Perhaps no American musician has created a musical output as eclectic as that of John Zorn.
"He is the most irrepressibly inventive musical mind I know," said composer Lisa Bielawa in a 70th birthday tribute on the Walker Art Center website that also includes these words from renowned classical violinist Hilary Hahn:
"John, you are my up-at-3-am-genius-rebel-cheerleader-wisdom-keeper-truth-teller-untethered-music-art-soul-inventor-inviter-connector-joy-bringer-emotion-catcher-all-seeing-emoji-painting friend, and I am so very grateful to share this era of history with you."
Yes, the New York-based Zorn is a creative linchpin and leader for those in such musical forms as classical, jazz and world music, and among rockers who love to improvise. The saxophonist, composer, conductor and impresario is also part of the world of modern art, for he often presents his music in galleries alongside paintings and sculptures that complement the sounds and ideas offered.
Just as a sommelier suggests wine pairings for specific dishes, Zorn has chosen nine pieces from his voluminous compositional output to be performed in the Walker Art Center galleries on Saturday during a 13-hour musical marathon to mark his 70th birthday.
But those won't be the day's only collaborations. Three renowned jazz guitarists — Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley — will unite on the Walker's McGuire Theater stage to perform a set of the composer's works for acoustic guitar. And Zorn's jazz-rock ensemble, Chaos Magick — which includes organist John Medeski — will follow that with a spirited set at 8 p.m.
Zorn will strap on his saxophone for a 10 p.m. concert with his New Masada Quartet, which uses the chords and tonalities of traditional Jewish music to form a classical/jazz combo that invariably swings. And, at midnight, Zorn will perform a solo organ recital about a half-mile away at the Basilica of St. Mary.
Among those playing in the galleries is percussionist Sae Hashimoto, who calls these pairings a powerful way to experience both the music and the visual art.
"I saw the Gnostic Trio [including Frisell] play his music in front of Monet at the Art Institute of Chicago a few years back," she said last week. "It was a striking and dreamy experience, looking at these paintings while listening to them play. The art seemed to flow and change with the music, noticing different details and changing perspective as the music went on."
Performing in that setting is a special experience.
"There's a feeling of life or death playing his music," she said. "And I feel so alive in the moment."
Hashimoto will participate in performances of Zorn's "Naked Lunch" next to Robert Rauschenberg's painting, "Persimmon" (1 p.m.), and his "Hockey" next to Yoko Ono's "Painting to Hammer a Nail In" (3:30 p.m.).
Cellist Jay Campbell will be part of three gallery performances, one a cello duet with Michael Nicolas in front of Jasper Johns' "Green Angel" (2:30 p.m.) and the other two as a member of renowned new music string quartet the JACK Quartet (noon and 4 p.m.).
"I'm really excited to play 'Prolegomena,' a monumental string sextet, around a piece by Helen Frankenthaler," he said. "For me, both seem unmoored from boundaries and feel very creatively free."
That seems an apt description of Zorn himself.
Zorn @ 70
When: Performances in the Walker Art Center galleries, noon-4:30 p.m. Sat.; performances in the McGuire Theater at 6 p.m. (guitarists Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley), 8 p.m. (Chaos Magick) and 10 p.m. (New Masada Quartet)
Where: Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls., with a midnight solo organ concert by Zorn at the Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Av., Mpls.
Tickets: Gallery performances free with museum admission (free-$18); McGuire Theater concerts, $40-$60; midnight organ recital, free
Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.
