John Zorn

Started by Henk, March 31, 2008, 05:36:47 AM

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Mirror Image

#60
Quote from: α | ì Æ ñ on September 04, 2017, 08:43:59 PM
MI, what do you think of those 'Simulacrum project' albums? I see you got The Painted Bird in there.

I bet you love the Gnostic Trio  ;)


I loooove Nosferatu, such a great album (inspired by several great classic movies  :D )

I don't know the Simulacrum project albums unfortunately --- I just bought The Painted Bird on a whim (and liked what I heard via the audio samples). Oh yes, I love the Gnostic Trio, but The Dreamers are very good, too. I also like a good bit of Zorn's earlier work, especially Godard/Spillane and The Big Gundown. From the list above, what else do you know and love?

Mirror Image

Quote from: α | ì Æ ñ on September 04, 2017, 08:53:34 PM
The Painted Bird is like the 3rd/4th album in that project, cool organ trio-ish concept series! (if you're into it)

I'll have to check out the rest of their recordings. Thanks for the heads up. I've been kind of out of the Zorn loop --- the guy just releases so much that it's difficult to keep track sometimes.

Quote from: α | ì Æ ñ on September 04, 2017, 08:53:34 PMBILL FUCKING FRISELL  :-* :-*

Thankfully, the other musicians: Carol Emanuel and Kenny Wollesen are just as wonderful. :)

Quote from: α | ì Æ ñ on September 04, 2017, 08:53:34 PMAll of it  :P (apart from a few of the filmworks ones...)  :D

How much do you own of Zorn? Of course, I own the physical discs and I'm thankful that I do as so much of the packaging for these recordings is simply beautiful.

king ubu

Quote from: Mirror Image on September 04, 2017, 08:10:14 PM
Let's see I own the following Zorn recordings (in no particular order):

...

Such a big list and not a single Masada (the group that is, and book one, that is) album? Still my favorite band of his, I think - followed by Bar Kokhba and The Dreamers I would say ... but I love Masada Book II as well, although I still miss plenty of volumes.
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

king ubu

Just in case, here's my Zorn list (roughly by recording date, and clearly focused on jazz - not much of a surprise):

The Big Gundown - Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone
News for Lulu
Cobra
More News for Lulu
Filmworks III: 1990-1995
Masada 1 - Alef
Masada 2 - Beit
Masada 3 - Gimel
Masada 4 - Dalet
Masada 5 - Hei
Masada 6 - Vav
Masada – Live in Taipei 1995 (live)
Masada 7 - Zayin
Masada 8 - Het
Masada 9 - Tet
Masada 10 - Yod
Masada 1994-1997 - Sanhedrin - Unreleased Studio Recordings
The Circle Maker: Issachar / Zevulun
Taboo and Exile (Music Romance Series Vol. 2)
Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d
The Gift (Music Romance Series Vol. 3)
Cobra - Game Pieces Vol. 2
Filmworks XII: 2002 Volume Two, Three Documentaries
50th Birthday Celebration Vol. 4: Electric Masada (live)
50th Birthday Celebration Vol. 7: Masada (live)
50th Birthday Celebration Vol. 11: Bar Kokhba Sextet (live)
Flimworks XIV: Hiding and Seeking
Filmworks XVII: Notes on Marie Menken - Ray Bandar: A Life with Skulls
Filmworks XVIII: The Treatment
Bar Kokhba - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 10: Lucifer
Filmworks XIX: The Rain Horse
Filmworks XX: Sholem Aleichem
Alhambra Love Songs
Filmworks XXIII: El General
The Dreamers - O'o
Masada Quintet - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 12: Stolas
The Dreamers - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 14: Ipos
Nova Express
The Gnostic Preludes

plus more from Masada Book Two:

Blumenkranz, Shanir Ezra - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 19 - Abraxas
Cracow Klezmer Band - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 5: Balan
Klezmerson - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 24: Klezmerson - Amon
Metheny, Pat - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 20: Pat Metheny
Mycale - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 13: Mycale
Mycale - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 25: Mycale - Gomory
Ribot, Marc - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 7: Asmodeus
Rodriguez, Roberto - Masada Book Two: Book of Angels Vol. 23: Aguares
Saft, Jamie - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 1: Astaroth
Secret Chiefs 3 - Masada Book Two: The Book of Angels Vol. 9: Xaphan
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

Mirror Image

Quote from: king ubu on September 04, 2017, 09:59:11 PM
Such a big list and not a single Masada (the group that is, and book one, that is) album? Still my favorite band of his, I think - followed by Bar Kokhba and The Dreamers I would say ... but I love Masada Book II as well, although I still miss plenty of volumes.

Masada were 'okay'. Not really my thing. I prefer either a guitarist or a pianist in any type of jazz group. I collect what interests me (obviously). :)

king ubu

Quote from: Mirror Image on September 05, 2017, 08:03:15 PM
Masada were 'okay'. Not really my thing. I prefer either a guitarist or a pianist in any type of jazz group. I collect what interests me (obviously). :)

Okay, cool ... and myself I love the harmonically open atmosphere of piano- (and guitar)-less groups in jazz (i.e. Sonny Rollins playing in trio format, Ornette Coleman Quartet ... and Masada (which is a group heavily influenced by the OC4, for sure, though I'm not sure I ever heard Zorn talk about Ornette).

Btw, this is the programme I saw live just about a year ago - two blocks of roughly two hours, combining three 40 minutes sets (I guess Zorn - who sat at the stage entry, invisble for most of the audience, when he was not playing - was watching the clock), all of the stuff built up on stage and musicians just more or less leaving while the new ones arrived (and some horn mics and note stands were quickly brought to the centre or taken away). This was really really cool:

Masada Quartet
John Zorn (as)
Dave Douglas (t)
Greg Cohen (b)
Joey Baron (d)

Banquet of the Spirits plays Masada — The Book Beriah
Shanir Blumenkranz (b)
Tim Keiper (d)
Brian Marsella (keys)
Cyro Baptista (perc)

Cleric plays Masada -The Book Beriah
Matt Hollenberg (g)
Nick Shellenberger (keys, voc)
Dan Kennedy (b)
Larry Kwartowitz (d)

Simulacrum
John Medeski (org)
Matt Hollenberg (g)
Kenny Grohowski (d)

Gyan Riley and Julian Lage play The Bagatelles
Gyan Riley (g)
Julian Lage (g)

Asmodeus plays The Bagatelles
Marc Ribot (g)
Trevor Dunn (b)
Tyshawn Sorey (d)
John Zorn (cond)

I'm not particuarly into metal or hard rock or whatever you may call it, thus I found Cleric somewhat boring ... but I did enjoy Asmodeus, and Simulacrum as well. The other three sets were right down my alley anyway, with the guitar duo (two acoustics) being the pleasant surprise, as I had little idea what to expect (I knew Lage's trio before that, but never heard anything by Terry Riley's son before - or since, I'm afraid)
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

Mandryka

I've been listening to Momento Mori. It seems a really distinctive and original voice, serious and not unattractive. If there's more stuff like this, I'd like to know.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

T. D.

#67
I'm not familiar with Zorn's music, never really thought I'd enjoy it (though I'd have purchased his Sonny Clark tribute stuff if reasonably available), but noticed an interesting disc at Berkshire today.
Sonic Rivers on Tzadik with Wadada Leo Smith and George Lewis.
I put it in a cart for my next (time and contents TBD) order.

Mandryka

#68
The quartet I was listening, memento mori, seems at first glance very episodic and incoherent as a complete structure, but the episodes are attractive, bold in fact. There's no kitsch, no romanticism, it's not tonal; there's extreme instrumental techniques. A serious post 1968 anti-bourgeois statement à la Darmstadt!
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

amw

Quote from: Mandryka on June 23, 2020, 11:44:36 PM
The quartet I was listening, momento mori, seems at first glance very episodic and incoherent as a complete structure, but the episodes are attractive, bold in fact. There's no kitsch, no romanticism, it's not tonal; there's extreme instrumental techniques. A serious post 1968 anti-bourgeois statement à la Darmstadt!
Zorn just writes whatever he feels like, from post-serial colouristic gestural music like this, to hard electronica/noise, to kitschy easy listening lounge stuff, to jazz and rock (often with extensive use of sampling), to vaguely Schoenbergian notes-and-rhythms early-20th-century sounding music, etc. From a composer's point of view, it's a very appealing approach. From a listener's point of view, it's impossible to know what to listen to next because at least half his genres are of minimal interest to me.

[What I have at the moment:
4 Quartets - Quatuor Moliniari
4 Quartets - Zorn Quartet
Pandora's Box - Arditti Quartet
For Your Eyes Only - Yuji Takahashi
Carny - Steffen Schleiermacher
Cobra [hatology]
Aporias
The Book of Heads
Chimeras
Enigmata
Goetia / Gris-Gris / Shibboleth [Tzadik]
The Gnostic Preludes
Apophthegms / Passagen / Ceremonial Magic [Tzadik]
Le Mômo / Untitled / Amour Fou [Tzadik]
Necronomicon / Sortilège [Tzadik]
The Tempest / All Hallows' Eve / The Temptations of St. Anthony [Tzadik]
Songs from the Hermetic Theatre
Rituals

Apart from the string quartets & sometimes Cobra or Aporias I honestly don't listen to the rest that often.]

Iota

Quote from: Mandryka on June 23, 2020, 11:44:36 PM
The quartet I was listening, momento mori, seems at first glance very episodic and incoherent as a complete structure, but the episodes are attractive, bold in fact. There's no kitsch, no romanticism, it's not tonal; there's extreme instrumental techniques. A serious post 1968 anti-bourgeois statement à la Darmstadt!

An engaging piece that Memento Mori! Thanks for posting. Listened to it on the Molinari Quartet recording, then heard Cat O'Nine tails on the same cd which I liked. A touch of Ives/Schnittke perhaps in its polystylism, though obviously very different.

The only John Zorn I can recall ever hearing was the Naked City album, which is completely different again.

Anyway, ta, will be checking him out further.

Mandryka

#71
Am I right to think that Memento Mori is totally free form intuitive music, a chain of unrelated gestures?


I very much like it whatever it is. I guess I've got used to formless music, my standards are falling.  ;)


Someone said to me that he thought that Lachenmann had taken instrumental musique concrète to its limits -  listening to this I'm not sure, Zorn has his own voice, and it's an attractive one.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Old San Antone

Quote from: king ubu on September 05, 2017, 11:58:46 AM
Masada 1 - Alef
Masada 2 - Beit
Masada 3 - Gimel
Masada 4 - Dalet
Masada 5 - Hei
Masada 6 - Vav
Masada – Live in Taipei 1995 (live)
Masada 7 - Zayin
Masada 8 - Het
Masada 9 - Tet
Masada 10 - Yod
Masada 1994-1997 - Sanhedrin - Unreleased Studio Recordings

For me what king ubu posted here are the John Zorn I listen to, these and there are a few more live Masada albums.  And all of these are excellent, IMO.

Mandryka

Quote from: Old San Antone on June 25, 2020, 11:42:41 AM
For me what king ubu posted here are the John Zorn I listen to, these and there are a few more live Masada albums.  And all of these are excellent, IMO.

What's Zorn's contribution there - is it freely improvised, has he written some sort of framework for improvisation, composed a traditional score, or what?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Old San Antone

Quote from: Mandryka on June 27, 2020, 08:30:54 AM
What's Zorn's contribution there - is it freely improvised, has he written some sort of framework for improvisation, composed a traditional score, or what?

I am not interested how the music was conceived, or even what Zorn's role was, although I would imagine that as leader his contribution was considerable.  I just enjoy the music by this group. 

Although I have listened to much of his recorded music (I probably have over 50 different recordings), most of it does not interest me nearly as much as his recordings with the original Masada.

Mandryka

Quote from: Old San Antone on June 27, 2020, 09:31:33 AM
I am not interested how the music was conceived, or even what Zorn's role was

Oh
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Old San Antone

Quote from: Old San Antone on June 27, 2020, 09:31:33 AM
I am not interested how the music was conceived, or even what Zorn's role was ...

Quote from: Mandryka on June 27, 2020, 10:37:05 AM
Oh

Well, yes.  My interest is in the music, not in how or why it came into existence or who was more or less responsible.  None of that information is relevant, for me, when I listen to a piece of music, or experience any work of art.  In fact it gets in the way of hearing the music or seeing a painting.

Mandryka



This album, called What Thou Wilt,  is very much worth a listen I think. Normally I don't like piano music but the long piece here, fay ce que voudras, isn't bad at all.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen