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Frank Zappa's Jazz Legacy Refuses to Die, Part 2
by Ludovico Granvassu
This week we continue the retrospective dedicated to Frank Zappa's complex relationship with jazz, through a mix of the jazzier compositions performed by Zappa himself and countless tributes to his music paid by jazz musicians. As Frank Zappa loved to say, quoting Edgard Varèse, “the present day composer refuses to die" and the ...
John Kelman's Best Releases of 2018
by John Kelman
Once again, the chronic health problem that has reduced my writing pace to a crawl continues without any respite. My best of the year lists have traditionally been predicated upon having reviewed the releases chosen, but with only a relative handful of reviews to choose from this year (and with those choices, more than ever now, ...
Alexander von Schlippenbach / Aki Takase: Live At Cafe Amores
by John Sharpe
The Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint has unearthed another gem from the vaults of the Japanese Chap Chap label. Live At Cafe Amores represents the third duet recording from the husband-and-wife pairing of pianists Alexander von Schlippenbach and Aki Takase, but the first where they share the same instrument. Such a situation was perhaps only possible for an ...
Ideas Of Noise 2018
by Martin Longley
Ideas Of Noise The Edge & Vivid Projects Birmingham, England August 3-5, 2018 Noise isn't really noise. Much of this weekender's content was somewhat sculpted, even if often rough (or scaly, or oozing) to the touch. A 'noise' outcome is usually in the eardrum of the victim, as ...
Frank Zappa's Jazz Legacy Refuses to Die
by Ludovico Granvassu
Frank Zappa may have said “jazz is not dead, it just smells funny" but looking at his life and music one does not get the impression that he really believed that jazz was decomposing or dying a slow death. On Freak Out, one of the most impressive debut albums of all times, he ...
Anais Drago Interprets Zappa
by Bob Osborne
This episode features the debut album from Italian Violinist Anais Drago who interprets and builds on the music of Frank Zappa. In addition there is music from Frank himself and also jazz and other interpretations of his music from a variety of different ensembles. Playlist Anais Drago “Phialella Zappa 1" from Anais Drago ...
The Complete Jan Akkerman: Focusing on a Life's Work
by John Kelman
He may be largely regarded as the most influential guitarist to emerge from the Netherlands, a country that, bordering on the North Sea, is roughly one-quarter the physical size of England and, with a current number of about seventeen million, has just one-third the population of the UK's largest country. Still, despite garnering major in-country recognition, ...
Sam Leak and Dan Tepfer: Adrift
by Roger Farbey
Adrift is an unusual recording featuring two pianos in an original work by Sam Leak. It's hard to neatly categorise since it presumably draws its influences from a variety of sources. It could be described as neo-classical, minimalist or chamber jazz but is most probably a mixture of all these elements since it assiduously resists any ...
Sean Noonan: The Aqua Diva
by Don Phipps
Surreal, comic, wistful, and whimsical, Sean Noonan's The Aqua Diva provides a unique journey into a world that is part Tom Waits, part Mose Allison, part Frank Zappa, and a whole lot of Sean Noonan. Noonan articulates and sings odd ditties and lyrics which introduce us to the Aqua Diva, Bubbles, the Smoking Man, and other ...
Flying Machines: New Life
by Roger Farbey
It takes barely a couple of plays but then the main hook line of Alex Munk's stonking title track grabs you and won't let go. This is very much in the vein of mid-period Frank Zappa with Munk's guitar wired to the extreme end of the jazz/metal spectrum. But it's not all sound and fury, as ...
