Jazz Articles about Don Preston

Frank Zappa: Waka/Wazoo

by Mario Calvitti
January 23, 2023

Il programma dela pubblicazione di inediti zappiani in occasione del loro cinquantesimo anniversario, iniziato con il box set The Hot Rats Session e proseguito con i cofanetti dedicati alle Mothers del 1970 e 1971 e alla colonna sonora del film 200 Motels, prosegue ora con quello che probabilmente è il titolo più atteso, da tempo annunciato e ora finalmente disponibile. Il nuovo cofanetto Waka/Wazoo contenente 4 CD di materiale inedito e un Blu-Ray celebra i 50 anni dalla pubblicazione di ...

Frank Zappa: Zappa/Erie

by Mario Calvitti
September 5, 2022

La pubblicazione di inediti dall'apparentemente inesauribile archivio zappiano prosegue a un ritmo tale da mettere a dura prova anche i fans più incalliti, soprattutto considerando che quasi tutte le ultime uscite sono cofanetti con più dischi. Anche questo nuovissimo Zappa/Erie consiste di 6 CD alloggiati in una elegante confezione a libro formato LP, con 24 pagine di note e foto (una versione speciale deluxe limitata contiene anche un poster). Questa volta non si tratta di celebrare un ...

Bobby Bradford and Friends: Stealin' Home: Jackie Robinson Suite

by Chuck Koton
August 8, 2022

Born in Mississippi in 1934 and raised in Dallas, Texas, cornet master and composer Bobby Bradford knows racism and segregation. When asked if Texas was completely segregated, Bradford said, “If there's a word stronger than 'completely,' that was Texas." In spite of the hate and discrimination of everyday life in the Jim Crow South, Bradford and his family were tuned in to events around the country that impacted African Americans. They “got the news from the outside world" from Black ...

Don Preston / Jeff Boynton / Philip Mantione: TriAngular Bent

by Dave Wayne
September 22, 2016

A lot of artists Don Preston's age, with a similar musical pedigree, are revered as “national treasures." For whatever reason, this hasn't yet happened for the veteran sonic explorer, still going strong after 84 years on the planet. Perpetually a “Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition," he's most frequently remembered for his groundbreaking work with Frank Zappa. He contributed significantly to all of the iconoclastic guitarist / composer's tours and recordings through the mid-1970s. In collaboration with Bunk Gardner, Tom Fowler, ...

Don Preston: Filters, Oscillators & Envelopes 1967-1982

by AAJ Italy Staff
June 25, 2012

Molte figure di session men, specialmente nei decenni passati, possono vantare prestigiose collaborazioni, ma per alcuni musicisti l'essere stati in quel posto in quel determinato momento è assai più di una casualità professionale. È certamente il caso del tastierista Don Preston, principalmente associato alle Mothers of Invention di Frank Zappa, ma anche attivo in ambito jazz [con John Carter, Carla Bley, Charlie Haden] e sperimentale. Come molti musicisti della sua generazione - Preston è del 1932 e attivo sin dagli ...

Don Preston: Just Another Duo From LA

by Rex Butters
April 22, 2010

Just a few miles east of the Whisky a Go Go, where they stunned the world over 40 years ago with the classic Mothers of Invention, keyboardist Don Preston and saxophonist Bunk Gardner returned to Sunset Blvd. as The Don and Bunk Show, reviving their duo homage to the early music of Frank Zappa. Dolores Petersen Productions brought the terrible two to the Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill to warm up for their east coast tour, which may jump the ...

Don Preston: Works

by John Barron
January 13, 2008

Keyboardist/composer Don Preston, who is probably best known for his work with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, is deeply rooted in contemporary classical music--Preston has scored more than twenty feature films and fourteen plays.

Works is a ten track retrospective of Preston's classically influenced works, spanning from 1965 to the present. The disc is a fascinating glance into the uncompromising musical mind of an overlooked American musical icon.

The opening track “Of ...