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,Jewish music,hardcore,classical,contemporary,surf,metal,soundtrack,ambient,and world music. 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".
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist,composer,and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work,Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. He was also a member of the groups Art Bears,Massacre,and Skeleton Crew. He has collaborated with a number of prominent musicians,including Robert Wyatt,Derek Bailey,the Residents,Lol Coxhill,John Zorn,Brian Eno,Mike Patton,Lars Hollmer,Bill Laswell,Iva Bittová,Jad Fair,Kramer,the ARTE Quartett,and Bob Ostertag. He has also composed several long works,including Traffic Continues and Freedom in Fragments. Frith produces most of his own music,and has also produced many albums by other musicians,including Curlew,the Muffins,Etron Fou Leloublan,and Orthotonics.
Thomas Henry Corra,better known as Tom Cora,was an American cellist and composer,best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn,Butch Morris,and the Ex,and was a member of Curlew,Third Person and Skeleton Crew.
Timothy "Tim" George Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer,principally on reeds,lap steel guitar,and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow,which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968. After the demise of Henry Cow,he participated in numerous bands and projects,eventually concentrating on composing contemporary music and performing as an improviser.
Massacre was founded in 1980 in New York City by guitarist Fred Frith,bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher as an improvising and experimental rock band. They performed live for just over a year and recorded a studio album,Killing Time (1981). Frith and Laswell reformed Massacre in 1998 with drummer Charles Hayward,and released four more albums,Funny Valentine (1998),Meltdown (2001),Lonely Heart (2007) and Love Me Tender (2013). The last three albums were recorded live,the first in London,and the others at European festivals between 1999 and 2008.
Robert "Bob" Ostertag is an American musician,writer,and political activist based in San Francisco. He has published seven books,one feature film,a DVD,twenty-six albums,and collaborated with numerous musicians.
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.
Guitar Solos is the debut solo album of English guitarist,composer,and improviser Fred Frith. It was recorded while Frith was still a member of the English experimental rock group Henry Cow and was released in the United Kingdom on LP record by Caroline Records in October 1974. The album comprises eight tracks of unaccompanied and improvised music played on prepared guitars by Frith without any overdubbing.
Gravity is a 1980 solo album by English guitarist and composer Fred Frith. It was Frith's second solo album,and his first since Henry Cow disbanded in 1978. It was originally released in the United States on the Residents' Ralph Records,as the first of three solo albums Frith would record for the label. Gravity has been described as an avant-garde "dance" record that draws on rhythm and dance from folk music across the world.
Speechless is a 1981 solo album by English guitarist,composer and improviser Fred Frith of the group Henry Cow. It was Frith's third solo album,and was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents' Ralph record label. It was the second of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Cheap at Half the Price is a 1983 solo album by English guitarist,composer and improviser Fred Frith. It was Frith's fifth solo album,and was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents' Ralph record label. It was the third of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Death Ambient is an American experimental and ambient music trio comprising Kato Hideki,Ikue Mori,and Fred Frith (guitar). The group was formed by Kato and Mori in 1995 and recorded three albums:Death Ambient (1995) Synaesthesia (1999),Drunken Forest (2007) with guest Jim Pugliese (percussion).
The Technology of Tears (And Other Music for Dance and Theatre) is a double album by English guitarist,composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It is the first of a series of Music for Dance albums Frith made,and is sometimes subtitled Music for Dance volume 1. It was recorded between June 1986 and April 1987,and released on a double LP and a single CD by RecRec Music (Switzerland),and on a double LP only by SST Records (United States) in 1988. It was re-issued on CD in 2008 by Fred Records (United Kingdom). All the CD releases omit the Propaganda suite (side 4 of the double LP).
Step Across the Border is a soundtrack double album by English guitarist,composer and improvisor Fred Frith,of the 1990 avant-garde documentary film on Frith,Step Across the Border. The album features music from the film performed by Frith and other musicians,and covers ten years of Frith's musical career from 1979 to 1989.
Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds is a CD compilation album by American experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew. It was released by RecRec Music in 1990 and comprises the band's two studio albums,Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds,with two tracks omitted from the former album,and one track omitted from the latter.
Eye to Ear is a studio album by English guitarist,composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It is a collection of film and theatre music composed and performed by Frith,and was recorded in Germany and the United States between 1992 and 1995. Eye to Ear was Frith's first solo album to be released on John Zorn's Tzadik label.
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 Art of Memory is a live album of improvised music by John Zorn and Fred Frith. The album was released on Derek Bailey's Incus Records in 1994.
Late Works is a studio album by John Zorn and Fred Frith. It is the fourth collaborative album by the duo,and their first studio album. It was recorded at East Side Sound in New York City on October 16,2009,and was released by Tzadik Records in April 2010.
Free Dirt (Live) is a live double-CD album by American experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew. It is their first live album and was released posthumously in December 2021 by Austrian record label,Klanggalerie. It comprises live material by the group recorded at eight venues in Europe,Canada and the United States between 1982 and 1986. Both CDs feature Fred Frith and Tom Cora,with Dave Newhouse on eight tracks on the first CD,and Zeena Parkins on thirteen tracks on the second CD.
