''Filmworks 1986–1990'' features the first released film scores of

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

. The album was originally released on the Japanese labels Wave and Eva in 1990, on the

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...

label in 1992, and subsequently re-released on Zorn's own label,

Tzadik Records Tzadik Records is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a n ...

, in 1997 after being out of print for several years.

"For Zorn, filmscores have always been a place to experiment, and the FilmWorks Series is in many ways a microcosm of his prodigious output. This original installment of the FilmWorks Series presents three scores ranging from punk-rockabilly (featuring the nasty guitars of Bob Quine,
Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...
and
Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation ''No New York''. In ...
); a jazzy
Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
fantasy; to a quirky classical/improv/world music amalgam for Raul Ruiz's bizarre film ''
The Golden Boat ''The Golden Boat'' is a 1990 American low-budget film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. Shot in New York City, ''The Golden Boat'' is Ruiz's first film produced in the United States and has been categorized as an absurdist black comedy ...
''. Zorn's infamous one-minute arrangement of Morricone's classic ''The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'', is included as a bonus track. This is the place where it all began." Tzadik catalogue
/ref>

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Joslyn Layne awarded the album 3 stars stating "Although certainly a younger effort, there is a lot of good music on this first film works compilation. It is interesting to hear where Zorn's scores began".Layne, J
Allmusic Review
accessed July 22, 2011 Guy Peters stated "With releases like this, Zorn was basically working outside the jazz-frame and experimenting with avant-garde compositions, but a lot of the music owes so much to jazz that his crossover tactics can be found at full-effect. Like all of his music that is laden with shifts, gimmicks, cut-up techniques and the complete lack of convention, this volume of Filmworks may strike one as too self-conscious and studied (as in the structured improvisation of the game pieces), but it also shows you a fearless musician and composer at work, willing to take risks and not afraid to fail once in a while. It's certainly not an easy listen".Peters, G
Guy's Music Review
, accessed October 24, 2013

Track listing and liner notes

''White and Lazy (1986)'' Director - Rob Schwebber # "Main Title" – 0:55 # "Homecoming" - 1:15 # "The Heist" - 3:20 # "Meat Dream" - 1:50 # "Phone Call" - 0:50 # "End Title" - 1:59

Robert Quine Robert Wolfe Quine (December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004) was an American guitarist. A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown. Critic Mark Deming wrote that "Quine's eclect ...

- guitar

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation ''No New York''. In ...

- guitar, vocals
Melvin Gibbs - bass

Anton Fier Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...

- drums
Carol Emanuel - harp
David Weinstein - keyboards
Ned Rothenberg - bass clarinet

Recorded and mixed June 1986 at Radio City Studios,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

by Don Hünerberg.
''The Golden Boat (1990)'' Director - Raúl Ruiz
07. "Fanfare" - 0:30
08. "Theme" - 2:59
09. "Jazz 1" - 2:51
10. "Horror Organ" - 1:06
11. "Mexico" - 1:56
12. "Mood" - 3:17
13. "Rockabilly" - 2:01
14. "Slow" - 2:47
15. "Jazz Oboes" - 2:33
16. "The Golden Boat (Turntable Mix)" - 2:58
17. "End Titles" - 2:53

Vicki Bodner - oboe

- alto sax

- guitar

Anthony Coleman Anthony Coleman (born August 30, 1955) is an avant-garde jazz pianist. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked with John Zorn on '' Cobra'', ''Kristallnacht'', ''The Big Gundown'', ''Archery'', and ''Spillane'' and helped push modern Jewish music in ...

- keyboards
Carol Emanuel - harp

David Shae David Shae (also known as David Moretti) (born September 3, 1981)) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Ron Martz, in Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell and Alfred on ''The Walking Dead''. Early life Shae was born in Cranston, Rhode ...

- turntable, vocals

Mark Dresser Mark Dresser (born September 26, 1952) is an American double bass player and composer. Career Dresser was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the 1970s, he was a member of Black Music Infinity led by Stanley Crouch and performed w ...

- bass
Ciro Baptista - Brazilian percussion
Robert Previte - drums, marimba

Recorded May 1990 at Platinum Island Studio, NY by Ricky Belt.
Mixed August 1990 at Science Lab, NYC by Jerry Gottus.
''The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1987)''
18. "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" - 1:04

- guitar

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

- guitar

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

- bass

Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robin Holcomb. He ...

- hammond organ
David Weinstein - keyboards
Carol Emanuel - harp
Robert Previte - drums, percussion, vocal

Recorded and mixed April 1987 at Radio City Studios, New York City by Don Hünerberg.
''She Must Be Seeing Things (1986)'' Director - Sheila McLaughlin
19. "Main Title" - 1:04
20. "Swirling Shot" - 1:20
21. "Homecoming" - 3:22
22. "Catalina Flash" - 0:28
23. "Seduction" - 4:54
24. "Sex Shop Boogaloo" - 2:47
25. "Catalina Escapes" - 1:11
26. "Worms" - 1:04
27. "Death Waltz Fantasy" - 1:24
28. "Following Sequence" - 3:03
29. "Movie Set" - 1:20
30. "Climax" - 2:55
31. "Going To Dinner" - 2:38
32. "End Titles" - 3:27

Shelley Hirsch - voice

- alto sax
Marty Ehrlich - tenor sax, clarinet

Tom Varner Tom Varner (born June 17, 1957 in Morristown, New Jersey, United States) is an American jazz horn (French horn) player and composer. Varner grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, and studied piano in his youth with Capitola Dickerson of Summit, Ne ...

- French horn
Jim Staley - trombone

- guitar
Carol Emanuel - harp

- piano, organ, celeste, harpsichord

- hammond organ, piano, DX7
David Weinstein - mirage, CZ101 keyboards
David Hofstra - bass

Naná Vasconcelos Juvenal de Holanda Vasconcelos, known as Naná Vasconcelos (2 August 1944 – 9 March 2016), was a Brazilian percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, notable for his work as a solo artist on over two dozen albums, and as a backing musician wi ...

- Brazilian percussion
Robert Previte - drums, percussion, vibes, timpani, orchestra bells

Recorded and mixed December 1986 at Radio City Studios, New York City by Don Hünerberg. *All music composed, arranged and produced by

, except 18. "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", composed by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

, and 16. "The Golden Boat (Turntable Mix)", mixed by

. *All music published by Theatre of Musical Optics (BMI), except 18. published by Unart Music (BMI). *Executive Producer: John Zorn, Associate Producer: Kazunori Sugiyama *Mastered by

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

*Design by Anthony Lee and Tanaka Tomoyo (Karath Razar) *Notes by John Zorn *Special thanks to Akashi Masanori, Kaoru, Azuma, Don Hünerberg, Scott MacAulay, Rob Schwebber, Sheila McLaughlin, Raul Ruiz, Bob Hurwitz and David Breskin. *This recording is made possible in part through funding by Hip's Road.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filmworks 1986-1990 Tzadik Records soundtracks Albums produced by John Zorn John Zorn soundtracks 1990 soundtrack albums Film soundtracks Nonesuch Records compilation albums Nonesuch Records soundtracks 1990 compilation albums Soundtrack compilation albums John Zorn compilation albums