Effective period / Period of releases: 1990 - 2002

Members: Fred Frith, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Yamatsuka Eye, Wayne Horvitz, Joey Baron

This is John Zorn's infamous turn-on-a-dime band. Although they can play any style of music, the majority of their songs are noisy and complex. At any moment, a beautiful melody can degenerate into a hurricane of white noise — and then suddenly switch to something else. They've taken everything aggressive about jazz and heavy metal, blended it together, and tightened it. They look like a rock band: drums, electric guitar, bass, keyboards, and saxophone.
The band formed in 1988, playing live before they recorded their first album under John Zorn's name ("Naked City"). They recorded their final album in December of 1992.