John Zorn
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist, and multi-instrumentalist with hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, and producer across a variety of genres including jazz, rock, hardcore, classical, surf, metal, soundtrack, ambient, and improvised music. He incorporates diverse styles in his compositions, which he identifies as avant-garde or experimental. Zorn was described by Down Beat as "one of our most important composers".
Zorn established himself within the New York City downtown music movement in the mid-1970s, performing with musicians across the sonic spectrum and developing experimental methods of composing new music. After releasing albums on several independent US and European labels, Zorn signed with Elektra Nonesuch and received wide acclaim with the release of The Big Gundown, an album reworking the compositions of Ennio Morricone. He attracted further attention worldwide with the release of Spillane in 1987 and Naked City in 1990. After spending almost a decade travelling between Japan and the US, he made New York his permanent base and established his own record label, Tzadik, in the mid-1990s.
Tzadik enabled Zorn to maintain independence from the mainstream music industry and ensured the continued availability of his growing catalog of recordings, allowing him to prolifically record and release new material, issuing several new albums each year, as well as promoting the work of many other musicians. Zorn has led the hardcore bands Naked City and Painkiller, the Jewish music-inspired jazz quartet Masada, composed 613 pieces as part of the three Masada songbooks that have been performed by an array of groups, composed concert music for classical ensembles and orchestras, and produced music for opera, sound installations, film and documentary. Zorn has undertaken many tours of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, often performing at festivals with many other musicians and ensembles that perform his diverse output.
Known For | Sound |
---|---|
Most Rating | 0.982 |
Birthday | 1953-09-02 |
Place of Birth | Manhattan, New York, USA |
Also Known As | ジョン・ゾーン, |
2022
Zorn III (2018 – 2022)
8/1
For 12 years now, Mathieu Amalric has been filming the stupendous New York saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Whirligig films that Zorn likes to prog...
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Zorn III (2018 – 2022)
2017
Zorn I (2010 – 2016)
7/1
Mathieu Amalric’s film with John Zorn began as a European TV commission that was quickly abandoned in favor of something more intimate: an ongoing dia...
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Zorn I (2010 – 2016)
2018
Zorn II (2016 – 2018)
7/1
For 12 years now, Mathieu Amalric has been filming the stupendous New York saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Whirligig films that Zorn likes to prog...
Watch Now
Zorn II (2016 – 2018)
1993
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
0/0
This is a full-length documentary honoring the life and work of American composer and artist John Cage. Cage is considered one of the most influential...
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The Revenge of the Dead Indians
1990
Step Across the Border
8/11
An avant-garde documentary film on English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith.
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Step Across the Border
John Zorn's Naked City: Montreux Jazz Festival 1990
0/0
John Zorn: alto sax, vocals
Bill Frisell: guitar
Wayne Horvitz: keyboards, piano
Fred Frith: bass
Joey Baron: drums
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John Zorn's Naked City: Montreux Jazz Festival 1990
2004
Masada: Live at Tonic 1999
0/0
Filmed with an intimate three camera shoot by Antonio Ferrera, a close friend of John Zorn and a long time cameraman for the documentary masters the M...
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Masada: Live at Tonic 1999
2022
John Zorn: The Hermetic Organ Volume 10 - Bozar, Brussels
0/0
Part of a CD+DVD set released by Tzadik. Recorded at the powerful organ at Henry LeBoeuf Hall, Bozar in Brussels, this is one of Zorn’s most beautiful...
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John Zorn: The Hermetic Organ Volume 10 - Bozar, Brussels
2002
A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn
5.5/4
A rare peek into the working methods of John Zorn. Filmed over a ten year period, this documentary includes live footage of Masada, Naked City, Cobra,...
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A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn
2007
365 Day Project
0/0
This exhibition focuses on Jonas Mekas’ 365 Day Project, a succession of films and videos in calendar form. Every day as of January 1st, 2007 and for...
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365 Day Project
1985
Rising Tones Cross
0/0
This film is a documentary composition of new jazz, New York as the city that generates it, and the musicians playing it. The thoughts of the saxopho...
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Rising Tones Cross
2007
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
6.6/7
In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Smith, photographs and rare clips of Smith's perform...
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Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
1988
Put More Blood Into the Music
7/3
PBS produced documentary in two parts: the first is dedicated to saxophonist and composer John Zorn; the second is about Sonic Youth at the height of...
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Put More Blood Into the Music
2000
Sabbath in Paradise
0/0
Documentary examining contemporary Jewish musical culture in New York's avant garde Jazz scene in the 1990s.
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Sabbath in Paradise
1985
Money
0/0
Money (1985) is an historical document of the early days of "language poetry" and the downtown improvised music scene. A manic collage film from the...
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Money
2009
Kikoe
0/0
Experimental documentary about Japanese experimental musician Otomo Yoshihide. Includes interviews with multiple musicians, artists, and writers as we...
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