Jazz Articles about John Zorn

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John Zorn: Masada 10 Years Volume Four: Masada Recital

by John Kelman
July 2, 2004

It's hard to imagine that ten years have passed since John Zorn introduced his Masada project. A decade later, with a collective songbook of over two hundred pieces and a range of contexts that include the original Ornette Coleman-inflected Masada Quartet, the chamber-approach of Bar Kokhba and Masada String Trio, and the wilder, more aggressive stance of Electric Masada, the Masada project has taken on a life of its own, arguably becoming Zorn's most defining and enduring work. As part ...

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John Zorn: Filmworks XIV

by Mark Corroto
November 3, 2003

Fans of composer/saxophonist John Zorn often talk about him in metric terms, as in “my Zorn collection has grown to this many meters in length.” His output of late has focused on his composing; he has been heard less on record, preferring to step back and showcase his writing. Other bands cover his Masada compositions and chamber ensembles play his modern classical pieces.

Likewise, his fourteenth Filmworks release features an acoustic version of his Electric Masada band sans ...

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John Zorn: Not All About Jazz

by Elliott Simon
October 11, 2003

Over a 30-year period, John Zorn has produced a compendium of original work that while daunting in scope and complexity is equally enticing for its musical and cultural sensibility. As a musician, composer and producer, he has expanded the way we think about art, cultural identity and the artificial boundaries that exist among musical genres. John Zorn is not all about jazz or any other genre for that matter. He is likewise not, as some would say, about their destruction. ...

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John Zorn: IAO-Music in Sacred Light

by Farrell Lowe
March 8, 2003

An album of ritual, Magick, possible bloodletting, sex, and incantations, this recording is the aural equivalent of film director Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. As usual, John Zorn incorporates a wide array of influences and musical styles in IAO. To his credit, he never loses sight of his reason for creating the music in the first place. Like an alchemist, he seems to be interested in the manifestation and transformation of human physicality into numinous spirit. A heady task you ...

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John Zorn: Masada Guitars

by Farrell Lowe
February 19, 2003

With the release of Masada Guitars, John Zorn begins a ten-year anniversary celebration of his Masada songbook. On this project Zorn asked three of his favorite guitarists (Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, and Tim Sparks) to contribute solo renditions of his pieces. Why solo guitar versions of these pieces? It was a wise choice in both personnel and instrumentation. From the perspective of composition, this recording reveals the strength, subtlety, depth, and beauty of Zorn's writing. His music has a wonderful ...

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John Zorn: Filmworks XIII: Invitation To A Suicide

by Mark Corroto
November 1, 2002

John Zorn’s film score work has been wildly incongruous. But then again, not many of us have seen the films these recordings were made to accompany. From S&M flicks to Japanese cartoons to documentaries about gay Orthodox Jews, and just about everything in between, Zorn’s film works output has something for everyone (punks, minimalists, Masada fans, classical buffs, etc.) yet together they are nothing that everyone will dig. If you own them all, some strike your fancy; others are to ...

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John Zorn/Masada: Live At Tonic 2001

by Mark Corroto
October 1, 2001

A few years ago, the news that John Zorn was ending his piano-less quartet called Masada came as little surprise. For its members had all, since the founding in the early 1990's, gone on to jazz stardom (is there is such a creature in jazz). Trumpeter Dave Douglas has been raised to the top of the jazz polls for his composing, trumpet playing, and innovative small groups including Charms of the Night Sky, Tiny Bell Trio, and various Quintets, Quartets, ...