One of the only Zorn album I own and like
One of the only Zorn album I own and like
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
^ Dunno 'bout that in general. I've known a lot of "avanters" through the years who've had little time for Zorn, not necessarily because of his music itself but for the main theories and "visions" permeating it. In some camps he'll always fill the role of desperate provocateur, be it towards traditions and conventions in jazz, rock or in contemporary musics as such. Some of his critics articulate themselves quite analogous to polemics against post-modernist approaches as a whole in arts, and Zorn was pigeonholed as stemming from that ilk right from the beginning. I still remember reading Weasel Walter's attacks on (most of) Zorn's achievements and thinking it pretty much echoed earlier expressions of disdain from self-declared lowbrow art-creators confronting the transgressions of "scholared/institutional" voices like that of Zorn's. At least that was my initial impression.
As far as I'm concerned, the Zorn roster covers so immensely vast grounds that you cannot operate with a simplifying - or an attempted unifying - reduction of either its worth, motives or intentions. Zorn was never about "one" heterogenous direction, style, or genre. Consequently, there's also a lot of his work which I do not enjoy or believe in - without this getting in the way of my overall regard of his importance.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
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