Track #1 recorded and mixed August to September 1985 at Radio City Studios (New York City), released on French NATO label as "Godard ça vous chante".
Track #2 recorded June and mixed August 1986 at Radio City Studios (New York City), first released on Nonesuch label in 1987.
Track #3 recorded September 1987 at Radio City Studios (New York City), released on French NATO label compilation "Joyeux Nöel".

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.

Accordion – Jair Alcala (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Mike Guy* (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Acoustic Bass – Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (tracks: 9.1 to 9.9)
Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Mike Wilkins* (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Bajo Sexto – Jose Paquito Hernandez (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Baritone Saxophone – Zach Mayer (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Baritone Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Flute – Jessica Lurie (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Gemma Moore (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Bass – Dan Loomis (tracks: 11.11 to 11.13), Dan Kennedy* (tracks: 2.1 to 2.9), Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Bass, Musical Assistance – Carina Lopez (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Bass, Oud, Guimbri – Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (tracks: 10.1 to 10.12)
Charango, Percussion, Arranged By, Mixed By – JC Maillard* (tracks: 1.1 to 1.8)
Co-producer – Kazunori Sugiyama
Composed By, Executive Producer – John Zorn
Congas, Vibraphone, Shaker – Ches Smith (tracks: 10.1 to 10.12)
Design – Chippy (3), Heung-Heung Chin
Double Bass – Mark Lewandowski (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Drums – Gustavo Nandayapa (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Kenny Grohowski (tracks: 10.1 to 10.12), Ronen Itzik (tracks: 11.11 to 11.13), Tim Keiper (tracks: 9.1 to 9.9), Yuval Lion (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Drums, Percussion – Kenny Grohowski (tracks: 5.1 to 5.9), Larry Kwartowitz (tracks: 2.1 to 2.9), Will Glaser (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Sitar, Viola, Violin – Eyvind Kang (tracks: 10.1 to 10.12)
Electric Guitar, Baritone Guitar, Producer, Arranged By, Recorded By – Trey Spruance (tracks: 10.1 to 10.12)
Flute – Maria Emilia Martinez* (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Guimbri, Bass, Percussion, Producer, Arranged By – Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (tracks: 5.1 to 5.9)
Guitar – Alex Otaola (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Bernardo Ron (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Bill Frisell (tracks: 7.1 to 7.9), Eyal Maoz (tracks: 5.1 to 5.9), Federico Schmucler (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Gyan Riley (tracks: 4.1 to 4.9), Julian Lage (tracks: 4.1 to 4.9), Moss Freed (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9), Todd Clouser (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Yoshie Fruchter (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Guitar, Banjo – Aram Bajakian (tracks: 5.1 to 5.9)
Guitar, Oud – Matt Hollenberg (tracks: 2.1 to 2.9)
Guitar, Recorded By – Jon Madof (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Harp – Carol Emanuel (tracks: 7.1 to 7.9)
Horn – Misha Marks* (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Jarana – Omar Medina* (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Keyboards – Elliott Galvin (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Keyboards, Recorded By – Brian Marsella (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Keyboards, Vocals – Nick Shellenberger (tracks: 2.1 to 2.9)
Mastered By – Scott Hull*
Mixed By – Mark Urselli (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Organ, Piano, Electric Piano – Matt Lebofsky (tracks: 10.1 to 10.12)
Oud, Sarangi – Fausto Palma (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Percussion – Chatran Gonzalez (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Cyro Baptista (tracks: 9.1 to 9.9), Marlon Sobol (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Percussion, Jarana – Carlos Metta* (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Piano – Craig Taborn (tracks: 11.1 to 11.7), Vadim Neselovskyi* (tracks: 11.6 to 11.13)
Piano, Vibraphone – Brian Marsella (tracks: 9.1 to 9.9)
Producer – John Zorn (tracks: 4.1 to 4.9, 7.1 to 7.9, 11.1 to 11.12)
Producer, Arranged By – Cleric (tracks: 2.1 to 2.9)
Recorded By – James Dellatacoma (tracks: 2.1 to 2.9), Jason LaFarge (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8), Jeff Cook* (tracks: 11.11 to 11.13), Marc Urselli (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8, 10.1 to 10.12), Ryan Streber (tracks: 11.1 to 11.10), Tim Tedesco* (tracks: 9.1 to 9.9)
Recorded By, Mixed By – Iuri Oriente (tracks: 9.1 to 9.9), James Dellatacoma (tracks: 5.1 to 5.9, 8.1 to 8.8), Marc Urselli (tracks: 4.1 to 4.9, 7.1 to 7.9)
Saxophone – Dan Zlotnik* (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Mauricio Moro "Osito"* (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Synth, Clavinet, Glockenspiel, Effects, Guitar, Recorded By – Jason Schimmel (tracks: 10.1 to 10.12)
Tenor Saxophone – Greg Wall (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Paul Booth* (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Josephine Davies (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Trombone – Tim Smart (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Trombone, Synth, Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Ben Greenslade-Stanton (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Trumpet – Frank London (tracks: 8.1 to 8.8)
Trumpet, Arranged By, Directed By – Sam Eastmond (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – George Hogg (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9), Noel Langley (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Effects – Yazz Ahmed (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Tuba – Oren Marshall (tracks: 3.1 to 3.9)
Vibraphone – Kenny Wollesen (tracks: 7.1 to 7.9)
Viola, Piano, Keyboards, Producer, Arranged By, Recorded By – Benjamin Shwartz (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Violin – Edson Ontiveros (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8), Rolando Morejon (tracks: 6.1 to 6.8)
Vocals, Charango, Lyrics By, Arranged By – Sofía Rei* (tracks: 1.1 to 1.8)

我在电脑上趴着，数John Zorn（约翰·佐恩）的乐队——“赤裸城市”的歌的长度：42首曲子中除了两首一分多一点的，其余的都只有十几秒几十秒。这是什么概念你知道吗？这是一种蹂躏——睁大着眼睛等待死亡加速的蹂躏，或者把身体打开让鲜花来吻你的短暂冲动，当然也是一种蹂躏与被蹂躏的关系。
自由噪音之神 John Zorn 说到这，我想起了那个在纽约某个角落与我们的John Zorn离得不远的刘索拉在接受内地媒体所说的夸张之词。她说：John Zorn是继Ornette Coleman之后最重要的音乐家。她还说：那个94年来广州一起演出的女声只是伴唱，可以忽略不见的。啊，我们可爱的老女妖缺少点基础知识，那也饶过了，但她万万不能将John Zorn革命的战友——天生尖嗓的山冢爱划为女声伴唱！
John Zorn与山冢爱，已有两个传说中的人物登场了。让我们忘记他们在中国演出时蒙受的冤屈，10年前他们未来的中国死党还在重金属与老摇滚的后花园里做着做人的美梦。一般而言，John Zorn是在用最快的速度蒸发残酷的隐语与存在，而那种类似被电流穿过的体验却永远留在了你的心里面，如果你经常是一个为良心与困惑折磨的人。
如果我列举出我喜爱的那些人的名字，你也许会同意我对John Zorn的重要性的判断。Wayne Horvitz、Bill Frisell、Fred Frith、Dave Douglas……，虽然他们并非是John Zorn的一颗颗棋子，但他们密布在John Zorn的秩序里。在暴力与和谐的对峙中，John Zorn的音乐理念并不凌驾于人。他最大的贡献不是分担各种角色，而是相反——来担纲那些当代分类音乐的集合。有时候John Zorn的奇迹出现在一瞬间的转调中，奇僻而自然，不可理喻而妙趣横生，达到亵渎与批评的超常高度。
最早让我惊讶于John Zorn的是他的一些残酷背景。比如他的招牌乐队——Naked City（赤裸城市）的第二张专辑《Grand Guignol》与法国残酷剧的关系。而John Zorn的唱片封套都隐藏着各种各样的渊源，要想挖出期间的深奥必然要了解整个当代艺术史，包括曼哈顿街头文化——活着的与死去的。这个迷恋于日本情色电影的家伙（千万别搞错，他不是色情狂）的89年个人专辑《Naked City》的封套被我认出来了：是拍过五千桩谋杀案的维加（Weegee）的杰作。一个不知名男人的尸体躺在墙角，边上是凶手扔下的罪恶之枪。维加究竟披露了多少赤裸的人生，当他在深夜把相机伸过警察的头顶。而维加1945年的第一本摄影集的名字便是《Naked City》，John Zorn的一个有意思的出处。
如果你只把John Zorn看作是自由爵士的转世，他的确把两位“恩师”Anthony Braxton和Ornette Coleman当作招妖令牌，那么你又如何来看待这个虔诚的犹太后裔在Masada乐队里的对犹太文化的振兴呢？如果你对John Zorn的Hardcore与金属感觉陌生又陌生，那么你又怎么能在他的卡通音乐课上获得灵感呢？千万别把他的电影配乐拿来当作修身养心的秘方，他没准坏了哪位古典大师的一碗美肴。这个在80年代顿悟的“杂种”修正了整个当代流行音乐史，可能更广，即使他把萨克斯当作武器。在这上面，刘索拉又犯了一个低级错误——她怎么会认为John Zorn的萨克斯是一种很酷的“尖”？大概她近距离地看过John Zorn那张带着眼镜像学生的酷脸，女人的直觉往往与男人的理性错位。
作为二十世纪后半叶最重要的音乐家之一，John Zorn直到19岁才自学萨克斯。和另一个犹太人Bob Dylan一样，退学后在纽约自由艺术圈里游荡。关于他的极端审美，关于他对传统语言如希伯来语的谙熟，关于他对日本艺术包括电影的爱好，这统统可以聚焦于他的自由化的演奏。他可能相信“独立的音乐家的头脑”的时代已经结束，所以他寻找极为尖端的乐手来完成自由的合作。据他自己说，他的任何一支乐队都有一个或者几个方向。像Naked City完全是考验现场的噪音组合。在西方，关于John Zorn的课题已经深入到比较文化的领域，如John Zorn和他钟爱的戈达尔，再展开思路便是John Zorn与中国功夫电影。这种包罗万象的触角灵敏度就是他的那支萨克斯，带给我们哭嚎的文明，带给我们静默的文明，带给我们拼贴、重组与碎裂的文明。
让我们乘隙去耶鲁撒冷东南30英里的地方看看，在John Zorn的父亲去世后不久，便有了与那个地方相同名字的乐队——Masada。Masada，在希伯来人那里是“要塞”的意思。从一张Masada古遗址的照片上，我读到了藏在John Zorn内心深处的虔诚与荒凉，还有那无边无际的辉煌（John Zorn的音乐也可以这样评判）。事实上，在Masada的阵容里，尽管Dave Douglas的小号、Greg Cohen的贝司、Joey Baron的鼓与John Zorn的萨克斯是常规的，但它有很多临时的名堂，包括那个为希伯来人漂流的悲哀而生的弦乐组合。
我已不记得听Painkiller时的激动了，虽然我很快把欣喜感留在了Naked City身上。这个小时候就被电视的媒介洗滤掉部分童稚的天才为改造声像的世界而雄心勃勃，游戏的冲动一直在磨砺着他的灵感，直到声音彻底成为碎片。“我从事于听、读与观影的探索”， John Zorn的趣味在15岁沉入达达与超现实主义时就已相去十万八千里，他分成无数个人，嗅闻着他身上超现实的鳞片，那是直觉与本能——艺术家真正赖以生存的法宝。在那样的体验中，充分自由的实验与充分严谨的结构达到统一，对于很多人而言，他们不会注意到后者的存在。于是，对于John Zorn声音实验有了太多的疑问：爵士吗？噪音吗？室内乐吗？卡通世界吗？……应该是所有的这些的集合。
John Zorn从自己——一个犹太人的身份谈到了根的问题，Masada的根看来是犹太音乐，当然一个“无根者”必然加入了他生长地方的根——Ornette Coleman。尽管John Zorn在言谈中夸大了自己的无根，但倒是提醒了包括大洋彼岸的人们：你的艺术的根在哪里？我相信John Zorn首先是在本能中听到了他的一系列声音，从Locus Solus到Naked City，他一直在思考与感知，不断地制造又不断地洗刷，而非对噪音的敏感仅仅出于一些生存状态与生存斗争。
John Zorn创造了John Zorn式的萨克斯尖叫，而且越来越激烈。
在John Zorn早期乐队Locus Solus中你还是可以轻易地发现Arto Lindsay、Bill Laswell的影子。那时，他是纽约无浪潮的前传，和DNA、James White、Lydia Lunch等人并肩。这个人的真正颠峰是在这之后，《The Big Gundown》名义上是在演Ennio Morricone的电影音乐，但暴露的是一种颠覆的野心，噪音以外的深邃与噪音以内的逻辑，精彩的概念空间无限伸展，以及笼罩着变形的残酷、滑稽与感伤的气氛。这是John Zorn个人最出色的唱片之一。
1988年的《Spy VS.Spy》是用Hardcore来解释Ornette Coleman，两把萨克斯一起上，John Zorn在右声道，阁楼爵士的代表Tim Berne在左声道。Hardcore的不拖泥带水是可以靠时间来限制的，而贝司却几乎听不见。算是John Zorn在爵士领域里的一张杰作，混乱而反复无常。相对而言，我更喜欢95年的《Nani Nani》，Sitar与氛围的采样，东方化的风格按我来看不完全是两位日本人（一位是山冢爱）的功劳，两性关系与战争的阴影，狂噪不安的尘世与超脱之仙镜，山冢爱日本式的狂叫与John Zorn的鸭式应答。John Zorn也是环境音乐的高手，他偶尔也来一段对那个岛国的偏爱。
《Naked City》(1989年)是John Zorn最智慧的唱片之一，Naked City的原班人马组成阵容。不是说它有多么实验，而是每一个方向都被呈现出来，一共有多少？我知道你会问这个问题。表面上看几十个——实际有无穷的可能。John Zorn经常转调，在任何极限中消失，然后又重新出现在另一个声音的轨迹里。也就是一件乐器与另一件主奏乐器的替换，在天衣无缝中把一个又一个声音的世界端出来，其实，John Zorn的冥想成分一点也不弱于他的噪音成分，还有那种恰到好处的滑稽感。他是喜欢Mel Brooks式的半滑稽导演的。
如果你的人生曾有残酷的印记，那么Naked City乐队的短促的白色噪音便会唤醒一些东西。《Torture Garden》要指出的是那种崇拜情结。六个人专攻一种精巧的粗糙，几十秒的冲刺极限，几秒的回转，Hardcore的印记随处可见。上海的噪音乐队 Junkyard受这张唱片的影响还是不小的——有山冢爱的John Zorn。《Grand Guignol》是由三部分组成的：法国残酷剧的模拟；解释德彪西、斯克里亚宾与梅西安；噪音断片。虚无与自由的膨胀，鞭打与失控的交相映辉，爱与折磨的人间悲剧，诗和声音的知觉，内心深处的黑暗无边与受重极限。颠疯的状态下的细节与变化成了我欣赏这张唱片的唯一乐趣。当然我不会将这种噪音实验与人生混为一谈，艺术有理由放大一些东西，并做到极致的抽象。
Naked City的残酷主义到了《Absinthe》那里，是宁静而悲哀无比的，漫漫大地被挖了一个洞，在洞口是诗人的孤绝和遥望，John Zorn非常柔软的一面也是卓然不群的。先锋的意义在那里是一种情绪，一个被折迭得很深的问号。诗人描写的是魏尔伦、波德莱尔那一批，我特别喜欢的那一批。经过了《Absinthe》的统一与别致，再进入另一张Naked City的唱片《Radio》会有点不习惯，19首曲子提取了60位音乐家的音乐风格，混杂而难以承受。
John Zorn的技巧性在电影音乐与卡通音乐方面有很饱满的尝试，他新近的《Filmworks Vol.13》就相当的人性。这是一个兴趣广泛的人，他的音乐是多棱镜，你关注的是多方位的。他出片也勤快，不谈参与其他人的作品，在他名下的就有90多张，从Knitting Factory到他自己的品牌Tzadik，John Zorn的第一个代名词叫噪音，第二个叫自由即兴，第三个应该叫大集合。这一切都是关于声音的直觉运动。
也许，我最关心的是John Zorn对日本文化的厚爱，这个不大愿意被采访，不愿意留有文字著作的音乐大师喜欢日本B级电影，一如他酷爱戈达尔与酷爱杰克•斯密斯。那是一扇窗吗？在纽约暴力的大街与“暴力”的艺术之外，找到同样残酷但唯美的世界？
我们要学会在残酷的世界里喘息，这就是——John Zorn的声音给我们的机会。----------