SaxophonistJohn Zorn is a modern avant-garde icon. In the late 1980s, however, with several tributes to heroes of the 1950s and 60s hardbop era like Hank Mobley and Sonny Clark, he honored the musicians who came before him with an edgy passion that also revealed Zorn's skills in a straightahead jazz setting.
Writing about the firstNews for Lulu album, critic Art Lange writes, "It reminds us that the ranks of post-bop players produced a number of great blowing tunes with witty or lyrical turns of phrase; it rescues these tunes from oblivion while communicating the joy and exhilaration at their essence, and shows that a fresh, imaginative and fearless attitude can revitalize such material without mimicking older performance styles."
Our show John Zorn's Hardboiled Bop features music from:
- both News for Lulu releases
- Voodoo: the Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet
- other Zorn appearances with organist Big John Patton and saxophonist Lee Konitz, with sidemen including guitarist Bill Frisell and trombonist George Lewis
- some of Zorn's late-1980s noir-influenced jazz
For More John Zorn:
- Read Robert Palmer's 1987 New York Times review of Zorn's Sonny Clark tribute.
- Listen to a previous Night Lights program about Sonny Clark.
- Guy Peters takes a look at John Zorn's late-1980s and early-1990s recordings.
- Read a recent profile of John Zorn.
- Watch John Zorn live in 1987 playing as part of the Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet:
