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 genres, but he is probably best-known for his jazz and contemporary music; he also led the notable experimental rock group Naked City.

Influences

John Zorn's influences include Mauricio Kagel, Napalm Death, James Blood Ulmer, Hasil Adkins, Juan Garcia Esquivel, Roland Kirk, Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, Husker Du, Die Kreuzen, Naked City, Indian Karnatic Jazz (directed by T.K. Ramamurthi), Funkadelic, Beach Boys, Ennio Morricone, Lenny Tristano, and Pharoah Sanders.

Outside of music, John Zorn is fully grounded in twentieth century underground culture, from references to Octave Mirbeau (Torture Garden); French Grand Guignol theatre; Leng Tch'e (see Tears of Eros, Bataille); absinthe (19th century France) to the contemporary fetish scene.

Discography

John Zorn appears on over 400 recordings as a composer or performer. This is a selection of recordings released under his name, bands he was/is part of, collaborations with other musicians, and significant albums to which he has contributed. The year indicates when the album was first released and any subsequent years if the following release included additional material.

John Zorn

• The Classic Guide to Strategy: Volume 1 (1983)
• Locus Solus (1983, 1997)
• Ganryu Island (1984, 1998)
• The Classic Guide to Strategy: Volume 2 (1985)
• The Big Gundown (1985)
• Spillane (1987)
• Spy vs Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman (1989)
• Elegy (1992)
• Kristallnacht (1993)
• First Recordings 1973 (1995)
• Redbird (1995)
• The Book of Heads (1995)
• The Classic Guide to Strategy (1996, Collecting the out of print Volumes 1 and 2)
• Duras: Duchamp (1997)
• New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands (1997)
• Angelus Novus (1998)
• Aporias: Requia for Piano and Orchestra (1998)
• The Bribe (1998)
• Godard/Spillane (1999)
• The String Quartets (1999)
• The Big Gundown: 15th Anniversary Special Edition (2000, Remastered, with bonus tracks)
• Xu Feng (2000)
• Cartoon S/M (2000) 2CD
• Madness, Love and Mysticism (2001)
• Songs from the Hermetic Theatre (2001)
• IAO (2002)
• Chimeras (2003)
• Magick (2004)
• Mysterium (2005)
• Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass: A Tribute to Bruno Schultz- The Cracow Klezmer Band Plays John Zorn (2005)
• Rituals (2005)
• From Silence to Sorcery (2007)
• Alhambra Love Songs (2009)
• Femina (2009)
• In Search of the Miraculous (2010)
• Chimeras (Revised Edition) (2010)
• Dictée/Liber Novus (2010)
• The Goddess — Music for the Ancient of Days (2010)
• What Thou Wilt (2010)
• Interzone (2010)
• The Satyr's Play / Cerberus (2011)
• Nova Express (2011)
• Enigmata (2011)
• At the Gates of Paradise (2011)
• A Dreamers Christmas (2011)
• Mount Analogue (2012)
• The Gnostic Preludes (2012)
• Nosferatu (2012)

The Parachute Years (1997)

Box Set featuring the following recordings (also released separately)

• Lacrosse (1977, 2000) 2CD
• Pool (1980, 2000)
• Hockey (1980, 2002)
• Archery (1981, 2001) 3CD

Cobra performances

• Cobra (1987)
• John Zorn's Cobra: Live at the Knitting Factory (1992)
• John Zorn's Cobra: Tokyo Operations '94 (1994)
• Cobra: John Zorn's Game Pieces Volume 2 (2002)

Music Romance series

• Music for Children (Volume One, 1998)
• Taboo & Exile (Volume Two, 1999)
• The Gift (Volume Three, 2001)
• The Dreamers (Volume Four, 2008)
• O'o (Volume Five, 2009)
• Ipos: Book of Angels Volume 14 (Volume Six, 2010)

Filmworks series

• Filmworks 1986-1990 (1997)
• Filmworks II: Music for an Untitled Film by Walter Hill (1996)
• Filmworks III: 1990-1995 (1997)
• Filmworks IV: S/M + More (1997)
• Filmworks V: Tears of Ecstasy (1996)
• Filmworks VI: 1996 (1996)
• Filmworks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour (1997)
• Filmworks VIII: 1997 (1998)
• Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d (2000)
• Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2001)
• Filmworks XI: Secret Lives (2002)
• Filmworks XII: Three Documentaries (2002)
• Filmworks XIII: Invitation to a Suicide (2002)
• Filmworks XIV: Hiding and Seeking (2003)
• Filmworks XV: Protocols of Zion (2005)
• Filmworks XVI: Workingman's Death (2005)
• Filmworks XVII: Notes on Marie Menken/Ray Bandar: A Life with Skulls (2006)
• Filmworks XVIII: The Treatment (2006)
• Filmworks XIX: The Rain Horse (2008)
• Filmworks XX: Sholem Aleichem (2008)
• Filmworks XXI: Belle de Nature/The New Rijksmuseum (2008)
• Filmworks XXII: The Last Supper (2008)
• Filmworks XXIII: El General (2009)
• Filmworks XXIV: The Nobel Prizewinner (2010)

with Naked City

• Naked City (1989)
• Torture Garden (1990)
• Grand Guignol (1992)
• Leng Tch'e (1992)
• Heretic (1992)
• Radio (1993)
• Absinthe (1993)
• Black Box (1996, collects Torture Garden & Leng Tch'e albums) 2xCD
• Naked City Live, Vol. 1: The Knitting Factory 1989 (2002)
• Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings (2005)
• Black Box-20th Anniversary Edition: Torture Garden/Leng Tch'e (2010)

with Painkiller

• Guts of a Virgin (1991) EP
• Buried Secrets (1992) EP
• Rituals: Live in Japan (1993)
• Execution Ground (1994)
• Collected Works (1997, Includes Guts of a Virgin, Buried Secrets, Execution Ground, Live in Osaka and bonus material) 4CD
• Guts of a Virgin/Buried Secrets (1998, Collection of first two EP's)
• Talisman: Live in Nagoya (2002)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 12 (2005, guest vocals by Mike Patton)

with Hemophiliac

• Hemophiliac (2002)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 6 (2004)

with Masada

• Alef (1994)
• Beit (1994)
• Gimel (1994)
• Dalet (1995) EP
• Hei (1995)
• Vav (1995)
• Zayin (1996)
• Het (1997)
• Tet (1998)
• Yod (1998)
• Live in Taipei 1995 (1998)
• Live in Jerusalem 1994 (1999) 2CD
• Live in Middelheim 1999 (1999)
• Live in Sevilla 2000 (2000)
• Live at Tonic 2001 (2001)
• First Live 1993 (2002)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 7 (2004)
• Sanhedrin 1994-1997 (2005) 2CD

with Electric Masada

• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 4 (2004)
• At the Mountains of Madness (2005) 2CD

Masada String Trio

• The Circle Maker (1998, Disc 1 by Masada String Trio, Disc 2 by Bar Kokhba Sextet) 2CD
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 1 (2004)
• Azazel: Book of Angels Volume 2 (2005)
• Haborym: Book of Angels Volume 16 (2010)

Bar Kokhba Sextet

• Bar Kokhba (1996) 2CD
• The Circle Maker (1998, Disc 1 by Masada String Trio, Disc 2 by Bar Kokhba Sextet) 2CD
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 11 (2005)
• Lucifer: Book of Angels Volume 10 (2008)

Masada Anniversary series

• Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 1: Masada Guitars (2003)
• Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 2: Voices in the Wilderness (2003)
• Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 3: The Unknown Masada (2003)
• Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 4: Masada Recital (2004)
• Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 5: Masada Rock (2005)

50th Birthday Celebration series

• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 1 (by Masada String Trio, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 2 (by Milford Graves/John Zorn, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 3 (by Locus Solus, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 4 (by Electric Masada, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5 (by Fred Frith/John Zorn, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 6 (by Hemophiliac, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 7 (by Masada, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 8 (by Wadada Leo Smith/Susie Ibarra/John Zorn, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 9: The Classic Guide to Strategy Volume Three (by John Zorn, 2004)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 10 (by Yamataka Eye/John Zorn, 2005)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 11 (by Bar Kokhba Sextet, 2005) 3CD
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 12 (by Painkiller, 2005)

Masada Book Two - The Book of Angels

• Astaroth: Book of Angels Volume 1 (by Jamie Saft Trio, 2005)
• Azazel: Book of Angels Volume 2 (by Masada String Trio, 2005)
• Malphas: Book of Angels Volume 3 (by Mark Feldman & Sylvie Courvoisier, 2006)
• Orobas: Book of Angels Volume 4 (by Koby Israelite, 2006)
• Balan: Book of Angels Volume 5 (by The Cracow Klezmer Band, 2006)
• Moloch: Book of Angels Volume 6 (by Uri Caine, 2006)
• Asmodeus: Book of Angels Volume 7 (by Marc Ribot, 2007)
• Volac: Book of Angels Volume 8 (by Erik Friedlander, 2007)
• Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9 (by Secret Chiefs 3, 2008)
• Lucifer: Book of Angels Volume 10 (by Bar Kokhba Sextet, 2008)
• Zaebos: Book of Angels Volume 11 (by Medeski, Martin and Wood, 2008)
• Stolas: Book of Angels Volume 12 (by Masada Quintet & Joe Lovano, 2009)
• Mycale: Book of Angels Volume 13 (by Mycale, 2010)
• Ipos: Book of Angels Volume 14 (by The Dreamers, 2010)
• Baal: Book of Angels Volume 15 (by Ben Goldberg Quartet, 2010)
• Haborym: Book of Angels Volume 16 (by Masada String Trio, 2010)
• Caym: Book of Angels Volume 17 (by Cyro Baptista, 2011)
• Pruflas: Book of Angels Volume 18 (by David Krakauer, 2012)

The Moonchild Trio

• Moonchild: Songs Without Words (2006)
• Astronome (2006)
• Six Litanies for Heliogabalus (2007) with John Zorn, Jamie Saft & Ikue Mori
• The Crucible (2008) with John Zorn
• Ipsissimus (2010)
• Templars: In Sacred Blood (2012)

Album collaborations

• School (by Eugene Chadbourne & John Zorn, 1978)
• In Memory of Nikki Arane (by Eugene Chadbourne & John Zorn, 1980)
• Yankees (by John Zorn, Derek Bailey, & George Lewis, 1983)
• Deadly Weapons (by Steve Beresford, John Zorn, Toni Marshall & David Toop, 1986)
• Voodoo (by the Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet - Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Bobby Previte and Ray Drummond, 1986)
• News for Lulu (by John Zorn, Bill Frisell & George Lewis, 1988)
• More News for Lulu (by John Zorn, Bill Frisell & George Lewis, 1992)
• The Art of Memory (by John Zorn & Fred Frith, 1994 - reissued in 1999)
• Zohar (by The Mystic Fugu Orchestra (John Zorn & Yamataka Eye), 1995)
• Nani Nani (by John Zorn & Yamataka Eye, 1995)
• Harras (by Derek Bailey, John Zorn, & William Parker 1996)
• Euclid's Nightmare (by John Zorn & Bobby Previte 1997)
• Weird Little Boy (by Weird Little Boy - John Zorn, Trey Spruance, William Winant, Mike Patton and Chris Cochrane, 1998)
• Downtown Lullaby (by John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Elliott Sharp, & Bobby Previte, 1998)
• Prelapse (by Prelapse, 1999)
• Buck Jam Tonic (by Tatsuya Nakamura, Bill Laswell, & John Zorn, 2003)
• Naninani II (by John Zorn & Yamataka Eye, 2004)
• The Stone: Issue One (by John Zorn, Dave Douglas, Mike Patton, Bill Laswell, Rob Burger, & Ben Perowsky, 2006)
• The Stone: Issue Three (by John Zorn, Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson, 2008)
• The Art of Memory II (by John Zorn & Fred Frith, 2008)
• Late Works (by John Zorn & Fred Frith, 2010)

Albums featured

• The Golden Palominos (by The Golden Palominos - Anton Fier/Fred Frith/Bill Laswell/Arto Lindsay/John Zorn - 1983)
• Hallowed Ground (by The Violent Femmes, 1984)
• Berlin Djungle (by Peter Brötzmann Clarinet Project, 1984)
• That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk (tribute album, 1984 - featuring John Zorn performing "Shuffle Boil" - excluded from CD reissue)
• Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill (tribute album, 1985 - Zorn performs "Der Kleine Leutnant Des Lieben Gottes" (The Little Lieutenant of the Loving God) from Happy End)
• The Godard Fans: Godard Ca Vous Chante? (tribute album featuring 'Godard', 1986)
• The Technology of Tears (by Fred Frith, 1988)
• Replicant Walk (by Friction, 1988)
• Comme Des Garcons Vol. 1 (by (Seigen Ono, 1988)
• Comme Des Garcons Vol. 2 (by (Seigen Ono, 1989)
• Purged Specimen (by Blind Idiot God, 1989)
• Square Dance (by The Intergalactic Maiden Ballet, 1990)
• NekonoTopia NekonoMania (by Seigen Ono, 1990) - Zorn plays sax on 6 tracks
• Live at the Knitting Factory Volume 3 (Various Artists, 1990) - Zorn plays alto sax on 2 tracks with Slan
• Winter Was Hard (by Kronos Quartet, 1990)
• Ignorance (by Morrie (Japanese heavy metal band Dead End's vocalist), 1990) - Zorn plays alto sax on track 2 "パラドックス"
• Lo Flux Tube (by OLD, 1991)
• Mr. Bungle (by Mr. Bungle, 1991) - produced by John Zorn & plays uncredited sax on 1 track
• Possession (by GOD, 1992)
• How I Got Over (by God Is My Co-Pilot, 1992)
• We Insist? (by Otomo Yoshihide, 1992)
• Welcome to Forbidden Paradise (by Hoppy Kamiyama, 1992)
• Early Works (by Ruins, 1992)
• Blue Planet Man (by Big John Patton, 1993)
• Speed Yr Trip (by God Is My Co-Pilot, 1993)
• Ground Zero (by Ground Zero, 1993)
• Sacrifist (by Praxis, 1994)
• Bar Del Mattatoio (by Seigen Ono 1994) - Zorn plays sax on 2 tracks
• Peace On Earth (Music of John Coltrane) (by Prima Materia, 1994) - Zorn plays sax on 2 tracks
• Mais (by Marisa Monte, 1994)
• Minor Swing (by John Patton, 1995)
• Signals for Tea (by Steve Beresford, 1995)
• Hex Kitchen (by Ikue Mori, 1995) - John Zorn plays clarinet on this album
• State of the Union (by various artists, 1996)
• Hsi-Yu Chi (by David Shea, 1996)
• Vira Loucos (by Cyro Baptista, 1996) - Zorn plays alto on 2 tracks
• Pranzo Oltranzista (by Mike Patton, 1997)
• Great Jewish Music: Serge Gainsbourg (by Various Artists, 1997)
• Shoe String Symphonettes (by Marc Ribot, 1997)
• Busy Being Born (by Gary Lucas, 1998)
• Cross Fire (by Music Revelation Ensemble, 1998)
• Vision Volume One (by various artists, 1998)
• Hallelujah, Anyway - Remembering Tom Cora (by Various Artists, 1999)
• Paradiso (by Seigen Ono, 2000)
• Satlah (by Daniel Zamir, 2000) - Zorn plays alto on 3 tracks
• Street of Lost Brothers (by Gary Lucas, 2000)
• Maria & Maria (by Seigen Ono, 2001)
• Scientist at Work (by Frank London, 2002)
• Children of Israel (by Daniel Zamir, 2002)
• Beat the Donkey (by Cyro Baptista, 2002) - Zorn plays alto on 1 track
• Irving Stone Memorial Concert (by Various Artists, 2003)
• Cyborg Acoustics (by Raz Mesinai, 2004)
• Lake Biwa (by Wadada Leo Smith, 2004)
• Solo Works-The Lumina Recordings (by Ned Rothenberg, 2006)
• For the Moment (by Paul Brody, 2007)
• Inamorata (by Method of Defiance, 2007) - Zorn plays alto on 1 track with the Masada String Trio
• Eretz Hakodesh (by Pissuk Rachav, 2009)
• Luminescence (by Borah Bergman Trio, 2009)
• Utilitarian (by Napalm Death, 2012) - Zorn plays two sax solos on one track