John Zorn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Zorn
|
|
|---|---|
Zorn in 2014
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | September 2, 1953 New York City, U.S. |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, producer, arranger |
| Instruments | Alto saxophone, organ, soprano saxophone, clarinet, piano |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Labels | Tzadik, Avant, DIW, Elektra Nonesuch, Earache, Hathut, Shimmy-Disc, Eva, Toy's Factory, Nato, Lumina, Black Saint, Subharmonic, Parachute, Yukon, Rift |
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, and producer. He is known for his unique and experimental music. His style mixes many types of music, like jazz, rock, Jewish music, hardcore, classical, and metal. Rolling Stone magazine said that Zorn is "one of the most influential musicians of our time."
Zorn started making music in New York City in the mid-1970s. He worked with other artists and tried new ways of creating songs. Over the next ten years, he played music in Europe and Japan. In 1986, he released The Big Gundown. This album took music from old movies by Ennio Morricone and made it sound new. Later, albums like Spillane and Naked City showed how Zorn could mix different music styles in exciting ways.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Zorn spent a lot of time in Japan. He then came back to New York City to start his own record label, Tzadik, in 1995. This label helped Zorn release his own music and control his creative work. He released many new albums each year through Tzadik, along with music from other artists.
Zorn plays the saxophone in his bands like Naked City, Painkiller, and Masada. He also leads groups like Moonchild and Simulacrum. He writes music for classical groups and orchestras. He has also created music for operas, art shows, and films. Zorn often tours in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, playing at music festivals.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Start
Growing Up
John Zorn was born in New York City into a Jewish family. He went to the United Nations International School. From a young age, he learned to play the piano, guitar, and flute. His family listened to many kinds of music. His mother liked classical and world music. His father enjoyed jazz and country music. His older brother collected doo-wop and 1950s rock and roll records. As a teenager, Zorn listened to The Doors and played bass in a surf band. He also explored experimental music and cartoon soundtracks. He taught himself how to arrange music by copying existing songs.
Zorn started playing the saxophone after hearing Anthony Braxton's album For Alto. This was when he was studying music at Webster College in St. Louis, Missouri. There, he took classes from Oliver Lake. In his early recordings, Zorn mixed free jazz, experimental music, film music, and cartoon scores.
After leaving college, Zorn lived on the West Coast for a while. Then he moved back to Manhattan. He held concerts in his apartment and other small places. He played saxophone, other wind instruments, and used tapes. Zorn was very involved in the underground art scene.
First Songs and Recordings
Zorn's early important songs were called "game pieces." These were like musical games with rules for the musicians. They mixed strict rules with improvisation, where musicians make up music on the spot. These game pieces often had sports names like Lacrosse (1976) and Hockey (1978). His most famous game piece is Cobra, which he wrote in 1984.
In the early 1980s, Zorn spent a lot of time improvising music by himself and with other artists. His first solo saxophone recordings were released as The Classic Guide to Strategy in 1983 and 1986. He also recorded with small groups, which can be heard on Locus Solus (1983).
Famous Recordings
Zorn became widely known with his 1985 album The Big Gundown. On this album, he created new versions of Ennio Morricone's movie music. Morricone himself liked the album, saying it had "fresh, good and intelligent ideas."
Next, Zorn released Spillane in 1987. This album featured different musicians and used Zorn's "file-card" method. This is where Zorn writes musical ideas on small cards and then arranges them to create a song. He said this process was very intense.
Zorn explained that he likes to work closely with musicians. He wants them to feel like the music is fun, even if it's hard work. He released three more albums before leaving that record label.
Music Styles
Jazz Music
Zorn showed his skills in hard bop jazz as part of the Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet. They recorded Voodoo in 1986. He also recorded Spy vs Spy in 1989, which featured hardcore punk versions of songs by Ornette Coleman.
Music for Films
After his album The Big Gundown came out, Zorn hoped to get more work making music for movies. While Hollywood didn't call, independent filmmakers did. Filmmaker Walter Hill didn't use Zorn's music for a film, but Zorn used the money he got to start his record label, Tzadik. He released the unused film music on Tzadik. Zorn also created music for commercials, including one directed by Jean-Luc Godard. He used his film music projects to record new groups like Masada. From the mid-1990s, Zorn made music for documentaries about Jewish culture and outsider artists. In 2013, after releasing 25 albums of film music, Zorn decided to stop making music for films.
Concert Music
As Zorn's interest in his band Naked City changed, he started thinking about classical music again. He began writing songs for classical groups, using strings, drums, and electronic instruments. Elegy, a collection of songs for Jean Genet, was released in 1992.
When he started Tzadik, Zorn could release many classical songs he had written over the years. His first released classical song, Christabel (1972), was for five flutes. He credits his 1988 string quartet song Cat O' Nine Tails with opening his mind to writing for classical musicians.
Aporias: Requia for Piano and Orchestra (1998) was Zorn's first big orchestral album. It featured pianist Stephen Drury and the American Composers Orchestra.
Much of Zorn's classical music is inspired by artists who influenced him. For example, Duras: Duchamp (1997) honors Marguerite Duras. Songs from the Hermetic Theatre (2001) has songs for Harry Smith and Joseph Beuys. Some of Zorn's later concert works were inspired by mysticism and the writings of Aleister Crowley.
Later, Zorn's music included songs with singing and opera. Mysterium (2005) featured songs for a female choir. Rituals (2005) included Zorn's opera. His concert music has been played all over the world.
Masada Music Books
Conversations with drummer Joey Baron led Zorn to explore Jewish culture. In 1992, he wrote Kristallnacht, which remembered the "Night of Broken Glass" that harmed Jewish people in 1938. This music used scales common in klezmer music, a type of Jewish folk music. Zorn then decided to write 100 songs using these scales within a year.
Book One
In 1993, Zorn formed the first Masada group. It included Baron, Dave Douglas (trumpet), and Greg Cohen (double bass). They played Zorn's new songs, using a style similar to Ornette Coleman's jazz quartet.
Within three years, Zorn had written 205 songs for what became the first Masada Book. Zorn said he wanted to create something positive in the Jewish music tradition.
In 1996, Zorn released Bar Kokhba, with Masada songs played by different musicians. From this album came two groups: the Masada String Trio and the Bar Kokhba Sextet. In 2003, Zorn formed Electric Masada, a band that mixed Masada's sound with electronics. In 2019, he started the New Masada Quartet.
To celebrate ten years of Masada, Zorn released a series of albums starting in 2003. These included Masada Guitars and Masada Recital.
Book Two
In 2004, Zorn started writing the second Masada Book, called The Book of Angels. This added 316 more songs. Zorn said he wrote 100 songs a month for three months!
Zorn released 32 albums of Masada Book Two songs, played by many different artists. The names of many of these songs come from demonology and Judeo-Christian mythology.
The original Masada quartet played their last concerts in 2007. But Zorn later reformed the band as a sextet in 2009. He said it was a "magical click" when they played together again. Zorn's Masada songs are now a big part of his concerts and festivals. He often holds "Masada Marathons" where different bands play music from the Masada Books.
Book Three
Zorn finished the third Masada book, called The Book Beriah, in 2014.
The Dreamers
In 2001, Zorn released The Gift, which became one of his most popular albums. It surprised many people with its relaxed mix of surf music and world music. In 2008, Zorn started a new band called The Dreamers, which continued this gentle style. The Dreamers released more albums, including a Christmas album in 2011.
Other Projects
Tzadik Records
In 1992, John Zorn helped manage the Avant record label. He released several Naked City albums there.
In 1995, Zorn started his own label, Tzadik. This allowed him to record and release his many songs and the works of other musicians.
Tzadik's releases are organized into different series:
- The Archival Series has only Zorn's recordings, including old ones and film music.
- The 50th Birthday Celebration Series has 11 live albums from Zorn's concerts in 2003.
- The Composer Series features Zorn's classical music and other modern composers.
- The Radical Jewish Culture Series features modern Jewish musicians.
- The New Japan Series covers Japanese underground music.
- The Film Music Series has soundtracks by other musicians.
- The Oracle Series promotes women in experimental music.
- The Key Series presents important avant-garde musicians.
- The Lunatic Fringe Series releases music that doesn't fit other categories.
- The Spotlight Series promotes new bands and young musicians.
Tzadik also sells special CDs, DVDs, books, and T-shirts. Since 1998, graphic artist Heung-Heung "Chippy" Chin has designed Tzadik's releases.
The Stone Music Venue
Zorn's first concerts in New York were in small art spaces, including his own apartment. Later, he played at places like the Knitting Factory and Tonic. In 2007, Zorn played the last night at Tonic before it closed.
Zorn was a main force in starting The Stone in 2005. This is an experimental music space in New York. It runs only on donations and sells limited-edition CDs. All the money from tickets goes directly to the musicians. Zorn is the artistic director and often performs "Improvisation Nights" there. He likes that The Stone doesn't have a bar, so there's no pressure to sell drinks. In 2008, Zorn played with Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson at a special event at The Stone. In 2018, The Stone moved to The New School in Greenwich Village.
Birthday Concerts
In September 2003, Zorn celebrated his 50th birthday with a month of concerts at Tonic in New York. He had done a similar event ten years before. The month was divided into different types of his music. His bands played on weekends, classical groups on Sundays, and Zorn improvised with other musicians on Mondays. A total of 12 live albums were released from these concerts.
Zorn's 60th birthday celebrations took place all over the world in 2013 and 2014. Concerts were held at art museums and other unique places. He played at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. He also performed in London, Belgium, Poland, Spain, and Germany.
He returned to New York City for more concerts at places like Alice Tully Hall and Lincoln Centre. Zorn held another Masada Marathon in August. In September, he played film music, classical works, and Cobra. He also performed with Ryuichi Sakamoto. The final 60th birthday concerts were in Australia in March 2014.
Arcana Book Series
In 2000, Zorn edited a book called Arcana: Musicians on Music. It included interviews and essays by musicians like Bill Frisell and Fred Frith. The book was about how musicians create music. Zorn released the second volume of Arcana in 2007. More volumes have been released since then, with the eighth volume coming out in 2017.
Awards and Honors
In 2001, John Zorn received the Jewish Cultural Award in Performing Arts. In 2006, he was named a MacArthur Fellow, which is a special award for talented people. In 2007, he received the William Schuman Award from Columbia University for his important musical work.
In 2011, Zorn was added to the Long Island Music Hall of Fame by Lou Reed. He also received an honorary degree from the University of Ghent. In 2014, he received honorary doctorates from The State University of New York and the New England Conservatory of Music.
Discography
Filmography
- Money (1985), a film about artists in New York.
- Put More Blood Into the Music (1987), a documentary about New York avant-garde music.
- Step Across the Border (1990), a documentary about Fred Frith.
- A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn (Tzadik, 2004), a film about John Zorn.
- Masada Live at Tonic 1999 (2004), a concert film.
- Celestial Subway Lines / Salvaging Noise (2005), an experimental film with music by Zorn.
- Sabbath in Paradise (Tzadik, 2007), a documentary about Jewish music in New York.
- Astronome: A Night at the Opera (2010), an opera with music by John Zorn.
- Zorn I (2016) by Mathieu Amalric
- Zorn II (2018) by Mathieu Amalric
- Zorn III (2022) by Mathieu Amalric
Images for kids
-
Zorn in 2014
-
Zorn in 1990
-
Masada: Joey Baron (drums), Greg Cohen (bass), Dave Douglas (trumpeter), John Zorn (alto saxophone)
-
Bar Kokhba at 2014 Newport Jazz Festival with Marc Ribot, John Zorn, Cyro Baptista (left to right)
-
Zorn with Gavin Bryars and George E. Lewis at the Barbican Tribute to Derek Bailey, 2006.
-
John Zorn performing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in September 2013
See also
In Spanish: John Zorn para niños
