John Zorn is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz, rock, hardcore, classical, contemporary, surf, metal, soundtrack, ambient, and world music.

Film Works 1986-1990 opens with John Zorn's first film score, White and Lazy. In just under ten minutes comes small capsules of instrumental punk, rockabilly, dark ambient, nightclub jazz, until "End Title," with vocals by Arto Lindsay, and soloing by Robert Quine (of Lou Reed's band), who Zorn regards as "a punk guitar genius." Next on the CD comes the music for The Golden Boat, a 1990 Raul Ruiz film. To parallel Ruiz' low budget, B-movie work, Zorn decided against timing out the music, and instead generated as much variety as possible -- from pastoral to pipe organ -- in a one day recording session. Zorn then chopped up the results, applying the discontinuous flow to the film. Certainly, the quirky eclecticism heard here is a telling precursor to later film works such as Film Works, Vol. 7. As a bonus, this volume also includes the 1987 short arrangement of Ennio Morricone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," which was recorded after Zorn was solicited by an advertising agency who had commissioned a reggae band, a string quartet, and a jazz group with the same task. "Main Title" moves in a driving piano-bass ostinato often heard in Ennio Morricone's work; also, it is almost the exact progression as that later heard in Andy Prieboy's scathing "New York Debut of an L.A. Artist (Jazz Crowd)." Getting the full last half hour of this release, the music for She Must Be Seeing Things has more space to develop, resulting in the most impressive and fully realized score, found in this first volume of film works. Although certainly a younger effort, there is a lot of good music on this first film works compilation. It is interesting to hear where Zorn's scores began. And, for what it's worth, this and all of the film works include well laid-out, beautiful liner notes.

Bass – Greg Cohen
Cello – Erik Friedlander
Design – Ikue Mori
Drums – Joey Baron (tracks: 2-1 to 2-11)
Engineer – Jim Anderson
Executive-Producer [Associate] – Kazunori Sugiyama
Guitar – Marc Ribot (tracks: 2-1 to 2-11)
Mastered By – Allan Tucker
Percussion – Cyro Baptista (tracks: 2-1 to 2-11)
Photography By [Cover Photographs Of The Brooklyn Lubavitcher Community] – Michael Macioce
Photography By [Musician Photographs] – Ashley Thayer
Producer, Composed By – John Zorn
Violin – Mark Feldman
Issachar recorded December 6, 1997 at Avatar Studio, NYC.
Zevulun recorded December 7, 1997 at Avatar Studio, NYC.
Mastered at Foothill Digital, NYC.

Live Recording
Personnel: Fred Frith (guitar); John Zorn (alto saxophone).
Recording information: Tonic, New York, New York (09/15/2003).

Combining the sound of two of John Zorn’s most popular and beloved groups, Bar Kokhba and The Dreamers, The Concealed is a sonic journey filled with surprise, elation and mystery. The latest volume in Zorn’s continuing series of 21st century mystical works features the dynamic quartet Nova Express augmented by the brilliant string masters Erik Friedlander and Mark Feldman creating a remarkable allstar sextet that combines and reco- mbines into a variety of powerful small chamber ensembles. With arrangements ranging from solo pieces to trios, quartets and of course the lush exotic sound of the full sextet, the music is lyrical, enigmatic and stunningly beautiful. Referencing various esoteric traditions out of the East, this is a CD for relaxed listening and contemplation.

Bass – Trevor Dunn
Composed By, Producer [Produced By] – John Zorn
Design – Chippy , Heung-Heung Chin
Drums – Kenny Wollesen
Executive-Producer [Associate Producer] – Kazunori Sugiyama
Mastered By – Scott Hull
Mixed By – Marc Urselli
Piano – Brian Marsella
Recorded By – Marc Urselli
Recorded and mixed May 6-9, 2021 at EastSide Sound, NYC.
Issued in a gatefold card sleeve with obi strip.

Artwork – Lora Denis
Bass – Bill Laswell
Drums – Vladimir Tarasov
Edited By, Remastered By – Alan Mosley, Jonathan Glover
Guitar – Ayuo Takahashi
Performer – Valentina Ponomareva
Photography By [Cover Photography] – Victor Brel
Piano – Haruna Miyake
Piano, Synth – Sergey Kuryokhin
Producer – Leo Feigin
Recorded By – Kennek Knock, Konstantin Gogunsky
Reeds – John Zorn, Kazutoki Umezu, Vladimir Chekasin
Synth – Yuji Takahashi
Recorded
Gotanda U-port Hall, Tokyo, 5 April 1989
Koseinenkin Hall, Osaka, 7 April 1989
Roppongi Pit Inn, Tokyo, 8 April 1989

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Tzadik
Copyright (c) – Tzadik
Credits
Composed By, Conductor, Producer – John Zorn
Design – Chippy (3)
Guitar – Bill Frisell, Gyan Riley, Julian Lage
Recorded By, Mixed By – Marc Urselli
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode: 702397837022

Recorded and mixed March 17, 2014 at EastSide Sound, NYC
Co-producer [Associate Producer] – Kazunori Sugiyama
Composed By, Arranged By, Conductor – John Zorn
Design – Chippy (Heung-Heung Chin)
Ensemble – Gnostic Trio, The
Guitar – Bill Frisell
Harp – Carol Emanuel
Mastered By – Scott Hull
Painting – Gustave Moreau
Producer – John Zorn
Recorded By, Mixed By – Marc Urselli
Typography [Engraving] – Gustave Doré
Vibraphone [Vibes] – Kenny Wollesen

American saxophonist and composer, born 2 September 1953 in New York City, USA. He owns the Tzadik record label and has worked with a large number of experimental musicians, particularly in improvised music, modern classical music and jazz, though he has produced music in most styles. As a child, he played piano, guitar and flute. He went to college in St. Louis where he discovered free jazz, before dropping out and moving to Manhattan. There he gave concerts in his small apartment, playing a variety of reeds, duck calls, tapes, etc; almost anything. In the mid 1980s he signed to the Elektra Nonesuch label. Since then, he has released a very large number of records, usually putting out several each year. Zorn's recorded output includes records by two bands of his own, Masada (a klezmer band playing music that is often described as Jewish jazz) and Naked City (an often aggressive mix of jazz, rock and grindcore). He has also worked with musicians like Bill Frisell, Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, Keiji Haino, and Bill Laswell. He has written music for television and film, which has been collected in the ongoing Filmworks series of records on his Tzadik label. Some of these are jazz-based, others are classical. He has also written several "game pieces", in which performers are allowed to improvise while following certain structural rules. These works are in the main named after sports, and include Pool, Archery and Lacrosse, as well as Cobra.

Composed By, Producer, Artwork [Cover Collage], Liner Notes – John Zorn
Design [Cover Design] – Ikue Mori
Guitar [Solo] – Marc Ribot
Mastered By – Allan Tucker
Producer [Associate] – David Newgarden, Kazunori Sugiyama
Recorded By – Jason Baker
Recorded March 19, 1995 at Shelly Palmer Studio, NYC.
Mastered at Foothill Digital.
On Étude #8, Ribot plays a six-note melody while dragging a violin bow across the strings.
On #14, he plays a few random notes for thirty seconds.
On #16, he knocks on the body and plays a few bent notes.
On #21, he sounds like he's pulling the guitar apart, string by string.
On #23, the acoustic guitar becomes electric — and it sounds like a power drill.
(The drill sound returns on #27, a very violent track.)
On #32, he plays different musical styles — funk, surf, and rock and roll.