Ripping off Zorn in Conversation...

Although John Zorn is unlikely to be giving me an interview this weekend - he hasn't spoken to the press in recent years - he did chat with fellow artist Michael Counts during the original production of his 'monodrama', La Machine de l’être. Counts was responsible for the animation that accompanied Zorn's composition, and the conversation was transcribed here.

Zorn's musical journey has been both restless and eclectic: from orchestrations based on game theory through hard bop jazz (fused with a ferocious punk sensibility) to his Masada project which focussed on the Jewish musical heritage, Zorn is a familiar face on the alternative and classical scenes. Far from suggesting a lack of definition, Zorn's enthusiastic for diverse genres reflects an interest in manifold musical paths, and he brings his distinctive aesthetic to every project.

Talking to Counts, Zorn does reveal a few of the key elements to his practice. "I always have a group of people that I trust," he says. "And that’s, for me, the only way to really get something done." His grounding in jazz lends all of his music an improvisational energy, and the emphasis on personnel rather than format is enlightening.  Like the groups put together by Miles Davis, Zorn's emphasis is as much as building connections as directing the musical direction.

"People are key in this process. Music-making, for me, is about people, which is why I like to work with the same people. You get a relationship. You get a real feeling of love between them. You can get a trust happening," he says. 

More unexpectedly, Zorn identifies the musical process as "sacred in a certain way." The emphasis on Jewish forms in the Masada recordings - and a smattering of compositions that take inspiration from magical thinking - hinted at an artist interested in spirituality and while his personal beliefs are not necessarily as explicit as, say, James MacMillan, he does set a religious sentiment at the heart of his music. He adds that "you don’t want to explain everything because then the mystery’s gone. Without the mystery— you lose a lot of depth."

If his eclecticism sets him firmly in one post-modern strand, his attitude towards the relationship between art and audience is equally post-modern, explaining that the work, once created, "creates its own reality." That he then asks Counts "How and where does divine inspiration come into play in your work?" complicates this vision. Like his abrupt musical shifts, his conversation with Counts reveals a mind comfortable working across genres and with a range of interests.

John Zorn: A Portrait 

Saturday, 12 January, 7.30pm

City Halls, Glasgow