KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ A Visit With John Zorn

Analog Audio

Event Type

Interview and Music

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

AM.1987.06.19

Program Length

68 min

Dates

1987-06-19 | broadcast
| 1987-06-19 | created

Description

John Zorn and Larry Ochs join Charles Amirkhanian to discuss and play a selection of Zorn’s compositions. Among the pieces heard is an excerpt from “Spillane” in which Zorn tries to capture some of the film noir sensibility that imbues the Mickey Spillane novels and the gritty New York City in which they are based, and which Zorn calls home. This is followed by a couple of excerpts from Zorn’s collaborative improvisational work “Cobra” for which he created a number of general rules which are then used by a group of talented musicians to create an ever changing kaleidoscope of sound events. Also included in this program is a portion of “Hu-Die”, a piece named for and inspired by the great Cantonese actress from the 1930s, as well as a recording of the well-known tabla player, Zakir Hussain.

Genres

Jazz
Avant-garde

Musical Selections

Cobra [excerpt] (1:45) -- Spillane [excerpt] (6:30) -- Cobra: Adagio Maestoso -- Cobra: Violento -- Hu-Die [excerpt, text by Arto Lindsay] (8:13) -- Chaartaal Ki Sawari (10:35) / Zakir Hussain

Performers

Anthony Coleman, piano, organ, celeste (Spillane ; Cobra)
Carol Emanuel, harp (Spillane)
Bill Frisell, guitar (Spillane ; Cobra ; Hu-Die)
David Hofstra, bass, tuba (Spillane)
Bobby Previte, percussion (Spillane)
Jim Staley, trombone (Spillane)
David Weinstein, sampling keyboards, celeste (Spillane)
John Zorn, alto saxophone, clarinet (Spillane)
John Lurie, voice (Spillane)
Robert Quine, voice (Spillane)
Elliott Sharp, guitar (Cobra)
Wayne Horvitz, keyboards (Cobra)
Guy Klucevsek, accordion (Cobra)
Fred Frith, guitar (Hu-Die)
Ruby Chang, voice (Hu-Die)
Zakir Hussain, tabla (Chaartaal)

Subjects

Jazz
Avant-garde (Music)
Improvisation (Music)
Music -- India
Tabla music

Acknowledgment

Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by Save America’s Treasures, a program of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Related places

Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

Amirkhanian, Charles
Zorn, John, 1953-
Ochs, Larry
Coleman, Anthony
Emanuel, Carol
Frisell, Bill
Hofstra, Dave
Previte, Bobby
Staley, Jim
Weinstein, David
Lurie, John, 1952-
Quine, Robert
Sharp, Elliott
Horvitz, Wayne
Klucevsek, Guy
Lindsay, Arto
Frith, Fred
Chang, Ruby
Hussain, Zakir, 1951-