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John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". His avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz, rock, Jewish music, hardcore, classical, contemporary, surf, metal, soundtrack, ambient, and world music. Rolling Stone noted that "[alt]hough Zorn has operated almost entirely outside the mainstream, he's gradually asserted himself as one of the most influential musicians of our time".

Zorn engaged New York City's downtown music scene in the mid-1970s, collaborating with improvising artists and experimenting with compositional strategies and arrangements. Over the next decade he performed throughout Europe and Japan and recorded on independent US and European labels. He released The Big Gundown, reconstructing the spaghetti Western, gangster and war movie themes of Ennio Morricone, a formative musical influence, to acclaim in 1986. Spillane and Naked City further demonstrated Zorn's ability to merge and blend musical styles in new and challenging formats.

Zorn spent significant time in Japan in the 1980s and early '90s returning to Lower East Side Manhattan to establish the Tzadik record label in 1995. Tzadik enabled Zorn to establish independence, maintain creative control, and ensure the availability of his growing catalog of recordings. He prolifically recorded and released new material for the label, issuing several new albums each year, along with recordings by many other artists.

Zorn performs on saxophone with his Naked City, Painkiller, and Masada bands. He also conducts ensembles such as Moonchild, Simulacrum, several Masada-related groups, and encourages musicians toward their own interpretations of his work. He has composed concert music for classical ensembles and orchestras, and produced music for opera, sound installations, film and documentary. Tours of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have been extensive, usually at festivals with musicians and ensembles that perform his repertoire.

Full article: John Zorn