John Zorn

From March to May 2015, John Zorn composed 300 new tunes that were eventually collected into a book of music he called The Bagatelles. After 5 years of performances around the world in venues large and small, the choicest ensembles have gone into the studio and the recordings are finally being made available in a series of limited edition 4-CD BOX sets. Each set will present four ensembles performing a unique program of Zorn’s Bagatelles.

The violent cover photo (which shows a man after he was shot dead) sets the stage for the rather passionate music on this John Zorn set. With guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, bassist Fred Frith, drummer Joey Baron, and guest vocalist Yamatsuka Eye making intense contributions, altoist Zorn performs his unpredictable originals, abstract versions of some movie themes (including "A Shot in the Dark," "I Want to Live," "Chinatown," and "The James Bond Theme"), plus Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." The stimulating music rewards repeated listenings by more open-minded listeners.

The violent cover photo (which shows a man after he was shot dead) sets the stage for the rather passionate music on this John Zorn set. With guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, bassist Fred Frith, drummer Joey Baron, and guest vocalist Yamatsuka Eye making intense contributions, altoist Zorn performs his unpredictable originals, abstract versions of some movie themes (including "A Shot in the Dark," "I Want to Live," "Chinatown," and "The James Bond Theme"), plus Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." The stimulating music rewards repeated listenings by more open-minded listeners.

The third volume in John Zorn's "Olympiad" series is this solo performance in 2007 at the Kompo Cultural Center in Gyungee, Korea by Zorn associate and eccentrically eminent improviser Eugene Chadbourne, performing on electric and acoustic guitars as he interprets 15 compositions for improvisers from John Zorn's seminal 1976 series: The Book of Heads.

The Gnostic Preludes is the fourth chapter in the mystically influenced recordings that began with In Search of the Miraculous and continued with Goddess: Music for the Ancient of Days and At the Gates of Paradise. Despite the wide range of Zorn's mystical investigations throughout his career, these four records - thus far - have more in common with one another than the rest of his catalog. While all have featured different groups, the one constant is vibraphonist Kenny Wollesen (who also plays bells). Harpist Carol Emmanuel appeared in the Goddess ensemble. The addition of Bill Frisell to these proceedings feels essential for what Zorn was trying to accomplish with this particularly intimate group of compositions. His instantly recognizable tone; easy, laid-back, readily accessible style, and his ability to become an equal part of an ensemble make him an ideal choice…

The third volume in John Zorn's "Olympiad" series is this solo performance in 2007 at the Kompo Cultural Center in Gyungee, Korea by Zorn associate and eccentrically eminent improviser Eugene Chadbourne, performing on electric and acoustic guitars as he interprets 15 compositions for improvisers from John Zorn's seminal 1976 series: The Book of Heads.

With The Urmuz Epigrams Zorn returns to his roots, using the recording studio as instrument to create an intensely personal suite of compositions in the style of his legendary File Card compositions and Zoetropes. Dedicated to the visionary Romanian writer Urmuz whose small, scattered body of work predated Dadaism by decades, The Urmuz Epigrams is a suite of surrealistic miniatures more akin to philosophical aphorisms than actual music. The pieces are presented here in two iterations, as a set of “rare 78rpm records” complete with surface scratches and limited dynamic range, and as a modern reconstruction of same with the full blown studio sound presented in all its perplexing glory. Some of the craziest music in the Zorn catalog!