Filmworks 1986–1990 features the first released film scores of John Zorn. The album was originally released on the Japanese labels Wave and Eva in 1990, [1] on the Nonesuch Records label in 1992,and subsequently re-released on Zorn's own label,Tzadik Records,in 1997 after being out of print for several years.
"For Zorn,filmscores have always been a place to experiment,and the FilmWorks Series is in many ways a microcosm of his prodigious output. This original installment of the FilmWorks Series presents three scores ranging from punk-rockabilly (featuring the nasty guitars of Bob Quine,Bill Frisell and Arto Lindsay);a jazzy Bernard Herrmann fantasy;to a quirky classical/improv/world music amalgam for Raul Ruiz's bizarre film The Golden Boat . Zorn's infamous one-minute arrangement of Morricone's classic The Good,The Bad and The Ugly,is included as a bonus track. This is the place where it all began."
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [3] |
Guy's Music Review | [4] |
The Allmusic review by Joslyn Layne awarded the album 3 stars stating "Although certainly a younger effort,there is a lot of good music on this first film works compilation. It is interesting to hear where Zorn's scores began". [3] Guy Peters stated "With releases like this,Zorn was basically working outside the jazz-frame and experimenting with avant-garde compositions,but a lot of the music owes so much to jazz that his crossover tactics can be found at full-effect. Like all of his music that is laden with shifts,gimmicks,cut-up techniques and the complete lack of convention,this volume of Filmworks may strike one as too self-conscious and studied (as in the structured improvisation of the game pieces),but it also shows you a fearless musician and composer at work,willing to take risks and not afraid to fail once in a while. It's certainly not an easy listen". [4]
White and Lazy (1986)Director - Rob Schwebber
Robert Quine - guitar
Arto Lindsay - guitar,vocals
Melvin Gibbs - bass
Anton Fier - drums
Carol Emanuel - harp
David Weinstein - keyboards
Ned Rothenberg - bass clarinet
Recorded and mixed June 1986 at Radio City Studios,New York City by Don Hünerberg.
The Golden Boat (1990)Director - Raúl Ruiz
07. "Fanfare" - 0:30
08. "Theme" - 2:59
09. "Jazz 1" - 2:51
10. "Horror Organ" - 1:06
11. "Mexico" - 1:56
12. "Mood" - 3:17
13. "Rockabilly" - 2:01
14. "Slow" - 2:47
15. "Jazz Oboes" - 2:33
16. "The Golden Boat (Turntable Mix)" - 2:58
17. "End Titles" - 2:53
Vicki Bodner - oboe
John Zorn - alto sax
Robert Quine - guitar
Anthony Coleman - keyboards
Carol Emanuel - harp
David Shae - turntable,vocals
Mark Dresser - bass
Ciro Baptista - Brazilian percussion
Robert Previte - drums,marimba
Recorded May 1990 at Platinum Island Studio,NY by Ricky Belt.
Mixed August 1990 at Science Lab,NYC by Jerry Gottus.
The Good,The Bad and The Ugly (1987)
18. "The Good,The Bad and The Ugly" - 1:04
Robert Quine - guitar
Bill Frisell - guitar
Fred Frith - bass
Wayne Horvitz - hammond organ
David Weinstein - keyboards
Carol Emanuel - harp
Robert Previte - drums,percussion,vocal
Recorded and mixed April 1987 at Radio City Studios,New York City by Don Hünerberg.
She Must Be Seeing Things (1986)Director - Sheila McLaughlin
19. "Main Title" - 1:04
20. "Swirling Shot" - 1:20
21. "Homecoming" - 3:22
22. "Catalina Flash" - 0:28
23. "Seduction" - 4:54
24. "Sex Shop Boogaloo" - 2:47
25. "Catalina Escapes" - 1:11
26. "Worms" - 1:04
27. "Death Waltz Fantasy" - 1:24
28. "Following Sequence" - 3:03
29. "Movie Set" - 1:20
30. "Climax" - 2:55
31. "Going To Dinner" - 2:38
32. "End Titles" - 3:27
Shelley Hirsch - voice
John Zorn - alto sax
Marty Ehrlich - tenor sax,clarinet
Tom Varner - French horn
Jim Staley - trombone
Bill Frisell - guitar
Carol Emanuel - harp
Anthony Coleman - piano,organ,celeste,harpsichord
Wayne Horvitz - hammond organ,piano,DX7
David Weinstein - mirage,CZ101 keyboards
David Hofstra - bass
NanáVasconcelos - Brazilian percussion
Robert Previte - drums,percussion,vibes,timpani,orchestra bells
Recorded and mixed December 1986 at Radio City Studios,New York City by Don Hünerberg.
Bobby Previte is a drummer,composer,and bandleader. He earned a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo,where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began professional relationships with John Zorn,Wayne Horvitz,and Elliott Sharp.
Naked City is an album by John Zorn,released on Elektra Nonesuch in February 1990. The band assembled by Zorn for the album would later be known as Naked City. The album is characterized by its covers of movie themes and its fusion of various musical genres.
The Big Gundown is the third studio album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn. It comprises radically reworked covers of tracks by the Italian film composer Ennio Morricone.
Grand Guignol is the second full-length studio album released by John Zorn's band Naked City in 1992 on the Japanese Avant label. The album followed Torture Garden,which was a compilation of "hardcore miniatures" from Naked City and Grand Guignol. The album is notable for the inclusion of cover versions of pieces written by classical composers,the guest vocal of Bob Dorough,and also,like Torture Garden,a selection of "hardcore miniatures" which are intense,fast-tempo,brief compositions,which feature the wailing of Zorn's alto sax,and the screams of Yamatsuka Eye. The album is titled after the infamous Grand Guignol theater in Paris,which was open from 1897 to 1962,where performances centered around extreme violence.
Filmworks VII:Cynical Hysterie Hour is a 1989 album by John Zorn featuring music written for a series of Japanese animated shorts that were created by Kiriko Kubo. It features Zorn's first music for cartoons and was originally released on the Japanese Sony label in limited numbers. In late 1996 Zorn finally attained the rights for his music and remastered and re-released the album on his own label,Tzadik,in 1997.
Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn,composed of three "file-card pieces",as well as a work for voice,string quartet and turntables.
The Gift is an album by John Zorn released in 2001 on the Tzadik label as the third volume of his Music Romance Series and described as an album "for lovers only".
The Bribe:variations and extensions on Spillane is the ninth studio album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn,consisting of music created for three half-hour radio plays produced by Mabou Mines theater company in 1986. It utilizes compositional techniques,source material,and personnel that are similar to Zorn's Spillane.
Godard/Spillane is a compilation album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn consisting of music created through Zorn's file-card compositional process. The composition "Godard",a tribute to French film-maker Jean-Luc Godard whose jump-cut technique inspired Zorn's compositional approach,on the French tribute album Jean-Luc Godard|Godard ça vous chante? in 1986 issued by the French Nato label. "Spillane" was first released on Zorn's Nonesuch Records album Spillane in 1987,and "Blues Noël" was first released on the compilation album Joyeux Noël - Merry Christmas Everybody! on Nato in 1987.
Filmworks II:Music for an Untitled Film by Walter Hill features the second release of scores for film by American composer John Zorn. The album was originally released on the Japanese Toys Factory label in 1995 and subsequently re-released on Zorn's own label,Tzadik Records,in 1996. It features the music that Zorn wrote and recorded for Trespass which director Walter Hill rejected in favour of a score by Ry Cooder.
Filmworks III:1990–1995 features the scores for film and advertisements by John Zorn. The album was originally released on the Japanese labels Evva in 1995 and Toys Factory in 1996 and subsequently re-released on Zorn's own label,Tzadik Records,in 1997. It features the music that Zorn wrote and recorded for Thieves Quartet (1993),directed by Joe Chappelle,which was performed by the group that would become Masada;nine cues for Kiriko Kubo's Music For Tsunta (1988);eleven tracks for Hollywood Hotel (1994),directed by Mei-Juin Chen;and thirty-two pieces for advertisements by Wieden &Kennedy.
Filmworks IV:S/M + More features film scores by John Zorn. The album was released in Japan on Eva Records in 1996 and on Zorn's own label,Tzadik Records,in 1997. It features the music that Zorn wrote and recorded for Maria Beatty's The Elegant Spanking, Beatty and M.M. Serra's A Lot of Fun for the Evil One,"Credits Included" written for the film of the same name directed by Jalal Toufic and "Maogai",written for a piano scene in a film by Hiroki Ryuichi.
Cobra is a double album featuring a live and studio performance of John Zorn's improvisational game piece,Cobra recorded in 1985 and 1986 and released on the Hathut label in 1987. Subsequent recordings of the piece were released on Knitting Factory,Avant and Zorn's own label Tzadik Records,) in 2002.
Unspeakable is a 2004 album by American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell,his 22nd album overall and his 17th to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label.
Filmworks XXI:Belle de Nature/Rijksmuseum features a score for film by John Zorn. The album was released on Zorn's own label,Tzadik Records,in 2008 and contains music that Zorn wrote and recorded for film director Maria Beatty's Belle de Nature (2008) and a documentary on the renovation of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
Absinthe is the fifth and final studio album by the band Naked City. Unlike the band's other genre-mixing releases,the music on Absinthe is consistently in an ambient and noise style.
Chivas Jazz Festival was a jazz festival held annually from 2000 to 2005 in Brazil,known for high-quality stricto sensu jazz. It was one of two annual jazz festivals in Brazil when it was launched,and for some time was the only such festival. It featured many well-known international jazz musicians,and was known for its insistence on true jazz,avoiding other forms of popular music. In 2005 a change in sponsorship led to a change in name to the Playboy Jazz Festival Brasil.
The Gnostic Preludes is an album composed by John Zorn and released on the Tzadik label in March 2012. It was the first album by Carol Emanuel,Bill Frisell,and Kenny Wollesen who became known as The Gnostic Trio.
The Testament of Solomon is an album composed by John Zorn and performed by the Gnostic Trio. It was recorded in New York City in March 2014 and released on the Tzadik label. The album is the fourth by the trio following 2012's The Gnostic Preludes and 2013's The Mysteries and In Lambeth.
David Carl "Dave" Hofstra is an American jazz double-bassist. He also plays bass guitar and tuba.