Your Favorite John Zorn albums?

[Pete]

Well, this thread needed to be created 

[sarahv]

My first thought was - there are so many, how do you pick? My second thought was: Bar Kokhba's 50th Birthday 3CD live album.

[Deleted]

I'll just throw the following albums into the mix:

Radio
Chimeras
Mount Analogue
Simulacrum
The String Quartets
Astronome

[Red Hook]

1) Spillane/Godard
2) Sonny Clarke Memorial Album
3) Filmworks 1-3
4) Naked City First
5) Naked City-Torture Garden
6) Masada Live in Sevilla 2000
7) Bar Kokhba/The Circle maker
8) Electric Masada-At the Mountains of Madness
9) The Book of Angels Vol 14-The Dreamers
10)The Song Project

but this is not complete,

@naked City -Radio
@masada with Steve Beresford
@cobra 1
 etc.

cheers

[Deleted]

A follow-up list:

IAO
The Alchemist
Songs Without Words
Hen To Pan
Fragments, Prayers and Interjections
Grand Guignol
At the Mountains of Madness
Spillane
Angelus Novus
Guts of a Virgin
The Gift
Hermetic Organ (2 or 3, they're all amazing though)

[Sordel]

Too many to list really. Off the top of my head, the 50th Birthday Celebration disc by the original Masada quartet is probably my favourite by that configuration. The Goddess is wonderful. Mount Analogue is my favourite of the file card style compositions. Nova Express is great, as are its immediate sequels. I feel the if I narrowed it down to ten or fifteen, though, I'd immediately regret what I was leaving off.

[stefanodoug]

I'd say

1. Naked City, Grand Guignol, Torture Garden, Leng Tch'e, Radio
2. (Painkiller) Execution Ground, Guts of a Virgin, Buried Secrets
3. Spillane
4. Eletric Masada Live 2003 Tonic (Vol.4)
5. Filmworks 1986-90
6. The Big Gundown
7. Masada Beit
8. Book of Angels Vol 20 (Metheny)
9. Book of Angels Vol 9 (Secret Chiefs 3)
10. Filmworks XXIV, XXV, Alhambra Love Songs (great Rob Burger)


You might want to check the band Prelapse which released one album on Avant. Naked City goes progressive

[Deleted]

It's amazing isn't it? The huge amount of diversity in his music means that no album can give a full impression of what Zorn is capable of, I think it's really awesome

[yaroyaroyaro]

I'm not ready to choose yet

But one of titles i need to mention... Weird Little Boy. Many (including Trey Spruance himself?) don't like it or even hate it. Me, on a contrary, i love it pretty much. It was especially important for me during my trip to Baden-Baden in 2008. This album gives me very special feelings and also stays a source of infuence and inspiration. Though for most people it might random noise improv, whatever. Lungfull of Water is intense epicness anyway even if u cant feel more abstract soundscapes from there.

p.s.
And you can guess that Absinthe is my fav Naked City album... he-he.

[stefanodoug]

I have Weird Little Boy and I can confirm is not easy to gulp down And Absinthe was the first Avant album among the four Zorn published on that label and the last one I bought, however, I must say it grew on me over the years though still few steps behind the other ones. Too bad he never recorded Torture Garden, the Japanese band with which he played only the hardcore miniature material.

I am really looking forward to the Book Beriah since very different ensembles will be featured in it, and I am expecting new live marathons in spring/summer 2018. I miss seeing Zorn concerts, sigh