| John Zorn |
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John Zorn (born September 2 1953 in Queens , USA) is an American Avant-garde Composer , Arranger , Record Producer , Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Though not well-known to the general public, Zorn's recorded output is astonishingly prolific, with hundreds of album credits as a performer, composer or producer. His work has touched on dozens of Musical Genre s, but he is probably best-known for his Jazz and Contemporary Music ; he also led the notable experimental band Naked City . BIOGRAPHY John Zorn was born in scene as a Composer , Performer and Producer of music that challenges the confines of any single Musical Genre . After releasing albums on several independent US and European labels, Zorn signed with the in 1995, where he has been quite prolific, usually issuing several new recordings each year and releasing works by many other musicians. In 1993 Zorn released his premiere work of Radical Jewish Culture , ''Kristallnacht'', which inspired a re-evaluation of his heritage, leading to the composition of the first Masada book of over 300 tunes incorporating Klezmer styles with his already broad musical palette. In 2006 Zorn was named a MacArthur Fellow . {Link without Title} 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." {Link without Title} EARLY COMPOSITION Zorn's early major compositions included several "game pieces", in which performers are allowed to improvise while following certain structural rules. These works are, in the main, named after sports, and include ''Pool'', ''Archery'' (recorded at Martin Bisi 's legendary studio), and '' Lacrosse ''. His most enduring "game piece" is ''Cobra'' which Zorn first released in 1987, recorded in subsequent versions in 1994 and 1995, and has revisited in performance many times. These compositions use Cues , Rules , and Strategies to combine and contrast Improvisations in various, sometimes extreme, ways. Zorn discusses his history and the musical philosophy behind his early works in the book ''Talking Music'' (ISBN 0-306-80893-5) by William Duckworth . BREAKTHROUGH RECORDINGS Zorn's breakthrough recording was 1985's '''', where Zorn offered radical Arrangement s of the Roman composer's themes from Movie s 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'' was endorsed by Morricone – "Many people have done versions of my pieces, but no one has done them like this" – and incorporated elements of traditional Japanese Music , Soul Jazz , and other diverse Musical Genres . 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 in 1999. All of these albums contain examples of Zorn's "file card compositions", in which Zorn would write down a description of what he wanted on file cards and arrange them to form the piece. 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 focussed on modern Jazz composers which highlighted his saxophone style. These included ''Voodoo'' (1986) by The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet, with Wayne Horvitz , Ray Drummond and Bobby Previte , ''Spy Vs Spy'' (1989) featured Hardcore Punk -informed interpretations of Ornette Coleman 's music featuring Zorn and Tim Berne on saxophones, Mark Dresser on bass and Joey Baron and Michael Vatcher on drums, and ''News for Lulu'' (1988) and ''More News for Lulu'' (1992) where Zorn, Bill Frisell and George Lewis performed compositions by Kenny Dorham , Sonny Clark , Freddie Redd , and Hank Mobley . 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 . FILM MUSIC From 1986 Zorn's music has featured in Underground Films , Cartoons , and Documentaries . Zorn has documented his music for television and film in his ''Filmworks'' albums on the Tzadik label. Some of these Film Score s are jazz-influenced, others Classical , and most feature ensembles comprised of rotating combinations of Downtown Music ians. HARDCORE Zorn established (who performed a mix of Grindcore , Free Jazz and Ambient styles) with Bill Laswell on bass and Mick Harris on drums. Releases from both bands were criticized for their graphic or offensive album covers. Zorn left albums on a Japanese-based label, Avant. ESTABLISHING A 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. 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 . In 1995, in co-operation with jazz producer Kazunori Sugiyama , Zorn established the Tzadik label to ensure availabilty of his catalogue and promote Experimental Music ians. 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. THE MASADA BOOKS John Zorn recorded the album "Kristallnacht" in November 1992 consisting of a book. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In 2004 Zorn Began Composing The Second Masada Book - 'The Book Of Angels'Ratliff B | "http://wwwnytimescom/2006/09/12/arts/music/12zornhtmlex=1176609600&en=4684794c17d50f19&ei=5070" class="copylinks" target="_blank">A Most Prolific Composer Opens His Book of Angels , ''NY Times'', September 12, 2006 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 |
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| 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 | "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Knitting_Factory" class="copylinks">Knitting Factory Pareles J 40 Years of Restless Music ''NY Times'', September 3, 1993 He conceptualized the month into several different aspects of his musical output Zorns 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 Many of these performances were released on his 50th Birthday Celebration Series |
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| Most Recently Zorn Was The Principal Force In Establishing | "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/The_Stone" class="copylinks">The Stone in 2005, an avant-garde performance space in New York's Alphabet City which supports itself solely on donations, giving all door revenues directly to the performersRatliff B For Jazz Musicians and Fans, a (Tiny) Room of Their Own , ''NY Times'', April 5, 2005 Zorn holds the title of artistic director |
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| On Friday April 13, 2007, Zorn Played The Final Night At Tonic, The | "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Lower_East_Side" class="copylinks">Lower East Side venue where he played regularly for the previous decade, which closed due to financial pressuresChinen N Requiem for a Club: Saxophone and Sighs , ''NY Times'', April 16, 2007 |
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