We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
Frank Zappa spent most of 1972 in a wheel chair after being pushed off a stage at a concert. He decided to compose some tight jazz fusion charts and concentrate on studio work, so he fired his touring band, which included Flo & Eddie and had been responsible for a few albums of craziness.
This group needed to be tight and musically adept and it was. Just four songs on the record but Zappa would revisit this type of music later in the year with “The Grand Wazoo”.
Tne band included George Duke (keys) and Aynsley Dunbar (drums) with a cat named Erroneous on bass. And throughout, the trumpet work of Sal Marquez. Guest shots included old friend Don Preston, woodwind ace Mike Altschul, Ken Shroyer & Billy Byers on trombones, Sneaky Pete on pedal steel with Kris Peterson & Janet Ferguson on vocals.
Big Swifty and Wacka Jawaka bookend the LP with straight shots of fusion jazz. The two vocal tracks in between had their moments and sufficient Zappa type weirdness.
Zappa’s trying to keep up with the Miles Davis’ and John McLaughlin’ of the world. He’s getting there.
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