bio zorn

John Zorn’s influential work defies any attempt to categorise it, because it is characterised by the encounter between and coexistence of very different genres: Jazz, Rock, Hardcore Punk, Classical music, Klezmer, film music, Noise and more besides. He was born in New York, where he also grew up. Since the 1970s, he has been one of the central figures on the downtown music scene. He has toured the world with his various ensembles. And his great number of CD releases - more than sixty - testifies to his incredible productivity. John Zorn has received commissions for compositions from the Kronos Quartet, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bavarian State Opera, among others. The Game Pieces are a good example of his playful-avant-garde approach, which includes improvising to elaborate rules shown to the musicians on a numbered sheet.

Bill Laswell creates his music with barely known instruments and iconoclastic lyrics as well as from established music traditions from all over the world. He has worked with an impressive number of musicians and thinkers including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Brian Eno, Carlos Santana, Georg Clinton, der Dalai Lama, William Burroughs and Paul Bowles. His bass playing displays the same unique quality as his compositions and productions, no matter whether he is playing Funk, Fusion, Hardcore or Ambient.

Yoshida Tatsuya is one of the most innovative drummers and composers on the Japanese avant-garde music scene. In 1985, he founded his own group, Ruins, which consists solely of drums and bass. The band play high-energy music inspired by Hardcore, progressive Rock and contemporary music - always on the verge of being pure noise, but always intelligent.