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Diana Ross & Frank Zappa: Soul Freak Symphony
by Glenn Astarita
When Diana Ross, the glittering soul siren of Motown, and Frank Zappa, the madcap maestro of musical anarchy, unveiled Soul Freak Symphony in March 1985 but was put in limbo due to contractual issues. Hence, it was not just an album--it was a cosmic detonation of sound and sanity. This 12-track hallucination melds Ross's velvety charisma with Zappa's unhinged genius, resulting in a creation so far outside the box it might as well be orbiting Saturn. The opener ...
Continue ReadingCannonball Adderley: Poppin In Paris: Live At L'Olympia 1972
by Mike Jurkovic
In his most natural setting--onstage alongside brother Nat Adderley--and accompanied by pianist George Duke, bassist Walter Booker and the trusty Roy McCurdy on drums, Cannonball Adderley pops and bops to all heart's content on Poppin' In Paris: Live at the Olympia 1972 . Appearing as part of the Paris Jazz Festival, the band holds true to its unspoken credo--defy expectations--and steams straight ahead into Duke's epic rent party stomp “Black Messiah." It is a colorful jazz-rock fireworks display ...
Continue ReadingJean-Luc Ponty: Individual Choice
by Peter Rubie
By 1982, jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty had established an enviable reputation as a pioneer in jazz-rock and jazz fusion. He began as a young bebop player in the late 1950s with little interest in becoming another swing or gypsy style violinist. It was the “sheets of sound" music of John Coltrane that spoke loudest to him. By the early 1970s Ponty was recording and touring with rock composer Frank Zappa, and playing with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as ...
Continue ReadingFrank Zappa: Waka/Wazoo
by Mario Calvitti
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 ...
Continue ReadingFrank Zappa: Zappa/Erie
by Mario Calvitti
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 ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Duke: The Master of the Game
by Jeff Winbush
[Editor's Note: The following piece was first published at AAJ contributor Jeff Winbush's The Domino Theory blog, and is reprinted here in tribute to George Duke, who passed away on August 5, 2013]I never caught George Duke live in concert. I never met the man in person. However, he did give me two hours of his extremely busy time to talk to me for a career-spanning interview. What came of it was the longest interview I had ever ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Duke: Dream Weaver
by Jeff Winbush
The end comes eventually for us all with only the time and method to be determined. Dream Weaver is an album constructed around death, loss, healing and moving on. George Duke lost his wife, Corine, in 2011 as well as guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, and vocalist Teena Marie who passed away in 2010 as she was collaborating with Duke on a jazz album.Despite the sense of loss and sorrow hanging over the recording, Dream Weaver is hardly a ...
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