Search results for ""author john zorn""

The final installment of John Zorn's major series of new music theory, with Oren Ambarchi, Peter Blegvad, Annea Lockwood, Henry Threadgill and many more Initiated in 1997 and now in its tenth and final installment, John Zorn's acclaimed Arcana series is a major source of new music theory and practice in the 21st century. Illuminating directly via the personal vision and experience of the practitioners themselves, who experience music not from a cool, safe distance, but from the white-hot center of the creative crucible itself, Arcana elucidates through essays, manifestos, scores, interviews, notebooks and critical papers. Over 25 years the ten volumes of Arcana have presented the writings of over 300 of the most extraordinary musical thinkers of our time, who address composing, performing, improvising, touring, collaborating, living and thinking about music from diverse, refreshing and often surprising perspectives. Technical, philosophical, political, artistic and mystical in nature, these writings provide direct connections to the creative processes and hidden stratagems of musicians from the worlds of classical, rock, jazz, film soundtrack, improvised music and more. Contributors include: Susan Alcorn, Oren Ambarchi, Ran Blake, Peter Blegvad, Tyondai Braxton, Patricia Brennan, John Butcher, Ben Coniguliaro, Amir Elsaffar, Kenny Grohowski, Tom Guralnick, Mark Helias, David Hertzberg, Stefan Jackiw, Dan Kaufman, Derek Keller, Richard Kessler, Pauline Kim, Ulrich Krieger, Hannah Lash, Dan Lippel, Annea Lockwood, Dave Lombardo, Charlie Looker, Thomas Morgan, Stephen O’Malley, Laura Ortman, Alex Paxton, Alexandria Smith, Conrad Tao, Pat Thomas, Henry Threadgill, Anna Webber, Fay Victor, Christian Wolff and Miguel Zenon.

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Arcana III is the third groundbreaking collection of critical writings on avant-garde and experimental music put together by editor (and experimental music legend) John Zorn. In this volume, 30 distinguished composer/performers illuminate and speculate upon method and practice in the process of making, experiencing and thinking about music. Comprised of essays, scores, manifestoes and interviews both real and imaginary, Arcana III gives voice to a new generation of brave musical explorers who live outside of the mainstream academy. Contributors include John Zorn, Maryanne Amacher, Derek Bermel, Steven Bernstein, Theo Bleckmann, Gavin Bryars, Greg Cohen, Jacques Coursil, Mario Diaz de Leon, Timb Harris, Scott Hull, Jerry Hunt, Henry Kaiser, Ha-Yang Kim, Makigami Koichi, Pamelia Kurstin, Okkyung Lee, Sean Lennon, Frank London, Brad Lubman, Christian Marclay, Kaffe Matthews, Olga Neuwirth, Buzz Osbourne, William Parker, Paola Prestini, Jamie Saft, Eric Singer, Wadada Leo Smith, Laeticia Sonami and Hal Willner. John Zorn has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. A native of New York City, he has been a central figure in the downtown scene since 1975, incorporating a wide range of musicians in various compositional formats.

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John Zorn's acclaimed Arcana series, now in its seventh installment, is a major source on new music theory and practice in the twenty-first century. The most varied collection to date, Arcana VII includes personal essays by New Music luminaries Pat Metheny, Bryce Dessner, Irvine Arditti, Thurston Moore, Kenny Werner, Eugene Chadbourne and David Krakauer alongside articles on musical theory and practice by veterans Joe Morris, Matt Shipp, Ben Goldberg, Ches Smith, George Steel, Billy Martin, Hilda Paredes and Gloria Coates and insightful new views by younger musicians Chris Otto, James Moore, Theresa Wong, Shanir Blumenkranz, Jay Campbell, Du Yun, James Ilgenfritz, Chuck Bettis, Aya Nishina and many others. A kaleidoscope of manifestoes, scores, interviews, critical papers, musical studies, rants and more, Arcana VII is a fascinating compendium from first word to last.

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A major resource for new music theory and practice in the twenty-first century, the acclaimed Arcana series looks at the inner workings of the artistic process through manifestoes, scores, interviews, notes and critical papers written by the practitioners themselves, providing insight into the work, mind and methodologies of some of the most remarkable creative minds of our time. Contributors to this volume include Duck Baker, Eve Beglarian, Karl Berger, Chuck Bettis, Claire Chase, Anna Clyne, John Corigliano, Jeremiah Cymerman, David Fulmer, Jeff Gauthier, Alan Gilbert, Judd Greenstein, Mary Halvorson, Hillary Hahn, Jesse Harris, David Lang, Mary Jane Leach, Steve Lehman, Steve Mackey, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Denman Maroney, Brad Mehldau, Jessica Pavone, Toby Picker, Gyan Riley, Jon Rose, Steve Schick, Jen Shyu, Dave Taylor, Richard Teitelbaum, Julia Wolfe, Kenny Wollesen, Nate Wooley and Charles Wuorinen.

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The long-awaited ninth installment in John Zorn’s essential series of writings by musicians and composers at the forefront of musical innovation, from John Luther Adams to Danny Elfman Initiated in 1997 and now in its ninth installment, John Zorn's Arcana series is a major source of new music theory and practice in the 21st century. To date, close to 300 musicians spanning three generations have contributed, addressing the inner workings of composing, improvising, teaching, living, touring and thinking about music via essays, manifestoes, interviews, notebook entries, critical papers and more. Arcana illuminates via personal vision and experience through the undiluted words and thoughts of the practitioners themselves. This ninth volume is perhaps the most varied and imaginative installment yet, with contributions from classical masters John Luther Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, Ann Cleare and Aaron Jay Kernis, jazz virtuosos Christian McBride, Chris Potter, Tomeka Reid and Joel Ross, soundtrack composers Danny Elfman and Carter Burwell, vocalist Ganavya Doraiswami, recording engineer Ryan Streber and much, much more. Essential for composers, musicians, students and fans alike, this challenging and original collection provides deep insight into the work, mind and methodologies of some of the most remarkable creative minds of our time.

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Answering a need for critical attention towards experimental and avant-garde music, Arcana is a ground-breaking work--as far-ranging and dynamic as the current generation of musicians. Through manifestoes, scores, interviews, notes and critical papers, performer/composers address composing, playing, improvising, teaching and thinking in and through music, Rather than an attempt to distill or define musicans' work, Arcana is a remarkable book--challenging and original--essential for composers, musicians, theorists and fans alike. Edited by John Zorn, it includes contributions from Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot (on earplugs), Ikue Mori (on drum machines), Bob Ostertag (on a string quartet) There's a discussion on plunderphonics with John Oswald, an overview from Elliott Sharp on his group Carbon, and David Mahler expounds his responses to a set of nine questions posed by Pauline Oliveros. The writings range from brief 2 or 3 page entries (Mike Patton's "How We Eat Our Young," Marilyn Crispell's "Elements of Improvisation") to long and elaborate essays (Scott Johnson's "Counterpoint," David Rosenboom's "Propositional Music"). Some of the contributions are more unusual, such as Zorn's "Treatment for a Film in Fifteen Scenes," Fred Frith's notebook extracts, or Peter Garland's journal of his trip to Australia's Northern Territory. All of them provide for inspiring and thought-provoking reading, making this an invaluable book for both fans of these artists and aspiring musicians of the avant garde. An appendix of brief bios for each artist ends the book, along with short lists of recommended listenings.

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In his preface to the first Arcana: Musicians on Music (2000), avant-garde composer and saxophone player John Zorn wrote: "This book exists to correct an unfortunate injustice, the incredible lack of insightful critical writing about a significant generation of the best and most important work of the past two decades." That the injustice was repaired by that collection was happily affirmed by its subsequent success. The range of writing--from the technical to the aphoristic/diaristic--demonstrated that sometimes critical writing on music can inspire as much as it can explicate. As Zorn acknowledged, though, Arcana was also a first step. Now Arcana II, also edited by Zorn, extends the scope of its predecessor, compiling further essential writing by luminaries of contemporary improvisation and composition such as Butch Morris, Evan Parker, Marina Rosenfeld, Ned Rothenberg, Sylvie Courvoisier, Steve Coleman, Dave Douglas, Annie Gosfield, Jim O'Rourke, Milford Graves, Zeena Parkins, Bill Laswell and Uri Caine.

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