Jazz Articles about John Zorn

John Zorn: O'o

by Stuart Broomer
January 15, 2010

When John Zorn released The Dreamers (Tzadik) in 2008, it might have seemed like a temporary aberration: Zorn the master of the arbitrary (Cobra), the cutting edge (Torture Garden) and the anarchic (too many projects to mention) had embraced the genres of lounge and 1950s exotica to produce music that, perhaps ironically, approached easy listening, building on the more tuneful elements in his Electric Masada and Morricone projects. It seems the aberration wasn't temporary. On O'o Zorn returns to the ...

John Zorn: Femina

by Mark Corroto
November 14, 2009

John Zorn returns to his famous “file card" technique of composing with Femina, a disc he wrote and conducts with an all-woman lineup, dedicated to women in the arts. Among those honored here are Meredith Monk, Simone de Beauvoir, Frida Kahlo, Madame Blavatsky, Isadora Duncan, Hélène Cixous, Gertrude Stein, Abe Sada, Sylvia Plath, Louise Bourgeois, Margaret Mead, Loie Fuller, Dorothy Parker, Yoko Ono and the moon goddess En Hedu'Anna.

Zorn first released Spillane (Elektra, 1988), a tribute to ...

John Zorn: Femina

by Troy Collins
November 10, 2009

Composer, bandleader and Tzadik label founder John Zorn has long honored women in the arts, through dedications such as “Redbird" (for Agnes Martin), “Duras" (for Marguerite Duras) and “In the Very Eye of Night" (for Maya Deren), and through Tzadik's Oracles Series, which “celebrates the diversity and creativity of women in experimental music." Femina is his first piece performed by an all female ensemble and is dedicated to women artists of various disciplines, including Hildegard von Bingen, Louis Bourgeois, Gertrude ...

John Zorn: The Crucible

by Mark Corroto
September 7, 2009

John Zorn is not one to rest on his laurels. It is probably not possible for Zorn to rest, period. With The Crucible, the fourth installment of his Moonchild band, the saxophonist/composer delivers a recording that will be attractive to both hardcore metal and jazz fans.

Twenty years ago Zorn unleashed his band Naked City, its brand of noise/jazz/metal and predilection for musical violence a revelation. He had already shown, in his index card cues, a mix/match, start/stop ...

John Zorn: O'o

by Troy Collins
July 22, 2009

Named after an extinct Hawaiian bird, O'o is the charming follow up to the self-titled debut of composer John Zorn's most accessible project, The Dreamers. Culled from Zorn's inner circle of longstanding collaborators, this all-star sextet of Downtown veterans explores his most tuneful compositions, threading aspects of easy listening, exotica, film soundtracks, surf, and world music into an evocative panorama.

Zorn's recent forays into conventional song forms and traditional structures reveal a softening approach to composition. Though no ...

Masada Quintet Featuring Joe Lovano: Stolas: Book of Angels, Volume 12

by Troy Collins
June 29, 2009

John Zorn's Masada project has blossomed over the past decade and a half, demonstrating durability in the face of multiple interpretations. The composer's stated intention to create a classic songbook, a consistent body of written work to inspire artists beyond his own performances, has been fruitful. However, most of the variations on these Hassidic-inspired tunes have been made by peers and associates who record for Zorn's own Tzadik imprint. Stolas: Book of Angels, Volume 12 stands poised to break Zorn's ...

John Zorn: Radio Interview

by Chris Comer
June 27, 2009

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This rare interview with one of the most innovative of American composers, John Zorn, is from 1999. Right off the bat the pair discussed the Masada jazz quartet and book of compositions, then the conversation led to other performers Zorn has collaborated and performed with, including Derek Bailey. Comer & Zorn engage in a detailed conversation about Zorn's chamber music compositions, focusing on his string quartet Momento Mori. Zorn doesn't give many interviews, and this one is ...