Spy vs. Spy - John Zorn (1989) - by Gavin Hill

Gas Giants

Spy vs. Spy - John Zorn (1989)

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Spy vs. Spy - John Zorn (1989)

"I’m not gonna do some half-assed version of Ornette with two saxes, bass, and drums, and just copy it. Does the world need that?” Tom & Gav explain why the world really DOES need Zorn's album.

Apr 25, 2025

Transcript

It’s probaly easier if we start like this. Here is a list of all the repertoire and which Ornette album to find it on….
Spy vs. Spy Repertoire List
W.R.U - Ornette! (1961)
Chronology – The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)
Word For Bird – In All Languages (1987)
Good Old Days – The Empty Foxhole (1966)
The Disguise – Something Else! (1958)
Enfant – Ornette On Tenor (1962)
Rejoicing – Tomorrow is the Question (1959)
Blues Connotation – This Is Our Music (1960)
C & D – Ornette! (1961)
Chippie – Something Else! (1958)
Peace Warriors – In All Languages (1987)
Ecars – Ornette on Tenor (1962)
Feet Music – In All Languages (1987)
Broadway Blues – New York is Now (1968)
Space Church – In All Languages (1987)
Zig Zag – The Empty Foxhole (1966)
Mob Job – Of Human Feelings (1982)
HERE is a link to a Youtube playlist of all the originals. The only problem is that In All Languages only exists as one album and not the individual tracks, but I’ve found a video with a time stamp.
Speaking of In All Languages, what did that Band sound like? Wouldn’t it be crazy if we could find some footage of THAT band, playinh live on SNL in some really sharp suits?
If you think Spy vs Spy is a bit too hard, let the master show the kids how its done…Watch the other two guitarists react to Metheny. One has an expression “huh?” the other “omfg lmao”

….but enough about Ornette, we’re here to talk about John Zorn!

Let me say right away that this isn’t a great film, but Zorn says some interesting things in it. I’ve left it at the moment where he plays a wonderful “inside the envelope” solo on Charlie Parker’s My Little Suede Shoes….savour the irony…

Before we put up another Youtube video, HERE is a link to an article from Rolling Stone about Zorn’s metal experiments.

Here’s part one of a four part Radio documentary about John Zorn from the BBC.

This is kind of fun. HERE is a link to a New York Times article about Barbara Hannigan and her experiences with Zorn’s “Jumalattaret”.

… and here it is ( for those of you with Spotify)

Just to finish up, here’s a clip of Zorn on Night Music….

…and a Zorn piece for Orchestra. I’ve played a lot worse music than this, I can tell you…props to whoever’s playing the Bassoon in this! Zorn’s huge love of Cartoon Music is obvious here.