John Zorn

[Henk]

John Zorn is a multi-talented musician. He plays jazz (saxophone) and also composes classical music. Is anyone here familiar with his composed work? I'm now listening to this album, which I'm rediscovering:



It's very good.

I would like to hear other people's experiences with Zorn as a composer.

[bhodges]

Zorn's disc, Spillane, was one of the first CDs I ever bought--haven't heard it in awhile, but played it quite a bit at first.  Also heard his Cat o' Nine Tails (1988) played by the Kronos Quartet several times, and it's a lot of fun. 

You may know that he is also the Artistic Director of The Stone, a small performance space here in NYC that hosts a huge variety of new and experimental music. 

--Bruce

[MN Dave]

He's prolific, isn't he?

[bwv 1080]

Music for Children, Naked City and New Music for East Asian Bar Bands are my favorite Zorn projects

[snyprrr]

Torture Garden is one long evil black sabbath chord for rock band (with screaming) that keeps picking up steam.

lots of screaming in his pieces.

don't like the jazzy stuff.

i have the complete string quartets which is...really great. cat o nine tails should be thee post mod example of a str qrt. the dead man sounds like lachenmann/kagel on steroids...crystalline noise. memento mori is 30min of....well, it makes sense to me, though no one seems to get it. dark, morbid, occasional beautiful sounds, occasional ugly sounds...just a nyc elegy. the last piece, kol nidre, sounds JUST like arvo part, exactly. BUT BUY THIS IS YOU LIKE STR QRTS.
i just find this album thee great example of the downtown scene in the 80s. elliott sharp's quartets are a WHOLE lot more ear splitting and unrelenting.

and no screaming.

[istanbul]

he is very interesting musician for me.

you can find everything about JOHN ZORN in this blog:

http://zornography.blogspot.com/

[snyprrr]

He also apparently loves S/M.

[karlhenning]

While I was at Buffalo, I was in an ensemble which was to play a piece of Zorn's.  There was no score;  there was a sort of 'set of directions' which was more like militaristic role-playing.  At the time, I was simply in no mood for such rannygazoo, and I found it a dreadfully tedious affair.

[Dr. Dread]

He also apparently loves S/M.

He definitely has a twisted side which I'm not too thrilled with. 

[torut]

I don't have other Masada albums, but I love Volac: Book of Angels, Vol. 8 for solo cello, played by Erik Friedlander. Melancholic, beautiful.

[asin]B000U1ZJQE[/asin]

Rachsiel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LSKWThVlRg

[7/4]

zzz

[Octave]

zzz

BACKLASH

[torut]

zzz

Boring? I hope you slept well.

I am enjoying the string trios album by Masada String Trio (Book of Angels Vol. 2). They are more lively, containing folkish, jazzy, avant-garde styles. I am not familiar with Jewish music, so I don't know how the compositions are connected to / departed from traditional Jewish modes, scales, etc. Some of them sound Arabic.

[jochanaan]

I've played some Zorn charts in one of the bands I'm in (the one that plays for belly dancers ).  They're very fun to jam to, and lend themselves well to outside-the-box improvisations.

[7/4]

He's a bit overexposed in the NYC area.



That's all. Carry on. 

[torut]

I've played some Zorn charts in one of the bands I'm in (the one that plays for belly dancers ).  They're very fun to jam to, and lend themselves well to outside-the-box improvisations.

Is it a game piece with a prompter, like Cobra? If you recorded it, please upload it to youtube.

He's a bit overexposed in the NYC area.

I also feel he releases too many CDs, which somehow made me reluctant to check out his music.

[torut]

i have the complete string quartets which is...really great. cat o nine tails should be thee post mod example of a str qrt. the dead man sounds like lachenmann/kagel on steroids...crystalline noise. memento mori is 30min of....well, it makes sense to me, though no one seems to get it. dark, morbid, occasional beautiful sounds, occasional ugly sounds...just a nyc elegy. the last piece, kol nidre, sounds JUST like arvo part, exactly. BUT BUY THIS IS YOU LIKE STR QRTS.
i just find this album thee great example of the downtown scene in the 80s. elliott sharp's quartets are a WHOLE lot more ear splitting and unrelenting.

The string quartets Nos. 1-4 in the album below are really good. I have been interested in it for a long time, and thanks to your strong recommendation, I purchase it today. Cat O'nine Tails is like randomly choosing radio channels. Yes, Lachenmann's name came to mind when hearing The Dead Man and Memento Mori. I am listening to it for the 2nd time today and like them very much. I have not heard Necronomicon or Forbidden Fruit. Zorn composed only 6 string quartets?

[asin]B00000JIQH[/asin]

[snyprrr]

The string quartets Nos. 1-4 in the album below are really good. I have been interested in it for a long time, and thanks to your strong recommendation, I purchase it today. Cat O'nine Tails is like randomly choosing radio channels. Yes, Lachenmann's name came to mind when hearing The Dead Man and Memento Mori. I am listening to it for the 2nd time today and like them very much. I have not heard Necronomicon or Forbidden Fruit. Zorn composed only 6 string quartets?

[asin]B00000JIQH[/asin]

'Memento Mori' sounds like a half hour SQ by some Avant Master- I like it. The whole album is a nice document. How about that nasty anal/scat drawering on the inside cover??? I'd be happy with some normal sex, thank you... hmmm...

I'm always wondering how depraved the Composers of some of my favorite music are .

[torut]

'Memento Mori' sounds like a half hour SQ by some Avant Master- I like it. The whole album is a nice document.

Have you heard Necronomicon (in Magick) or Forbidden Fruit (in Kronos's compilation album)?

How about that nasty anal/scat drawering on the inside cover??? I'd be happy with some normal sex, thank you... hmmm...

I'm always wondering how depraved the Composers of some of my favorite music are .

Unfortunately, I purchased the mp3 album, so I cannot see the inside cover. Actually, those gross album covers are one of the reasons I hesitated to buy them.
I suspect his bad taste is just pretension. Or, does he really love and practice s&m?

[snyprrr]

Have you heard Necronomicon (in Magick) or Forbidden Fruit (in Kronos's compilation album)?
Unfortunately, I purchased the mp3 album, so I cannot see the inside cover. Actually, those gross album covers are one of the reasons I hesitated to buy them.
I suspect his bad taste is just pretension. Or, does he really love and practice s&m?

I'm thinking he's a typically depraved "nice boy from Brooklyn". Don't want to hear a piece by Zorn called 'Necronomicon'- yea, either he's a Kenneth Anger wannabe or a PikeBlavatskCrowlee wannabe- probably has "Chosen-itis"... dwelling on "expression" (acting out)... have you seen the video that shooter kid in Ca. posted?- that's the kind of attitude I feel from Zorn's kind. (not necessarily against "hot blondes", but more in the deist hate) If he were based in West Palm Beach they'd call it StormfrontMusic?


brrrrrr, yuk