Zappa & Jazz

[Jazzrook]

An article on Zappa & jazz from Geoff Wills in Jazz Journal online:

https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2019/04/29/frank-zappa-making-a-jazz-noise/

JR

[Serial_Apologist]

I've always thought of Zappa as being more jazz than rock; but that's just me: I feel the same about the Canterbury scene of the late 60s and 70s - Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, Hatfield & The North, Gilgamesh, and all their offshoots.

[Jazzrook]

'It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary' from Frank Zappa's 'Guitar':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hWp27Uq798

JR

[Serial_Apologist]

'It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary' from Frank Zappa's 'Guitar':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hWp27Uq798

JR

Improvisation using different modal scales over a repeated 3/4 vamp. "My Favourite Things"? Same (or similar derived) formula, just different instrumentation.

[Jazzrook]

Zappa conducting Ravel's 'Bolero' with his band in Barcelona, 1988:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2hiDYE5Qdw

JR

[Bryn]

Zappa conducting Ravel's 'Bolero' with his band in Barcelona, 1988:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2hiDYE5Qdw

JR

That was a fine band on that tour, intraband disputes notwithstanding. Let’s hope the Beatles medley gets an authorised release, at some stage.

[Constantbee]

An article on Zappa & jazz from Geoff Wills in Jazz Journal online:

https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2019/04/29/frank-zappa-making-a-jazz-noise/

JR

It's certainly true that Zappa employed a lot of jazz musicians in his line ups, one of whom (1972 ) was bass player Dave Parlato, father of jazz vocalist Gretchen.

Never much of a Zappa fan. He was the sort of artist you'd know was important and influential, but rather a masculine, some might even say misogynistic, niche taste. Interestingly, I've noticed 'Peaches in Regalia' is included in a little 3CD box set of mine called 'The Best Prog Rock Album in the World - Ever!', alongside the likes of Yes, Genesis, Curved Air, Hawkwind, Tull (of course) ELP, Colosseum ... the list goes on. One of my ebay bargains, under a fiver including postage

[Jazzrook]

Zappa's version of Oliver Nelson's 'Stolen Moments' from 1988 with Walt Fowler on trumpet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPREAfL8swI

JR

[Bryn]

Zappa's version of Oliver Nelson's 'Stolen Moments' from 1988 with Walt Fowler on trumpet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPREAfL8swI

JR

Thanks. Sadly they did not play it at the April 19th 1988 Wembley concert I attended. Indeed, the on U.K. performance on that tour was in Birmingham.

[Jazzrook]

Frank Zappa with Jean-Luc Ponty playing 'Dupree's Paradise' in Stockholm, 1973:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr6mTloYJJs

JR

[Constantbee]

Frank Zappa with Jean-Luc Ponty playing 'Dupree's Paradise' in Stockholm, 1973:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr6mTloYJJs

JR

Thanks again, JR J-L P - prize winning classical violinist who went on to become a master of jazz violin. He appeared on stage with Grapelli in the sixties and went on to play with most of the jazz fusion greats: Al de Meola, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea. Easy to underestimate the effect that Zappa must have had on his career (… this could get a bit boring … ), all 12 of his albums reaching the Billboard jazz chart’s top 5 between about 1975 and '85 ... started life as a prize winning classical graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. Long overlooked imho.

[Joseph K]

Thanks again, JR J-L P - prize winning classical violinist who went on to become a master of jazz violin. He appeared on stage with Grapelli in the sixties and went on to play with most of the jazz fusion greats: Al de Meola, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea. Easy to underestimate the effect that Zappa must have had on his career (… this could get a bit boring … ), all 12 of his albums reaching the Billboard jazz chart’s top 5 between about 1975 and '85 ... started life as a prize winning classical graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. Long overlooked imho.

Also the second Mahavishnu Orchestra -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-QZnnaI7rY

[Serial_Apologist]

Speaking of the Zappa influence, I would also cite Django Bates (Loose Tubes, Delightful Precipice) as a non-cynically disposed influencee; and also... RICHARD BARRETT, ARE YOU THERE? Henry Cow. I've just been listening to Henry Cow's final release, "Western Culture", which was recorded in 1978 and released the following year. I hadn't heard it before; here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tNW3nx2yD4

Wiki states that the band could not agree over songs to include, ended up doing this instrumental album (apart from the pen-penultimate track, which is sung by the entire band), releasing a separate album of songs, "Hopes and Fears", under the rubric of Art Bears, which after HC's split-up became a band in its own right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jf8w4Zb2iY

Something in the spirit of this music is really needed nowadays. By me!!!

[Richard Barrett]

RICHARD BARRETT, ARE YOU THERE? Henry Cow. I've just been listening to Henry Cow's final release, "Western Culture", which was recorded in 1978 and released the following year.

YES HERE I AM - I like Western Culture a lot, and obviously it has a direct FZ influence, though compared with his stuff it comes over as much more of a group effort. My favourite Art Bears album is their second, Winter Songs. The Western Culture direction pops up again in some of Fred Frith's solo projects, like Gravity.

[Serial_Apologist]

YES HERE I AM - I like Western Culture a lot, and obviously it has a direct FZ influence, though compared with his stuff it comes over as much more of a group effort. My favourite Art Bears album is their second, Winter Songs. The Western Culture direction pops up again in some of Fred Frith's solo projects, like Gravity.

THANKS RICHARD!!!

I may have a listen to Winter Songs tonight, as it seems likely that with lively thunderstorms now encroaching on this region, I will be kept awake in any case!