John Zorn - favorite albums

Pranzo Oltranzista

Registered User
Oct 18, 2017
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I'm sure there must be a thread somewhere about Zorn, but hey, without a functional search engine, it's tough to tell.

I was wondering what were some of your favorite Zorn albums. Of course, none of us has listened to everything he's done (I must own around 30 of his albums myself), but collectively we might find his true gem.

I think my top-3 would be:

1. Elegy


2. Locus Solus
(not on YouTube)

3. Absinthe (Naked City)


And if you're not familiar with Zorn, I think Spillane is the best place to start (and also one of my favorite albums):


And yes, I realize I posted a different listing somewhere else, but as of this moment, that's my feeling.
 
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Pranzo Oltranzista

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Oct 18, 2017
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Most have never heard of him

I'm pretty confident that's not the case. But if you've never heard of him, pour yourself something nice to drink, dim the lights, get in your most comfortable chair, put the headphones on, and listen to Spillane.
 

Rpenny

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Feb 23, 2019
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I'm pretty confident that's not the case. But if you've never heard of him, pour yourself something nice to drink, dim the lights, get in your most comfortable chair, put the headphones on, and listen to Spillane.



The lack of posts in this thread gives you your answer.

Btw

I have heard of him.
 
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Shareefruck

Registered User
Apr 2, 2005
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Vancouver, BC
He's a blind spot for me. I've listened to Naked City a bunch of times, but it's never quite clicked with me, but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

I would guess that most have been exposed to John Zorn but haven't deep-dived into his discography.
 

Ouroboros

There is no armour against Fate
Feb 3, 2008
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Here is a great article recently from the Rolling Stone

'He Made the World Bigger': Inside John Zorn's Jazz-Metal Multiverse

This really is a fantastic article, thanks for bringing it to my attention. If this is an area that interests you, the author [Hank Shteamer] has been doing interviews and podcasts with people from the metal and jazz worlds about the intersections between their genres for a while now. It's all archived here:

HEAVY METAL BEBOP

I'm not overly familiar with a lot what Zorn has done, but the Electric Masada album At The Mountains Of Madness is quite good.

 

Pranzo Oltranzista

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Oct 18, 2017
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This one is great. Love the Masada albums

I have the 10 original Masada albums, and contrarily to other stuff he's done, they don't get old. Afterwards, I've kind of abandoned this project, but it's a great one for sure. Never heard this album before, and will do.

This one is one of my personal favourites. Especially given the passing of Ennio

Amazing album! If you haven't heard it, the 15th anniversary edition had additional tracks. Including this one with a great display of Mike Patton's crooner lower voice.



The funny thing is it kinda brings Patton to work on an album with one of his idols, Diamanda Galas, who despises him! (they're my two favorite singers, so I'm glad that "collaboration" exists).

Here is a great article recently from the Rolling Stone

'He Made the World Bigger': Inside John Zorn's Jazz-Metal Multiverse

Thx!!!

He's a blind spot for me. I've listened to Naked City a bunch of times, but it's never quite clicked with me, but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

I would guess that most have been exposed to John Zorn but haven't deep-dived into his discography.

Naked City and Painkiller probably are his harder/darker projects. I love quite a few albums of theirs (see Absinthe posted above), but it's not the best of entry to Zorn's work.

This really is a fantastic article, thanks for bringing it to my attention. If this is an area that interests you, the author [Hank Shteamer] has been doing interviews and podcasts with people from the metal and jazz worlds about the intersections between their genres for a while now. It's all archived here:

HEAVY METAL BEBOP

I'm not overly familiar with a lot what Zorn has done, but the Electric Masada album At The Mountains Of Madness is quite good.

I brushed quickly the other Electric Masada album when it got out, I might even have it here somewhere, but I never heard this one. Will give it a try!
 

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