Bookshelf On Top Of The Sky

I approached this 2002 documentary with a keen desire to learn more about its subject, American experimental composer and saxophonist John Zorn, and came away only partially satisfied. German filmmaker Claudia Heuermann, who supplies autobiographical narration, is clearly a passionate Zorn fan and even lets some of his ideas about structure influence the titled sections, but she makes no effort to situate Zorn in relation to other avant-garde composers and musicians, instead using him as a stand-in for experimental music in general. This kind of hagiography does neither Zorn nor the audience any favors, but enough of his ideas and musical range (encompassing punk, free jazz, klezmer, Japanese noise bands, and film scores) come across to keep this lively and interesting; I especially enjoyed his reflections on all he learned from Carl Stalling’s music in the Road Runner cartoons. 82 min. (JR)

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