''Locus Solus'' is an album of improvisations by

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 ...

and other musicians. Originally released as a double vinyl album on Rift records in 1983 it was re-released as a CD with additional tracks on Eva/Wave in 1990 and on Zorn's

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 ...

label in 1997.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 stated: "This captures over an hour's worth of John Zorn's search for the improvised song form.... Overall, an album of short, angular, experimental energy tracks."Layne, J
AllMusic Review
accessed July 22, 2011 ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' observed: "This is one of the sacred texts of '80s New York improv, a fierce scrabbly set of associations that draw heavily on the power trio aesthetic of bands like Husker Dü... It's impressively compact but sometime rather abrupt".

Track listing

Note: (16,18,20,22) are extra tracks not available on the LP pressing.

Personnel

*John Zorn – alto and soprano saxophones, game calls, Bb Clarinet *

Christian Marclay Christian Marclay (born January 11, 1955) is a visual artist and composer. He holds both American and Swiss nationality. Marclay's work explores connections between sound, noise, photography, video, and film. A pioneer of using gramophone records ...

–

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

''(tracks 1–9)'' *

Peter Blegvad Peter Blegvad (born August 14, 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of German/English avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many sol ...

– vocals ''(tracks 1–9)'' *

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 ''(tracks 10–22)'' *

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 A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

''(tracks 10–15)'' * M. E. Miller –

''(tracks 16–22, 31–38)'' *

Ikue Mori (born 17 December 1953), also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, electronic musician, composer, and graphic designer. Mori was awarded a "Genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 2022. Biography Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She sa ...

– drums ''(tracks 23–30)'' *

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 ...

– keyboards ''(tracks 23–30)'' *

Whiz Kid A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

– turntables ''(tracks 31–38)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Locus Solus (Album) John Zorn albums Tzadik Records albums 1983 albums Albums produced by John Zorn