Arcana III: Musicians on Music

Arcana

by John Zorn (Editor)

Arcana III is the third groundbreaking collection of critical writings on avant-garde and experimental music put together by editor (and experimental music legend) John Zorn. In this volume, 30 distinguished composer/performers illuminate and speculate upon method and practice in the process of making, experiencing and thinking about music. Comprised of essays, scores, manifestoes and interviews both real and imaginary, Arcana III gives voice to a new generation of brave musical explorers who live outside of the mainstream academy. Contributors include John Zorn, Maryanne Amacher, Derek Bermel, Steven Bernstein, Theo Bleckmann, Gavin Bryars, Greg Cohen, Jacques Coursil, Mario Diaz de Leon, Timb Harris, Scott Hull, Jerry Hunt, Henry Kaiser, Ha-Yang Kim, Makigami Koichi, Pamelia Kurstin, Okkyung Lee, Sean Lennon, Frank London, Brad Lubman, Christian Marclay, Kaffe Matthews, Olga Neuwirth, Buzz Osbourne, William Parker, Paola Prestini, Jamie Saft, Eric Singer, Wadada Leo Smith, Laeticia Sonami and Hal Willner.
John Zorn has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. A native of New York City, he has been a central figure in the downtown scene since 1975, incorporating a wide range of musicians in various compositional formats.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Essays, Art

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

John Zorn (a.k.a. Dekoboko Hajime, Rav Tzizit) is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Zorn

Reviews

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a little uneven compared to Arcana I and II. And it feels like those earlier volumes came from a time when there was significantly less documentation of this particular music scene. I kept waiting for one of these essays to jump out with something thick to chew on (as was often the case in the previous two volumes) and it never really happened. There were more than a few personal essays that were deeply honest and well written (Theo Bleckmann outlining the discipline behind exploring his voice as an instrument, Timb Harris on life as a rock and roll violinist and Buzz Osbourne on the life and art of the Melvins). The Jamie Saft essay on ZZ Top was both startling and puzzling. Hal Willner's essay on producing records was filled with anecdotal bliss. But in the end, this one didn't deliver the same anticipation between writings that the previous volumes had.