John Zorn turns 70 on September 3 and has been celebrating his milestone birthday all year with special shows and curated performances around the country. (We caught a few at Big Ears this spring.) He’s got three [email protected] events coming up in Brooklyn at Roulette:
Sunday, August 13 : Zorn will host COBRA, his infamous, confusing and chaotic — but thrilling/hilarious to watch — improvisational game piece with a massive 13-player roster of Wendy Eisenberg (guitar), Taylor Levine (guitar), Trevor Dunn (electric bass), Alexandra Simpson (viola), Michael Nicolas (cello), Jorge Roeder (bass), Brian Marsella (piano), Ikue Mori (electronics), Kenny Wollesen (drums), vibes), Sae Hashimoto (vibes, percussion), Ches Smith (drums), percussion), Cha Cha La Fox (violin), and a “special guest violinist” TBA.
Sunday, August 27: John Zorn will perform in a “trio formation with Laurie Anderson and Sean Ono Lennon for an exceptional – and exceptionally rare – collaboration between celebrated artists. Reassembling this inimitable group, first organized as part of the Benefit for Disaster Aid in Türkiye/Syria (an event in February 2023 that raised nearly $20,000 for the International Rescue Committee)”
Thursday, September 14: This show features Four World Premieres of Zorn compositions “performed by some of the world’s most accomplished musicians including: pianist Conrad Tao, violinists Stefan Jackiw and Jennifer Choi, cellist Jay Campbell, bassist Jorge Roeder, the percussionist Ches Smith, and trumpeters Peter Evans and Sam Jones.”
Happy birthday, John Zorn!
