Tzadik Records
Encyclopedia
Tzadik Records is a record label
based in New York City
specialising in avant-garde
and experimental music
. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn
in 1995
; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a not-for-profit, cooperative record label.
Tzadik has released over 400 albums by a variety of artists with diverse musical backgrounds, including, but not limited to free improvisation
, jazz
, noise
, klezmer
, rock
and experimental composition
.
Notable in the label's catalogue are releases by Zorn himself and his multifaceted "songbook" group Masada
; singer Mike Patton
; guitarists Derek Bailey, Otomo Yoshihide, Tim Sparks
, Buckethead
and Keiji Haino
; noise music icon Merzbow
; composers Gordon Mumma
, Frank Denyer
and Teiji Ito
; experimental groups Kayo Dot
, Time of Orchids
and Rashanim
, microtonalists Syzygys
; drummer Yoshida Tatsuya
and his band Ruins; trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith
; and many others.
Particularly of note are two musicians. Guitarist Marc Ribot
is essentially the "house guitarist" for Tzadik, recording five Tzadik solo albums as of late 2007, and playing as a guest on several dozen more. Percussionist Ikue Mori
has recorded six albums for Tzadik as a composer, created the uniform gold-and-green design for Tzadik releases, and has created photography and artwork for many releases.
Tzadik releases are classified into one of several series: The more-or-less self explanatory "New Japan
", "Composer Series", "Lunatic Fringe", "Radical Jewish Culture" and "Film Music" series; also of note are the "Archival Series" (documenting Zorn's own prolific output); the "Oracle Series" (devoted to female composers and musicians); and the "Birthday Series" (live recordings of concerts Zorn staged to celebrate his 50th birthday).
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
specialising in avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
and experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn 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...
in 1995
1995 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a not-for-profit, cooperative record label.
Tzadik has released over 400 albums by a variety of artists with diverse musical backgrounds, including, but not limited to free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
, klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and experimental composition
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
.
Notable in the label's catalogue are releases by Zorn himself and his multifaceted "songbook" group Masada
Masada (band)
Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s.Masada is as much a "songbook" as a group, comprising more than 500 relatively brief compositions...
; singer Mike Patton
Mike Patton
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
; guitarists Derek Bailey, Otomo Yoshihide, Tim Sparks
Tim Sparks
Tim Sparks is an American acoustic guitar player, singer, arranger and composer.- Biography:Raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was given his first guitar when a bout of encephalitis kept him out of school for a year...
, Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
and Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Tokyo, is a Japanese musician whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise, singer-songwriter, solo percussion, psychedelic, minimalism and drone styles...
; noise music icon Merzbow
Merzbow
is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
; composers Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He cofounded Ann Arbor's Cooperative Studio for Electronic Music with Robert Ashley, was a musician with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was a member of the Sonic Arts Union with Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and David Behrman...
, Frank Denyer
Frank Denyer
Frank Denyer is a composer. His music uses a combination of conventional instruments and new, unusual, and structurally modified instruments. Partly due to his studies of non-Western music, much of Denyer's music is microtonal....
and Teiji Ito
Teiji Ito
was a Japanese composer and performer. He is best known for his scores for the avant-garde films by Maya Deren.Ito was born in Tokyo, Japan into a theatrical family. His father, Yuji Itō, was a composer and costume designer, and his mother, Teiko Ono, was a dancer who worked in both traditional...
; experimental groups Kayo Dot
Kayo Dot
Kayo Dot is an American avant-rock/experimental music group that was formed in 2003 by Toby Driver. They released their debut album Choirs of the Eye on John Zorn's Tzadik Records label that year. Tzadik's descriptive label on that album reads: "Kayo Dot powerfully integrates elements of modern...
, Time of Orchids
Time Of Orchids
Time of Orchids was a NYC-based avant rock band founded in 1999.Two of the band's albums feature renowned female vocalists. Kate Pierson performs on "Much Too Much Fun" while Julee Cruise of Twin Peaks fame sings on "Sarcast While"....
and Rashanim
Masada Rock
Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 5: Masada Rock is the fifth and final album in a series of five releases celebrating the 10th anniversary of John Zorn's Masada songbook project...
, microtonalists Syzygys
Syzygys
Syzygys is a band composed of duo Hitomi Shimizu on organ and Hiromi Nishida on violin. They play "microtonal pop music", specifically just intonation in the form of Harry Partch's 43-tone scale....
; drummer Yoshida Tatsuya
Yoshida Tatsuya
is a Japanese musician and composer who is the only consistent member of the renowned progressive rock duo Ruins, as well as Koenji Hyakkei...
and his band Ruins; trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith
Wadada Leo Smith
Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpeter and composer working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation.-Biography:...
; and many others.
Particularly of note are two musicians. Guitarist Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
is essentially the "house guitarist" for Tzadik, recording five Tzadik solo albums as of late 2007, and playing as a guest on several dozen more. Percussionist Ikue Mori
Ikue Mori
, also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, composer, and graphic designer.-Biography:Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She says she had little interest in music before hearing punk rock...
has recorded six albums for Tzadik as a composer, created the uniform gold-and-green design for Tzadik releases, and has created photography and artwork for many releases.
Tzadik releases are classified into one of several series: The more-or-less self explanatory "New Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
", "Composer Series", "Lunatic Fringe", "Radical Jewish Culture" and "Film Music" series; also of note are the "Archival Series" (documenting Zorn's own prolific output); the "Oracle Series" (devoted to female composers and musicians); and the "Birthday Series" (live recordings of concerts Zorn staged to celebrate his 50th birthday).