Jazz Articles about Frank Zappa

About Frank Zappa

Book Excerpts

Zappa and Jazz: Did it Really Smell Funny, Frank?

by Geoffrey Wills
September 15, 2015

The following is an excerpt from “Chapter 2: Early Encounters with Jazz" of Zappa and Jazz: Did it Really Smell Funny, Frank? by Geoffrey Wills (Matador, 2015). When, at the age of fourteen, Zappa entered Mission Bay High School in San Diego in 1955, his first exposure to the elitist snobbery of a certain type of jazz fan occurred. It was like a red rag to a bull, and was no doubt the source of all his ...

Book Review

Frank Zappa. Rock come prassi compositiva

by Mario Calvitti
April 7, 2015

Frank Zappa. Rock come prassi compositiva Giordano Montecchi 144 Pagine ISBN: 978-8862313773 Arcana 2014 Sono sempre più numerosi i libri su Frank Zappa pubblicati dopo la sua scomparsa avvenuta oltre 20 anni fa, ma la maggior parte si limita a esaminare l'aspetto biografico del personaggio, spesso da parte di chi lo ha conosciuto direttamente, o ne ha condiviso alcuni momenti di vita personale e/o professionale. Pochissimi tuttavia si soffermano a esaminare l'aspetto prettamente ...

Multiple Reviews

Frank Zappa, due decenni dopo

by Mario Calvitti
November 3, 2014

Il 4 dicembre 2013 cadeva la ricorrenza del secondo decennale dalla scomparsa di Frank Zappa. Sono passati venti anni da quando una delle maggiori personalità musicali del XX secolo è venuta a mancare, stroncato da un male incurabile, lasciando un vuoto incolmabile nel mondo dell'arte contemporanea. Anche se la sua musica ha avuto un'enorme influenza su più di una generazione di musicisti, nessuno sembra in grado di raccoglierne l'eredità. Troppo unica e originale la sua proposta per poter essere ripresa ...

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Extended Analysis

Frank Zappa: Hammersmith Odeon

by John Kelman
January 5, 2011

Christmas came early for Frank Zappa fans in 2010 with the release of Hammersmith Odeon on December 21, to celebrate the birthday of the late, great rock guitarist/composer/satirist who would have been 70, had he not passed away in 1993, just shy of turning 53. A three-CD set, culled from a series of early 1978 performances at the famous London venue used as the basic tracks for Sheik Yerbouti (FZ/Ryko, 1979), it's the next best thing to having been there, ...

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Book Excerpts

Give The Drummer Some: On the record with Zappa's Drum Alumni

by Mitch Myers
August 2, 2009

This excerpt appears in The Boy Who Cried Freebird: Rock & Roll Fables and Sonic Storytelling (Harper Paperbacks, 2008). Composer/bandleader/guitarist Frank Zappa needs no introduction. He was an incredibly prolific musician who died in December 1993, and his estate, the Zappa Trust, is still releasing new editions of never-before-heard recordings organized under the late maestro's supervision. While Zappa's legacy has been much discussed over the years, a brief overview of his relationship with drums and drummers is ...

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Album Review

Frank Zappa: The Grand Wazoo

Read "The Grand Wazoo" reviewed by Eric Pettine

by Eric Pettine
April 10, 2009

Frank Zappa didn't invent the word “wazoo" or proliferate its usage. However, he was the first to use it in an album and song title that, surprisingly, had no accompanying provocative/potentially censorable lyrics. The Grand Wazoo is one of the most playful, scatologic-free and accessible big band jazz/rock CDs that Zappa--or anyone else--recorded. The aural quality of the album possesses a life-affirming spirit, while the intermittent blurps, bleeps and “inside" soap opera buffoonery--once salient features amidst often brilliant instrumental interludes ...

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Opinion

Zappa and Jazz

by AAJ Staff
December 23, 2007

By Ed Palermo As leader of the Ed Palermo Big Band for the past 30 years, it was about 13 years ago, when my boyhood hero, Frank Zappa, died that I decided to put my own original compositions on hold and focus on the music of Zappa. I decided to pay tribute to the man who affected me musically more than anyone before or after. Prior to embarking on this project, my band was pretty much accustomed to ...