John Zorn

[randalljazz]

john zorn interview on fresh air

'case ya missed it:

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/03/217195249/at-60-challenges-are-opportunities-for-john-zorn

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks for the link, Randall.

[bluenoter]

05/26/14
Evan Haga

Now 60, composer and saxophonist John Zorn is the creator and curator of a specific yet far-reaching strain of the musical avant-garde—his own genre, his own nation. He transcended comparisons to other improvising musicians long ago: Far better to draw lines from the quintessential Downtowner to, say, filmmakers Robert Altman and John Cassavetes, in his repeated use of a trusted, versatile troupe of his design. Or to Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann, for his laughably prolific output. Or to any number of artists who've expanded the parameters and function of ethnic tradition.

Those facets and more were laid out on March 19 at New York's Town Hall, where Zorn premiered the first 20 compositions from his third Masada songbook, titled The Book Beriah. The nearly three-hour-long program, part of Town Hall's Newish Jewish Music Festival, acted as an entrée into the Zorn universe as it exists in 2014—a primer on its current characters and the composer's recent predilections.

Masada, a repertory Zorn has been creating for more than two decades now, will be completed with this third installment. As he explained, the first book contained 205 compositions, the second 316 and the third will have 92, for a total of 613 tunes: the number of mitzvoth, or commandments, in the Torah. That's a pointed plan, seemingly more deliberate than the Masada music itself, which relies on the general notions and modalities of Jewish folksong and can filter through any number of styles. It's often consonant and full of momentum—action-packed, reasonably concise, easily enjoyed. Most important, Masada songs allow the ensemble performing them to maintain or create an identity. When you have Zorn's resources in terms of personnel, you want the material to bend toward the musicians. . . .

The JazzTimes article continues with a review of the March 19 Town Hall concert.

[bluenoter]

This New York Times article, too, covers John Zorn's introduction of his third book of Masada compositions (which Steve Smith, along with some others, calls "The Book of Beriah") and the March 19 Town Hall concert at which it took place.

[bluenoter]

★ John Zorn's Masada: Angels at the Vanguard [Tuesday, Sept. 2–Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014]

The composer, alto saxophonist and conceptual ringleader John Zorn has recently enjoyed a full flourishing of his music in previously unlikely places, like the Newport Jazz Festival and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Next up is the Village Vanguard, where he’ll preside over a weeklong exploration of his Book of Angels project. . . . Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, 212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com; $25 and $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.

—Nate Chinen, Jazz Listings, New York Times, Aug. 28, 2014

[bluenoter]

John Zorn's Cobra (30th Anniversary)

Saturday, November 29, 2014            8:00 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm)

Roulette
509 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(917) 267-0363


Cyro Baptista, percussion
Sylvie Courvoisier, piano
Trevor Dunn, bass
Mark Feldman, violin
Erik Friedlander, cello
George Lewis, trombone
Eyal Maoz, guitar
John Medeski, organ
Ikue Mori, electronics
Marc Ribot, guitar
William Winant, percussion
Kenny Wollesen, drums
John Zorn, prompter

Roulette is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of John Zorn's Cobra, which originally
premiered at Roulette in 1984. One of the most often performed compositions in new
music, the phenomenon of John Zorn's Cobra lives on into the 21st Century with
continuous monthly performances in Japan, Europe, Australia and the United States.
Under the direction of the composer himself this newest performance gives Zorn's
infamous game piece a startling new reading by some of downtown New York's leading
improvisers. Cobra is never really Cobra without Zorn himself at the helm—and here the
music takes some surprising turns that even he never expected. A 21st Century update
of a 20th Century classic.

http://roulette.org/events/john-zorns-cobra/