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5 unusual facts about John Zorn


John Zorn's Cobra: Tokyo Operations '94

John Zorn's Cobra: Tokyo Operations '94 is a live performance of John Zorn's improvisational game piece, Cobra recorded in Tokyo in 1994 featuring Japanese musicians and instruments.

Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō

In Culture: The album O'o by jazz composer John Zorn released in 2009 is named after the bird, and its artwork includes its likeness.

Mount Analogue

John Zorn recorded an album of the same name inspired by the book and the teachings of Gurdjieff.

Psychogrotesque

The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Fear No One Studios by Emiliano Natali, with the sound consulting of Marc Urselli (founder of The M.E.M.O.R.Y. Lab and sound engineer for artists like John Zorn, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Eric Clapton) at the Eastside Sound Studios in New York.

Simon bar Kokhba

John Zorn's Masada Chamber Ensemble recorded an album called Bar Kokhba, showing a photograph of the Letter of Bar Kokhba to Yeshua, son of Galgola on the cover.


At the Gates of Paradise

At the Gates of Paradise is an album by John Zorn released on Zorn's own label, Tzadik Records, in 2011 and featuring music inspired by William Blake and the Gnostic texts from the Nag Hammadi library.

Bar Kokhba Sextet

The Bar Kokhba album recorded between 1994 & 1996 together with the Masada musical project was the album that started John Zorn's 2nd evolution into Masada Book Two (II) or Book of Angels during the Winter of 2005 at Tonic (New York City) after performing a ravishing set of sessions of filmworks at the Anthology Film Archives in the same city during the Winter of 2004.

Bart Schneemann

Many composers have written music especially for him, including Tristan Keuris, Wolfgang Rihm, John Zorn, Gia Kantsjeli, Kevin Volans, George Crumb, György Kurtág and Jacob ter Veldhuis.

Bora Yoon

As a performer, Yoon has toured her experimental soundwork internationally, presenting her works at Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the KBS/Nam June Paik Museum in Seoul, Patravadi Theatre in Bangkok, the Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Guggenheim Museum, Tonic, Roselee Goldberg’s PERFORMA Arts Biennial, John Zorn’s Stone, the annual Pop!

Buck Jam Tonic

Buck Jam Tonic is a double album of improvised music by John Zorn, Bill Laswell & Tatsuya Nakamura released on the Japanese Wild Disc label in 2003 and consists of one disc mixed in Tokyo and another mixed in New York City.

Christian Marclay

Marclay has performed and recorded both solo and in collaboration with many musicians, including John Zorn, William Hooker, Elliott Sharp, Otomo Yoshihide, Butch Morris, Shelley Hirsch, Flo Kaufmann and Crevice; he has also performed with the group Sonic Youth, and in other projects with Sonic Youth's members.

Death Ambient

Japanese bass guitarist Kato Hideki, and founding member of Ground Zero, moved to New York City in 1992 where he began working with a number of musicians, including John Zorn, Marc Ribot and Christian Marclay.

Dictée/Liber Novus

Dictée/Liber Novus is an album by John Zorn which features two compositions: Dictée (a homage to writer and conceptual artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha) and Liber Novus (inspired by the Red Book of Carl Jung).

Electric Masada: At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness is a 2005 double live album by American composer and saxophonist John Zorn's Electric Masada featuring performances recorded in Moscow and Ljubljana.

Filmworks XVI: Workingman's Death

Filmworks XVI: Workingman's Death features a score by John Zorn for a documentary film by Michael Glawogger.

Filmworks XXIII: El General

Filmworks XXIII: El General is a film score by American composer John Zorn for Natalia Almada's documentary El General which depicts Mexican politician Plutarco Elías Calles.

Judy Dunaway

She has performed as a balloon player in compositions by John Zorn and Roscoe Mitchell, and in improvisations and/or collaborations with the FLUX Quartet, performance artist Annie Sprinkle, Fluxus artist Yasunao Tone, video artist Zev Robinson, visual artists Nancy Davidson and Ken Butler, percussionists John Hollenbeck and Matt Moran, the Illuminati big band, DJ Singe (Beth Coleman), and numerous others.

Kato Hideki

Since coming to New York, has recorded and performed with the likes of John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Christian Marclay, Calvin Weston, Eyvind Kang, Billy Martin (percussionist), Nicolas Collins, Zeena Parkins, Charlie Burnham, James Pugliese, John King, Michael Schumacher, and many others.

Manorexia

"The Mesopelagic Waters" album has been released in March 2010 on John Zorn’s Tzadik label.

Milford Graves

Graves has worked as a sideman and session musician with a variety of established jazz musicians throughout his career, including Don Pullen, Eddie Gomez, Andrew Cyrille, Rashied Ali, Kenny Clarke, Don Moye, Philly Joe Jones, John Zorn and Albert Ayler.

Min Xiaofen

Min emigrated to the United States in 1992, first settling in San Francisco, California, and since that time has worked with numerous contemporary composers, including Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Carl Stone, Anthony De Ritis, Marc Battier, and John Zorn.

Neshamah

Sparks had sent a copy of his earlier CD Guitar Bazaar to avant-garde composer, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist John Zorn who liked the Bartok "Rumanian Dances" arrangements on that CD.

New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands

New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn consisting of improvised music from paired instruments and narration in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

Rituals: Live in Japan

Rituals: Live in Japan is a live CD by Painkiller, a band featuring John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris, performing live in Tokyo in 1991 with guest guitar and vocals from Haino Keiji.

Rova Saxophone Quartet

Likewise Jazz: The Rough Guide notes, "Highly inventive, eclectic and willing to experiment, Rova is arguably the most exciting of the saxophone quartets to emerge in the format's late '70s boom." They have collaborated with many musicians and composers, including Terry Riley (Chanting the Light of Foresight), Fred Frith (Freedom in Fragments), Annie Gosfield, John Zorn and Alvin Curran.

Shaking Ray Levis

Additionally, they have performed and recorded with Borbetomagus, John Zorn, David Greenberger, Killick Erik Hinds, Fred Frith, Min Tanaka, Amy Denio, and Derek Bailey, as well as with many other critically acclaimed artists.

Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz

Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (born 1975 in Brooklyn, NY) is an American acoustic and electric, bassist and oud player who has recorded and performed extensively with Cyro Baptista's Banquet of the Spirits, Daniel Zamir's Satlah, Rashanim, and Pharaoh's Daughter, and John Zorn.

Stealing Orchestra

Gustavo Costa also Srosh Collective, Genocide, Motornoise, F.R.I.C.S., Lost Gorbachevs, Most People Have Been Trained to Be Bored, Children for Breakfast & a lot more including collaborations with Barbez, Três Tristes Tigres, Damo Suzuki & John Zorn

Stephen Drury

Drury has performed and recorded a range of compositions by classical and contemporary composers including Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, John Cage, Frederic Rzewski, Elliott Carter, and John Zorn.

Talisman: Live in Nagoya

Talisman: Live in Nagoya is a live album by Painkiller, a band featuring John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris, performing live in Nagoya, Japan.

Tanz

After the recording of traditional Jewish music arranged for solo guitar on Neshamah, producer John Zorn combined Sparks with Masada alumni Greg Cohen and Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista.

Tatsuya Nakamura

Nakamura released the collaboration album "Buck Jam Tonic" of John Zorn and Bill Laswell in 2003.

The Lost String

It features performances of a range of Ribot's music and appearances by Anthony Coleman, Brad Jones, EJ Rodriguez, Los Cubanos Postizos, Catherine Janiaux, The Lounge Lizards, Shrek, Christine Bard, Ted Reichman, John Zorn, Ned Rothenberg, Sim Caine, Bruce Cox, Dave Hofstra and Arto Lindsay.

The Prophecy: Live in Europe

The Prophecy: Live in Europe is a live album by Painkiller, a band featuring John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Yoshida Tatsuya, performing live in Berlin and Warsaw.

The Technology of Tears

Frith composed all the music and plays most of the instruments, with assistance from John Zorn, Tenko Ueno, Christian Marclay and Jim Staley.

Toshinori Kondo

In 1978 he moved to New York, and began performing with Bill Laswell, John Zorn, Fred Frith, and Eraldo Bernocchi amongst others.

Tzadik Records

The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases.


see also

Stephen Drury

His CD of Zorn's Carny (John Zorn, Angelus Novus, Tzadik 7028) is also considered by critics to be the definitive recording of that work, for it seems to be the only one.