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer probably best known for his work with Dave Douglas (born March 24, 1963) is a US Jazz Trumpeter and Composer whose music is notable for drawing on many Greg Cohen is a Jazz bassist He is perhaps best known for his work with John Zorn 's Masada quartet; more recently he has been touring with Ornette In Music, a scale is a group of musical notes collected in ascending and descending order that provides material for or is used to conveniently represent part or all [46] The original Masada albums were titled after the first ten letters of the Hebrew Alphabet; Alef, Beit, Gimel, Dalet, Hei, Vav, Zayin, Het, Tet and Yod and contained compositions with Hebrew titles. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s The Hebrew alphabet (אָלֶף-בֵּית עִבְרִי alephbet ’ivri) consists of 22 letters used for writing the Hebrew language. Track listing "Jair" &ndash 453 "Bith Aneth" &ndash 624 "Tzofeh" &ndash 513 "Ashnah" &ndash 620 "Tahah" Masada Beit is a 1995 Album by American Jazz Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Gimel is a 1995 Album by American Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Dalet is a 1995 Album by American Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Dalet is a 1995 Album by American Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Vav is a 1995 Album by American Jazz Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Zayin is a 1996 Album by American Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Het is a 1997 Album by American Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Tet is a 1998 Album by American Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Masada Yod is a 1998 Album by American Composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Further releases by Masada consisted of live performances of the band recorded around the world. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s The Masada quartet performed at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in March 2007 for what were billed as their final concerts. Masada ( Hebrew מצדה pronounced Metzada, from מצודה metzuda, "fortress" is the name for a site of ancient Palaces and [47]
The Masada Book has been performed in different arrangements by many combinations of musicians. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s The Masada String Trio comprised of Greg Cohen (bass), Mark Feldman (violin), and Erik Friedlander (cello) regularly performs and records the material. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Greg Cohen is a Jazz bassist He is perhaps best known for his work with John Zorn 's Masada quartet; more recently he has been touring with Ornette Mark Feldman (born 1955 in Chicago Illinois, United States is a Jazz Violinist Feldman worked in Chicago from 1973 to 1980 and in Nashville Tennessee Erik Friedlander is an American Cellist and composer based in New York City. This group, with the addition of Marc Ribot (guitar), Cyro Baptista (percussion), and Joey Baron (drums) performs as the Bar Kohkba Sextet. Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer. Cyro Baptista (born December 23, 1950) is a Brazilian musician teacher and recording artist specializing in percussion in the genres of Jazz and Joey Baron (born June 26 1955 in Richmond Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer probably best known for his work with Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Electric Masada, the most recent regular Masada ensemble usually features Zorn, Baptista, Baron, and Ribot, along with Trevor Dunn (bass), Ikue Mori (electronics), Jamie Saft (keyboards) and Kenny Wollesen (drums). Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Trevor Roy Dunn (born January 30, 1968) is an American musician (b 17 Dec 1953, Tokyo, Japan) is a Drummer, Composer, and Graphic designer Jamie Saft is a keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist composer sound engineer and producer living in upstate NY Kenny Wollesen is a drummer and percussionist based in New York City
A Tenth Anniversary Series of Masada recordings was released by Zorn beginning in 2003. The series featured five albums of Masada themes including Masada Guitars by Marc Ribot/Bill Frisell/Tim Sparks, Masada Recital by Mark Feldman & Sylvie Courvoisier, Masada Rock by Rashanim and two albums featuring various artists - Voices in the Wilderness and The Unknown Masada. Masada Anniversary Edition Vol 1 Masada Guitars is the first album in a series of five releases celebrating the 10th anniversary of John Zorn 's Masada Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer. William Richard "Bill" Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American Guitarist and Composer. Tim Sparks (born October 31 1954 is an American acoustic guitar player singer arranger and composer Mark Feldman (born 1955 in Chicago Illinois, United States is a Jazz Violinist Feldman worked in Chicago from 1973 to 1980 and in Nashville Tennessee Sylvie Courvoisier is a Swiss composer/pianist Sylvie Courvoisier was born (* November 30 1968 in Lausanne) and raised in Switzerland
In 2004 Zorn began composing the second Masada Book - 'The Book of Angels'which resulted in an additional 300 compositions. [48][49] He has released several albums of Masada Book Two compositions performed by various combinations of musicians. The titles of many Masada Book Two compositions are derived from demonology and Judeo-Christian mythology. Demonology (from Greek grc δαίμων daimōn, "demon" and grc -λογία -logia) is the systematic study of Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian, sometimes written as Judæo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore"
Tzadik record label
In 1992 John Zorn collaborated with the Japanese Disc Union label to curate the Avant imprint, a subsidiary of the DIW jazz label which released the first Masada albums. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Several Naked City recordings were released through the Avant label as well as many others on which Zorn featured downtown musicians including Derek Bailey, Buckethead, Eugene Chadbourne, Dave Douglas, Erik Friedlander, Wayne Horvitz, Ikue Mori, Bobby Previte, Zeena Parkins and Marc Ribot. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Downtown music is a subdivision of American music. The scene the term describes began in 1960 when Yoko Ono — one of the Fluxus artists at that time Derek Bailey ( January 29, 1930 – December 25, 2005) was an English avant-garde Guitarist and leading figure in the Brian Carroll, better known as Buckethead, is an American Guitarist and Songwriter. Eugene Chadbourne ( January 4, 1954 in Mount Vernon New York) is an American, Improvisor, Guitarist and Banjoist Dave Douglas (born March 24, 1963) is a US Jazz Trumpeter and Composer whose music is notable for drawing on many Erik Friedlander is an American Cellist and composer based in New York City. Wayne Horvitz (born 1955 is a Composer, Keyboardist and producer (b 17 Dec 1953, Tokyo, Japan) is a Drummer, Composer, and Graphic designer Robert "Bobby" Previte (born July 16, 1951, Niagara Falls New York) is a Drummer, Composer and Bandleader. Zeena Parkins is a Harpist active in Rock music, Free improvisation and Jazz. Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer.
In 1995, in co-operation with jazz producer Kazunori Sugiyama, Zorn established the Tzadik label to ensure availability of his catalogue and promote experimental musicians. Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music. Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955 He is inspired by other artists and different musical styles, particularly those working in improvised music. Zorn has a special attraction to underground artists and musical styles that are extremely loud, wild, or creative. Tzadik has established a diverse catalogue reflecting Zorn's range of musical influences and influence. Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music. The Tzadik website describes the label as ". Tzadik Records is a Record label based in New York City specialising in Avant-garde and Experimental music. . . dedicated to releasing the best in avant garde and experimental music, presenting a worldwide community of musician-composers who find it difficult or impossible to release their music through conventional channels". [50]
The label's releases are divided into several series. The Archival Series features Zorn's recordings exclusively, including re-releases of several albums that appeared on other labels, Zorn's film work, and recordings from 1973 onwards. He has released several live albums recorded in September 2003 as his 50th Birthday Celebration Series. Zorn's music for 'classical' ensembles appears on the Composer Series along with work by many other contemporary composers. The Radical Jewish Culture Series features contemporary Jewish musicians and the New Japan Series features Japanese underground music. Soundtracks by other musicians appears on the Film Music Series. Zorn also established the Oracle Series featuring women in experimental music, the Key Series for notable avant-garde musicians and projects, and the Lunatic Fringe Series for music and musicians operating outside of the broad categories offered by other series. Tzadik also releases special edition CDs, DVDs, books and T-shirts. Since 1998 the designs of Tzadik releases have been created by graphic artist Heung-Heung "Chippy" Chin. [51]
Music romance
Zorn released Music for Children in 1998. Music for Children is the first release in John Zorn 's Music Romance Series and features three Naked City compositions (written at the time of The album, identified as "Music Romance Volume One" portrayed the broad spectrum of Zorn's compositions. Music for Children opened with a polyrhythmic etude for percussion and celeste, featured three short Naked City compositions, written at the time of Torture Garden, performed by Zorn with the Boston-based band Prelapse, a composition for wind machines and feedback dedicated to Edgard Varese, a classical chamber piece for violin, percussion and piano, and ended with a music box-styled lullaby. An étude (a French word meaning study) is an instrumental Musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty usually designed to provide practice The celesta (pronounced /səˈlɛstə/ or celeste (pronounced /səˈlɛst/ is a struck Idiophone operated by a keyboard. Naked City was an Avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Torture Garden is a compilation album by John Zorn 's band Naked City featuring Yamatsuka Eye on vocals WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse A lullaby is a soothing Song, usually sung to Children before they go to sleep The second "Music Romance" album, Taboo & Exile, was released in 1999 and featured a similar spectrum of broad styles. Taboo and Exile is an album by John Zorn which synthetizes exotica hardcore punk classical jazz surf and world narration into a new prodigious genre One of Zorn's most popular albums was the third in the series, The Gift (2001), which surprised many with its relaxed blend of surf, exotica and world music.
50th birthday celebration
In September 2003 Zorn celebrated his 50th birthday with a month-long series of performances at Tonic in New York, repeating an event he had begun a decade earlier at the Knitting Factory. Tonic was a music venue located at 107 Norfolk Street New York City which opened in 1998 and closed April 2007 The Knitting Factory is a New York City, Hollywood, Boise, and Spokane music club and concert house originally specializing in Jazz [52][53] He conceptualized the month into several different aspects of his musical output. Zorn's bands performed on the weekends, classical ensembles were featured on Sundays, Zorn performed improvisations with other musicians on Mondays, featured his extended compositions on Tuesdays and a retrospective of game pieces on Wednesdays. [54] Many of these live concert performances were released on his 50th Birthday Celebration Series. [55]
Recent projects
Zorn was the principal force in establishing The Stone in 2005, an avant-garde performance space in New York's Alphabet City which supports itself solely on donations and the sale of limited edition CDs, giving all door revenues directly to the performers. [56] Zorn holds the title of artistic director. On Friday April 13, 2007, Zorn played the final night at Tonic, the Lower East Side venue where he played regularly for the previous decade, which closed due to financial pressures. Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Tonic was a music venue located at 107 Norfolk Street New York City which opened in 1998 and closed April 2007 The Lower East Side is a Neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. [57][58][59] On January 10, 2008, Zorn performed with Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson at a special benefit night at The Stone which was also released on The Stone: Issue 3 benefit CD. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Lewis Allan Reed (born March 2 1942 is an American rock Singer-songwriter and Guitarist. Laurie Anderson (born Laura Phillips Anderson, on June 5 1947 in Glen Ellyn Illinois) is an American experimental Performance artist and On February 4, 2008, Zorn premiered his work for three cellists "777" performed by Fred Sherry, Erik Friedlander, and Mike Nicolas at the Guggenheim Museum. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Erik Friedlander is an American Cellist and composer based in New York City. This article refers to the Guggenheim's landmark New York museum Zorn premiered The Dreamers with members of Electric Masada on February 29, 2008 at St Anne's Warehouse in Brooklyn. Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [60] On March 27, 2008, Miller Theater at Columbia University in New York City, which has has been the venue for several premieres of Zorn's concert works, hosted the first performance of a new composition by John Zorn, "The Prophetic Mysteries of Angels, Witches & Demons". Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Miller Theater is located in Augusta Georgia and was built by architect Roy A Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. [61][62]
Publications
In 2000 Zorn edited the book Arcana: Musicians on Music (ISBN 1-887123-27-X) featuring interviews, essays, and commentaries by musicians including Anthony Coleman, Peter Garland, David Mahler, Bill Frisell, Gerry Hemingway, George Lewis, Fred Frith, Eyvind Kang, Mike Patton and Elliott Sharp, on the compositional process. Anthony Coleman (born August 30, 1955) is an American musician Peter Garland (born January 25, 1952 in Portland Maine) is a Composer best known for publishing Soundings Press, one of the few David Mahler is a Hammered dulcimer player from Texas, United States. William Richard "Bill" Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American Guitarist and Composer. Gerry Hemingway (b New Haven, Connecticut, 1955 is an American Jazz composer and percussionist George E Lewis (born 1952 in Chicago) is a Trombone player composer and scholar in the fields of jazz and experimental music Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Eyvind Kang (b Corvallis Oregon, United States, around 1972 ( Enotes Biography is an American Composer, Violinist, Tuba, and Michael Allan Patton (born January 27 1968) is an American singer Songwriter, Composer, multi-instrumentalist and Video Elliott Sharp (b Cleveland, Ohio, March 1, 1951) is an American Multi-instrumentalist, Composer, and Zorn released the second volume of Arcana: Musicians on Music (ISBN 0978833767) in the Summer of 2007. According to the preface by Zorn, "This second installment of what will be a continuing series of books presenting radical, cutting-edge ideas about music is made, like the initial volume, out of necessity. ” This volume contains essays by more than 30 musicians including Annie Gosfield, Trey Spruance, Zeena Parkins, Steve Coleman, Marina Rosenfeld, Carla Kihlstedt, David Douglas, Bill Laswell, Trevor Dunn, and Jewlia Eisenberg. Annie Gosfield (born September 11, 1960 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is a New York Composer who specializes in using detuned or Preston Lea Spruance III or "Trey Spruance" (born 1969 in Eureka California) is an American composer producer and musician Zeena Parkins is a Harpist active in Rock music, Free improvisation and Jazz. Steve Coleman, born, is an American Saxophone player Spontaneous composer, Composer and band leader Carla Kihlstedt, a violinist vocalist and multi-instrumentalist is a founding member of Tin Hat Trio (now renamed Tin Hat Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and The Bill Laswell (born February 12, 1955 in Salem Trevor Roy Dunn (born January 30, 1968) is an American musician Jewlia Eisenberg is an American composer As founder and bandleader of Charming Hostess she coined the term "Nerdy-Sexy-Commie-Girly" to describe her genre of
Legacy and awards
In 2001 John Zorn received the Jewish Cultural Award in Performing Arts from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. The Foundation for Jewish Culture (formerly the National Foundation for Jewish Culture is the leading advocate for Jewish cultural life and creativity in the United States [63] In 2006 Zorn was named a MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship (sometimes Nicknamed the "genius grant") is an award given by the John D [64][65] In 2007, he was the recipient of Columbia University's School of the Arts William Schuman Award, an honor given "to recognize the lifetime achievement of an American composer whose works have been widely performed and generally acknowledged to be of lasting significance. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. William Howard Schuman ( August 4, 1910 – February 15, 1992) was an American " [66]
The character of Stephen Colbert from the TV show The Colbert Report mocked the MacArthur Foundation's award of the Genius Grant to Zorn. The Colbert Report (/kolˈbɛr rəˈpɔr/&mdashthe t is silent in "Colbert" is a Peabody Award and Emmy Award winning American The John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation is a major private grant -making Private foundation based in Chicago that has awarded more than US$4 billion Colbert used a 10-second dissonant excerpt from the 50th Birthday Celebration Series and compared it to his naïve blowing into a saxophone, pleading, "Genius Grant please!"[67]
Discography
Filmography
- Step Across the Border (1990)
- A Bookshelf On Top Of The Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn (2004)
- Masada Live at Tonic 1999 (2004)
- Celestial Subway Lines/Salvaging Noise (2005)
- Sabbath in Paradise (2007)
External links
- Tzadik.com
- The Stone website
- Tzadik myspace
- Tonic Jazz Venue website
- extensive John Zorn Discography (May 2005, 500 kB)
- John Zorn Primer The Wire Issue 156 Feb 1997
- Mailing List
- Zorn Mailing List Archives
- Art of the States: John Zorn
- John Zorn's biography and discography by Scott Maykrantz
- Unofficial John Zorn Homepage maintained by Jamie Graves
- Deconstruction in Music by Marcel Cobussen. Interactive dissertation on deconstruction in the music of John Zorn and others
- John Zorn interview (Hungarian)
- Zorn Message Board
References
- ^ Rockwell J, Zorn Variations on Themes by Morricone, NY Times, November 2, 1986
- ^ Watrous P, 'Spillane,' a Blend of American Styles, NY Times, May 25, 1988
- ^ Rockwell J, As Important As Anyone In His Generation, NY Times, February 21, 1988
- ^ Pareles J, There Are 8 Million Stories in John Zorn's Naked City, NY Times, April 8, 1990
- ^ Jazz Times, March 2000: "One Future Two Views," interview by Bill Milkowski (pp. John Zorn appears on over 400 recordings as a composer or performer Step Across the Border is a 1990 Avant-garde Documentary film on English Guitarist, Composer and improviser 28-35,118-121)
- ^ Watrous, P. John Zorn Takes Over the Town NY Times, February 24, 1989
- ^ Fordham, J. (1993), The Essential Guide to Jazz on CD, Greenwich Editions: London
- ^ liner notes to Nani Nani, (1995) Tzadik: New York
- ^ Helland, D Downbeat.com John Zorn Biography
- ^ Wankoff J John Zorn Biography at http://www.musicianguide.com
- ^ Bourgin, S. M. (ed. ),(1996) Contemporary Musicians, Vol. 15: Zorn, John accessed 26 May, 2008
- ^ Milkowski B (1998) John Zorn interview in Rockers, Jazzbos & Visionaries New York: Watson-Guptill Publications
- ^ Bartlett A Zorn of Plenty Seattle Weekly, June 23, 1999
- ^ Zorn, J (1995) liner notes to John Zorn: First Recordings 1973. New York: Tzadik
- ^ Pareles J, Concert: Sounds of Staley And Zorn, NY Times, December 4, 1983
- ^ Troyano E, John Zorn's Theatre of Musical Optics in The Drama Review: TDR, Vol. 23, No. 4, Private Performance Issue December, 1979, pp. 37-44.
- ^ Zorn, J. The Game Pieces in Cox, C. & Warner, D. , Eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, Continuum Press: New York (ISBN 0826416152)
- ^ Kozinn, A John Zorn and 'Cobra' NY Times, September 3, 1989
- ^ Ross, A Music and Plenty of It: 12 Hours' Worth In Fact NY Times March 15, 1993
- ^ Ratliff, B Stretching the Boundaries of the Things Musicians Do NY Times, August 5, 1996
- ^ Duckworth, W. , Talking Music, (1999), Da Capo Press (ISBN 0-306-80893-5)
- ^ Morricone, E in liner notes to The Big Gundown - 15th Anniversary Edition Tzadik: New York
- ^ Cook, R. & Morton, B. (1992), The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette, Penguin Books
- ^ Rockwell, J. Zorn & Berne Dowtown NY Times, August 22, 1987
- ^ Hamilton, A. (2007) Lee Konitz: Conversations on the Improvisers Art University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor. pp. 6-7.
- ^ Zorn Interview in Jazz Times accessed June 6, 2008
- ^ Zorn, J (1992) liner notes to Filmworks 1986-1990
- ^ Rousell, P (2005) John Zorn Discography
- ^ Zorn, J. , liner notes to Filmworks VII (1997).
- ^ PBS website: Hiding and Seeking - about the film
- ^ Zorn, J. (1993) liner notes to Zornfest program
- ^ Carla Chiti (1998), John Zorn in Sonora. Itinerari Oltre il Suono: John Zorn. Italy: Materiali Sonori Edizioni Musicali.
- ^ McCutchan, A. (1999) The Muse that Sings: Composers Speak about the Creative Process pg. 161, Oxford University Press: New York.
- ^ Zorn, J. , (1993), liner notes to Radio Avant: Japan. This article is about a recorded album for other uses see Radio (disambiguation.
- ^ Goldberg, M. John Zorn Interview, BOMB Magazine, Issue 80, Summer 2002.
- ^ Album credits - Naked City (album) (1990) and Naked City, Live, Vol. Naked City is an album released in 1989 by John Zorn, featuring the band of the same name. 1: Knitting Factory 1989 (2002).
- ^ FAQ for the Zorn Mailing List, September 1997
- ^ Pocci S Naked City at [1]
- ^ extrememusic. com Hemophiliac, undated web page
- ^ McCutchen, A. (1999) The Muse that Sings: Composers Speak about the Creative Process Oxford University Press: New York pg 167
- ^ Yurkin, C. , {http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1998/050798/music1.html Zorn Again!], Montreal Mirror, 7 May, 1998.
- ^ Tomassini A Finding, and Savoring, A Muse in 'McHale's Navy' NY Times December 5, 2001
- ^ liner notes to Madness, Love and Mysticism (2001) Tzadik: New York
- ^ Pareles J Evoking a Terrible Night in 1938, NY Times, December 19, 1992
- ^ Yaffe, D. Learning to Reed, New York Nightlife, April 5, 1999.
- ^ Ratliff, B. True to 60's Rhythms and Jewish Culture, NY Times, June 11, 1999.
- ^ Ratliff B Barricades to Storm, Whether or Not Any Guards Were on Them, NY Times, March 13, 2007
- ^ Ratliff B A Most Prolific Composer Opens His Book of Angels, NY Times, September 12, 2006
- ^ Gilbert, A Music on the Edge San Francisco Chronicle, May 29, 2005
- ^ Tzadik website
- ^ Chelsea Art Gallery website
- ^ Pareles J 40 Years of Restless Music NY Times, September 3, 1993
- ^ Price, E & Roussel, P Zornfest pages at WNUR at www. wnur. org
- ^ Zorn, J. (2003) 50th Birthday Celebration programme
- ^ Davis, F. Overcoming Irony, John Zorn Goes for the Heart, Not for the Easy Kill, Village Voice, March 23, 2004
- ^ Ratliff B For Jazz Musicians and Fans, a (Tiny) Room of Their Own, NY Times, April 5, 2005
- ^ Sisaro B Avant-Garde Music Loses a Lower Manhattan Home, NY Times, March 31, 2007.
- ^ Chinen N Requiem for a Club: Saxophone and Sighs, NY Times, April 16, 2007.
- ^ Romano, T. Dead Again, Village Voice, April 3, 2007.
- ^ Chinen, N. Twangy Tones and Vibes in a Fistful of Nostalgia, NY Times, March 3, 2008.
- ^ Shweitzer, V. A New Music Portfolio, Complete with Twigs, Rice & Grunts, NY Times, October 28, 2006.
- ^ Kuzinn, A. Reaching the Final Turn in 3 Years of Bumpy Road, NY Times, March 29, 2008
- ^ Merkin Concert Hall Composer John Zorn to Present Chimeras at Merkin Concert Hall, press release, May 8, 2002
- ^ Lee, FR This Years MacArthur Awards Cover Many Fields NY Times, September 19, 2006
- ^ 2006 Overview - MacArthur Foundation
- ^ Columbia News: Composer John Zorn Garners William Schuman Award
- ^ "Who's Not Honoring Me Now: MacArthur Grants" Colbert Report, Comedy Central
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Zorn |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dekoboko Hajime |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 2, 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Queens, New York City, U.S.A. |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic