John Zorn
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist, and multi-instrumentalist with hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, and producer across a variety of genres including jazz, rock, hardcore, classical, surf, metal, soundtrack, ambient, and improvised music. He incorporates diverse styles in his compositions, which he identifies as avant-garde or experimental. Zorn was described by Down Beat as "one of our most important composers". Zorn established himself within the New York City downtown music movement in the mid-1970s, performing with musicians across the sonic spectrum and developing experimental methods of composing new music. After releasing albums on several independent US and European labels, Zorn signed with Elektra Nonesuch and received wide acclaim with the release of The Big Gundown, an album reworking the compositions of Ennio Morricone. He attracted further attention worldwide with the release of Spillane in 1987 and Naked City in 1990. After spending almost a decade travelling between Japan and the US, he made New York his permanent base and established his own record label, Tzadik, in the mid-1990s. Tzadik enabled Zorn to maintain independence from the mainstream music industry and ensured the continued availability of his growing catalog of recordings, allowing him to prolifically record and release new material, issuing several new albums each year, as well as promoting the work of many other musicians. Zorn has led the hardcore bands Naked City and Painkiller, the Jewish music-inspired jazz quartet Masada, composed 613 pieces as part of the three Masada songbooks that have been performed by an array of groups, composed concert music for classical ensembles and orchestras, and produced music for opera, sound installations, film and documentary. Zorn has undertaken many tours of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, often performing at festivals with many other musicians and ensembles that perform his diverse output.
Known for
SoundBirthday
September 2, 1953Gender
MaleKnown Movie Credits
61Place of birth
Manhattan, New York, USAAlso known as
ジョン・ゾーンCast credits
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
HimselfA Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn
HimselfRising Tones Cross
HimselfJack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
SelfSabbath in Paradise
HimselfKikoe
Masada: Live at Tonic 1999
HimselfJohn Zorn: The Hermetic Organ Volume 10 - Bozar, Brussels
HimselfZorn III (2018 – 2022)
HimselfZorn I (2010 – 2016)
HimselfZorn II (2016 – 2018)
HimselfStep Across the Border
SelfCrew credits
In the Mirror of Maya Deren
MusicThe Port of Last Resort
Musical, MusicBetween Science and Garbage
Executive ProducerThe Golden Boat
MusicShe Must Be Seeing Things
MusicBoy
MusicSecret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII
MusicBelle de Nature
MusicA Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn
Music, Executive ProducerTears of Ecstasy
MusicKiyaKiya
MusicSabbath in Paradise
MusicAstronome: A Night at the Opera (A Disturbing Initiation)
MusicLatin Boys Go to Hell
MusicDie Kunst des Erinnerns – Simon Wiesenthal
MusicLittle Lieutenant
Music Arranger, Conductor, MusicianThe eye
MusicNeo-Geo: An American Purchase
Music