Tag Archives: Frank Zappa

Jean-Lyc Ponty: King Kong: Jean-Lyc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa

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On May 25, 1970, “World Pacific” and “Liberty” labels released “King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa”, the sixth Jean-Luc Ponty album. It was recorded in October 1969, at “Whitney Studios” in Glendale, California, and was produced by Richard Bock. 

Personnel:

  • Jean-Luc Ponty – electric violin, baritone violectra
  • Frank Zappa – electric guitar, arrangements, conductor
  • George Duke – acoustic and electric piano
  • Buell Neidlinger – double bass 
  • Wilton Felder – Fender Precision electric bass 
  • John Guerin – drums 
  • Arthur Dyer Tripp III – drums 
  • Gene Estes – vibraphone, percussion
  • Ernie Watts – alto and tenor saxophone
  • Ian Underwood – tenor saxophone, orchestra conductor
  • Gene Cipriano – oboe, English horn
  • Arthur Maebe – French horn, tuba 
  • Vincent DeRosa – descant recorder, French horn, descant 
  • Jonathan Meyer – flute
  • Donald Christlieb – bassoon
  • Milton Thomas – viola
  • Harold Bemko – cello
  • Gerald Wilson – conductor
  • Ian Underwood – conductor
  • Dick Kunc – engineer
  • Ron Wolin – art direction, design
  • Leonard Feather – liner notes

Track listing:

All tracks by Frank Zappa, except where noted.

  1. King Kong
  2. Idiot Bastard Son
  3. Twenty Small Cigars
  4. How Would You Like to Have a Head Like That – Jean-Luc Ponty
  5. Music for Electric Violin and Low-Budget Orchestra
  6. America Drinks and Goes Home
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Jeffrey Deon Estus

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On October 11, 2021, Jeffery Deon Estus died aged 65. He was musician (bass), singer and songwriter, member of collective Boogie Box High and band Switch, but was best known as the bass player of Wham. He recorded and performed with Marvin Gaye, George Michael, Elton John, Aaron Neville, Tina Turner, Frank Zappa, Annie Lennox, Edgar Winter and George Clinton. As leader Estus released one album.

Michael Lang

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On August 5, 2022, Michael Anthony Lang died aged 80. He was musician (piano, keyboards, organ, synthesizer) and composer, recorded more than 2500 film scores, and worked with some of the biggest names of modern music such as Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, John Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Vince Gill, Milt Jackson, Lee Konitz, Diana Krall, Arturo Sandoval, Josh Groban, Frank Zappa, Lee Ritenour, Oliver Nelson, Bud Shank, Kenny Rogers, Barbra Streisand, Solomon Burke, Tom Waits, Peggy Lee, Vanessa Williams, Jose Feliciano, Bette Midler, Russell Watson, Michael Bolton, Don Ellis, Robbie Williams, Paul Anka, Sarah Vaughan, Amy Grant, Willie Nelson, Natalie Cole, Dusty Springfield, Melissa Manchester, Neil Diamond, Shelly Manne and Stan Kenton.  

Wild Man Fischer: An Evening with Wild Man Fischer

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On April 28, 1969, “Bizarre” label released “An Evening with Wild Man Fischer”, the debut Wild Man Fischer album (Larry Fischer). It was recorded 1968 – 1969, at “Sunset Sound” and “The Log Cabin” in Los Angeles, and was produced by Frank Zappa.

Personnel:

  • Larry Fischer – vocals, acoustic and electric guitar
  • Frank Zappa – guitar, various instruments, liner notes
  • The Mothers of Invention – piano, bass, drums
  • Art Tripp – percussion
  • Kim Fowley – recitation
  • Rodney Bingenheimer – recitation
  • The GTOs – recitation
  • Jerry Hansen – engineer
  • Cal Schenkel – art direction
  • Ed Caraeff – photography
  • Henry Diltz – cover photography

Track listing:

All tracks by Larry Fischer.

  1. Merry Go Round
  2. New Kind of Songs for Sale
  3. I’m Not Shy Anymore
  4. The Madness & Ecstasy – introduction by Kim Fowley and Rodney Bingenheimer
  5. Which Way Did the Freaks Go?
  6. I’m Working for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics
  7. The Leaves Are Falling
  8. 85 Times
  9. Cops & Robbers
  10. Monkey Versus Donkeys
  11. Start Life Over Again
  12. The Mope
  13. The Brand New
  14. Who Did It Johnny?
  15. Think of Me When Your Clothes Are Off
  16. Taggy Lee
  17. Rhonda
  18. I Looked Around You
  19. Jennifer Jones
  20. The Taster (fancy version)
  21. The Story of the Taster
  22. The Rocket Rock
  23. The Rocket Rock Explanation & Dialog
  24. Dream Girl
  25. Dream Girl Explanation
  26. Serrano (Sorrento?) Beach
  27. Success Will Not Make Me Happy
  28. Wild Man on the Strip Again
  29. Why I Am Normal
  30. The Wild Man Fischer Story
  31. Balling Isn’t Everything
  32. Ugly Beautiful Girl
  33. Larry & His Guitar
  34. Circle
  35. Larry Under Pressure

Sugarcane Harris

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On November 30, 1999, Don Francis Bowman “Sugarcane” Harris died aged 61. He was musician (violin, guitar), a pioneer in amplification of the violin. He was member of the doo-wop band The Squires, the duo Don and Dewey, Pure Food and Drug Act, performed with Little Richard, recorded and performed with John Mayall & the Bluesbrakers, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, John Lee Hooker, Harvey Mandel, Tupelo Chain Sex, Johnny Otis, Billy Bang, Freddie Roulette, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. As leader Harris released nine albums.wnie McGhee,

Thomas Tedesco

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On November 10, 1997, Thomas J. Tedesco died aged 67. He was a musician (guitar), part of the loose collective of Los Angeles area’s session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. As he played on hundreds studio recordings, “Guitar Player” magazine described him as “the most recorded guitarist in music history”. He recorded with the Beach Boys, Chet Baker, the Mamas & the Papas, the Everly Brothers, the Association, Bobby Darrin, Barbra Streisand, Jan and Dean, the 5th Dimension, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Ricky Nelson, Cher, Neil Diamond, Van Dyke Parks, Michael Franks, Nancy and Frank Sinatra, Richard Harris, Peggy Lee, Johnny Rivers, Al Kooper, Michael Nesmith, Paul Anka, Don Ellis, Minnie Riperton, Maria Muldaur, Leon Russell, Aretha Franklin, Art Garfunkel, J.J. Cale, Quincy Jones, Stephen Bishop, Kenny Loggins, Jack Nitzsche, Sarah Vaughan, Lalo Schifrin, Randy Newman, Hugh Masakela, and Joan Baez. Tedesco performed on soundtracks including The French Connection, Jaws, The Godfather, Field of Dreams, and The Deer Hunter. As a leader he released ten albums.

Jay Migliori

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On September 2, 2001, Jay Migliori died aged 70. He was a musician (saxophone), a founding member of Supersax, a Charlie Parker tribute band. Some artists he performed and recorded with include Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa, Frank Sinatra, Maynard Ferguson, The 5th Dimension, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Gene Ammons, Paul Anka, David Axelrod, Hoyt Axton, The Byrds, Captain & Tennille, Harry Chapin, Leonard Cohen, Albert Collins, Dick Dale, Neil Diamond, Woody Herman, Tito Puente, The Manhattan Transfer, Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, Esther Phillips, Helen Reddy, The Righteous Brothers, The Tubes, Loudon Wainwright III, Joe Williams, Brian Wilson, and Neil Young. As a leader, Migliori released three albums.

On August 27, 2013.

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On August 27, 2013, “Heads Up Records”, and “Concord Records” labels released “Hacienda”, the eighth Jeff Lorber Fusion studio album. It was recorded in 2013, at “JHL Sound”, “Gong Vibe Mobile”, “Cocoa Butt Inc.”, “Studio 107”, and was produced by Jeff Lorber and Jimmy Haslip

Personnel:

  • Jeff Lorber – guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, recording, mixing
  • Jean-Luc Ponty – violin
  • Jimmy Haslip – bass
  • David Mann – brass, flute, saxophone, horn arrangements, recording
  • Eric Marienthal – alto saxophone
  • Larry Koonse – guitar
  • Ed Mann – marimba, recording
  • Vinnie Coaliuta – drums
  • Dave Weckl – drums
  • Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar
  • Lenny Castro – percussion
  • Michael Thompson – recording
  • Michael Brauer – mixing
  • Rich Breen – mastering
  • Raffi Minasian – cover
  • Janet Wolsborn – design
  • Greg Allen – photography

Track listing:

All tracks by Jeff Lorber, except where noted.

  1. Corinaldo
  2. Solar Wind
  3. King Kong – Frank Zappa
  4. The Steppe
  5. Hacienda
  6. Fab Gear
  7. Raptor
  8. Everlast – Jeff Lorber, Jimmy Haslip
  9. Playa del Falco
  10. Escapade
  11. Dragonfly – Jeff Lorber, Jimmy Haslip

 

On August 23, 1984.

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On August 23, 1984, “Angel” label released “The Perfect Stranger”, an album featuring the music of Frank Zappa, conducted in part by Pierre Boulez. It was recorded January – April 1984, at “IRCAM” in Paris, and “UMRK” in Hollywood Hills, and was produced by Frank Zappa.

Personnel:

  • Frank Zappa– synclavier, liner notes
  • Pierre Boulez– conductor, direction
  • Péter Eötvös– musical director
  • Pierre-Laurent Aimard– piano
  • The London Symphony Orchestra
  • Ensemble InterContemporain– orchestra
  • Guy Arnaud – bass clarinet
  • Paul Meyer– clarinet
  • Jérôme Naulais– trombone
  • Antoine Curé– trumpet
  • Lawrence Beauregard – flute
  • Jacques Ghestem – violin
  • Marie-Claire Jamet– harp
  • Daniel Ciampolini – percussion
  • David Ocker – programming
  • John Matousek – mastering
  • Don Hunstein– photography

Track listing:

All tracks by Frank Zappa.

  1. The Perfect Stranger
  2. Naval Aviation in Art?
  3. The Girl in the Magnesium Dress
  4. Outside Now Again
  5. Love Story
  6. Dupree’s Paradise
  7. Jonestown

George Duke

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On August 5, 2013, George M. Duke died aged 67. He was a singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger, musician (keyboards), and professor of music. He worked with numerous artists such as Frank Zappa, Cannonball Adderley, John Heard, Nat Adderley, Stanley Clarke, Leon “Ndugu” Chancler, Lynn Davis, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Billy Cobham, Sheila Escovedo, Jeffrey Osborne, Earth Wind & Fire, Kirk Whalum, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Miller, Flora Purim, and Al Jarreau.