John Zorn Quotes

John Zorn
John Zorn
American Composer
Born: Sep 2, 1953
Me Music People Sometimes Work You
Related authors: Eubie Blake George Crumb John Cage John Williams Leonard Bernstein Oscar Levant Stephen Sondheim Virgil Thomson
I used to look at composing music as problem solving. But as I get older, it's not about problem solving anymore. There are no solutions, because there are no problems. You just turn the tap and it flows out. John Zorn
Music You Problem Problems Older Out Solutions Solving Composing About No Problems Look Because Tap Get Just Problem-Solving Anymore Turn Used Flows
I'm constantly tortured, and that's why I say happiness is irrelevant. Happiness is for children and yuppies. John Zorn
Happiness Say Tortured Constantly Irrelevant Children Why
When I'm writing, sometimes it gets to that place where I feel like the piece is writing itself and I'm trying not to get in the way. John Zorn
Writing Sometimes Way Feel Like Piece Itself Get Trying Gets Where Place
Well, in Japan, I have got a group of musicians that I have worked with a lot, that concentrate just on the hardcore stuff, say, that Naked City has been working on. We have like a repertoire of sixty songs now. John Zorn
Musicians Naked Group Say Has-Been City Songs Stuff Concentrate Like Well Got Been Lot Repertoire Just Sixty Japan Worked Working Hardcore Now
That was my challenge as a composer. Like with anything, to keep yourself interested in doing what you do, you set yourself challenges. So I said, Okay, I'll try to write a hundred tunes in a year. John Zorn
You Challenges Yourself Try Challenge Year Hundred Okay Composer Write Like Said Doing Anything Tunes Interested Keep Set
It's a matter of keeping people on a spontaneous edge. John Zorn
People Matter Edge Spontaneous Keeping
It breaks even. We lose ten, twenty grand every year. But then the people who are working say, Look, I'll kick this back in, I don't need to take this profit share. It's very cooperative. John Zorn
People Year Lose Profit Every Back Kick Say Ten Take Share Look Very Grand Breaks Then Working Who Even Twenty Cooperative Need
I'm getting ready to write a piece now, and it's been six months thinking about it, changing the instrumentation, changing the name, doing more reading. John Zorn
Reading Thinking Changing Months About More Write Name Piece Instrumentation Ready Doing Been Getting Six Now
I have wit in my work and a sense of humor, but I do not use irony in any way. John Zorn
Work Sense Of Humor Humor Sense Way Wit Irony Any Use
I have about two or three people, we don't have an office, we don't even have a dedicated phone line. We do it out of our own homes, and we make it work. John Zorn
Work People Phone Three Own Our Out About Make Line Office Dedicated Even Homes Two
I don't control it at all. It's all up to the musicians in the group. They control it. They make all the cues, and they tell me what they want, and then I act like a mirroring device so that everyone can see what the cues are. John Zorn
Me Musicians Control Group Everyone Tell See Device Like Make Up Want Then Act
Great musicians accept everything that they hear and find something good. They take what they like and they throw away what they don't like. John Zorn
Good Great Musicians Everything Find Something Something Good Throw Take Like Accept Hear Away
Eye was a great discovery. He is one of the great vocalists of all time. John Zorn
Time Great Eye All-Time He Discovery
And I try to be as diplomatic as I can, but it always ends up being a psychodrama up there on stage. John Zorn
Try Stage Diplomatic Always Up Being Ends
I have not practiced saxophone since 1980. I mean, not one note. I do not pick it up in my house, and that's the end of it. John Zorn
Saxophone Pick Since House Practiced End Up Note Mean
Classical stuff takes a lot of rehearsal time and preparation, but with stuff that involves improvisation, you can over-rehearse it and it gets stale. You don't want it to be too comfortable. In fact, a good sound check, a good rehearsal usually means a bad performance. John Zorn
Time Good You Preparation Too Bad Classical Bad Performance Fact Takes Performance Check Stuff Involves Comfortable Sound Lot Improvisation Gets In Fact Want Stale Means Rehearsal
No one sits in front of a drum set and thinks they invented it all out of whole cloth. The fact that the set is there means that you've got some dues to pay to Baby Dodds. John Zorn
You Pay Baby Out All-Out Some Invented Fact No-One Drum Drum Set Got Dues Front Cloth Means Whole Thinks Set
One thing that I do ask myself when I'm in the creative process is, 'Does the world need this?' John Zorn
Myself Creative World Creative Process One Thing Does Process Ask Thing Need
Music is about people for me. It's not about sounds. It's about people; it's about putting people into challenging situations. And for me, challenges are opportunities. John Zorn
Music Me Challenges People Opportunities About Putting Sounds Situations Challenging
I started the label Tzadik to support an entire community of musicians, not just Jewish musicians. But the radical Jewish culture movement was begun in a lot of ways because I wanted to take the idea that Jewish music equals 'klezmer' and expand it to, 'Well, Jewish music could be a lot more than that.' John Zorn
Music Musicians Culture Community Radical Jewish Culture Ways Entire More Could Take Support Idea Well Equals Because Lot Label Expand Than Begun Just Movement Wanted Started Jewish
What happens when you get to the age of 60 is that you have no more doubts. I know why I'm here on this planet. I know what I need to do. I know what is a distraction and what isn't. John Zorn
You Age Distraction More Know Get Happens Planet Doubts Why Here Need
I don't ascribe to the idea of the ivory tower composer who sits alone in a room composing his masterpieces and then comes down from Mount Sinai with the tablets. It doesn't work like that. The job of a composer is putting something down on a piece of paper that will inspire the person who's playing. John Zorn
Work Alone Inspire Will Job Down Paper Composer Composing Tablets Something Putting Idea Tower Like Piece Masterpieces His Ivory Mount Person Ascribe Room Then Who Playing
If someone is a straight jazzhead, or a straight metalhead, or straight classical, they have a very narrow range of what they allow into their lives. But the people who listen to what we put out into the world have to be open-minded. Because we're so pluralist. John Zorn
People World Range Out Classical Someone Allow Put Open-Minded Because Narrow Very Listen Straight Who Lives
Each record in the 'Book of Angels' series is meant to be unique in terms of the compositions. John Zorn
Book Record Angels Terms Meant Meant To Be Unique Series Each
I'm not striving for happiness, I'm trying to get some work done. And sometimes the best work is done under doubt. Constantly rethinking and re-evaluating what you're doing, working and working until it's finished. John Zorn
Happiness Work Best You Sometimes Finished Doubt Striving Constantly Best Work Some Until Doing Get Trying Done Working

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