John Zorn is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". His avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz, rock, hardcore, classical, contemporary, surf, metal, soundtrack, ambient, and world music. In 2013, Down Beat described Zorn as "one of our most important composers" and in 2020 Rolling Stone noted that "[alt]hough Zorn has operated almost entirely outside the mainstream, he's gradually asserted himself as one of the most influential musicians of our time".
Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s.
Naked City was an avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Active primarily in New York City from 1988 to 1993, Naked City was initiated by Zorn as a "composition workshop" to test the limits of composition in a traditional rock band lineup. Their music incorporated elements of jazz, surf, progressive rock, classical, heavy metal, grindcore, country, punk rock, and other genres.
Painkiller is an avant-garde jazz and grindcore band that formed in 1991. Later albums incorporated elements of ambient and dub.
Mark Feldman is an American jazz violinist.
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.
The Classic Guide to Strategy is a compilation album by John Zorn featuring his two early solo records The Classic Guide to Strategy Volume One (1983), (tracks 1-2) and the Classic Guide to Strategy Volume Two (1986), (tracks 3-8). The albums were first released on vinyl on Lumina Records in and later re-released on Tzadik Records in 1996 as a single CD. The second track is inspired by the work of Carl Stalling and tracks 3-8 are named after avant-garde Japanese artists. The Classic Guide to Strategy Volume Two also contained the track "Yano Akiko" (5:20) which does not appear on the CD re-release.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 7 is a live album by Masada documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of John Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 4 is a live album by Electric Masada documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of John Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 9 is a live album by John Zorn featuring a solo performance at Tonic in September 2003 that was part of his month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series. It is a continuation of his solo work documented on The Classic Guide to Strategy Volumes 1 & 2.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 1 is a live album by the Masada String Trio documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of John Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 2 is a live album of improvised music by Milford Graves and John Zorn documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 3: Locus Solus is a live album of improvised music by Anton Fier, Arto Lindsay and John Zorn documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5 is a live album of improvised music by Fred Frith and John Zorn documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 6: Hemophiliac is a live album of improvised music by Mike Patton, Ikue Mori and John Zorn documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 8 is a live album of improvised music by Susie Ibarra, Wadada Leo Smith and John Zorn documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 11 is a triple live album by the Bar Kokhba Sextet documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of John Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration.
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 12 is a live album by Painkiller documenting their performance at Tonic in September 2003 as part of John Zorn's month-long 50th Birthday Celebration concert series.
Xu Feng: John Zorn's Game Pieces Volume 1 is a studio album by American composer John Zorn consisting of game pieces. It features improvisations performed by an ensemble of pairs of musicians using the same instruments: Chris Brown and David Slusser on electronics; Fred Frith and John Schott on guitars; and Dave Lombardo and William Winant on drums and percussion. The album is titled after Xu Feng, a Taiwanese actress featured in many martial arts films who appears on the cover art, a still of Raining in the Mountain (1979).
Naninani II is an album of improvised music by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn and Yamataka Eye. It is a sequel to their previous album Nani Nani which was released in 1995.
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