Jean-Luc Ponty - King Kong: Jean Luc Ponty Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa

Artist:

Ponty, Jean-Luc

UPC:

077778953920

See Also:

Clarke, Stanley (Double Bass) Benson, George (Guitar) Duke, George

Description:

Personnel: Jean-Luc Ponty (violin); Ian Underwood (conductor, alto & tenor saxophones); Ernie Watts (alto & tenor saxophones); Vincent DeRosa (French horn, descant); Arthur Maebe (French horn, tuben); Johnathan Meyer (flute); Gene Cipriano (oboe, English horn); Donald Christlieb (bassoon); Milton Thomas (viola); Harold Bemko (cello); Gene Estes (vibraphone, percussion); George Duke (piano); Frank Zappa (guitar); Buell Neidlinger, Wilton Felder (bass); Arthur Tripp III, John Guerin (drums).
Composer: Frank Zappa.
Personnel: Jean-Luc Ponty (violin, baritone violin, electric violin); Vincent DeRosa (descant, French horn); Milton Thomas (viola); Harold Bemko (cello); Gene Cipriano (oboe, English horn); Donald Christlieb (bassoon); Ernie Watts (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Ian Underwood (tenor saxophone); George Duke (piano, electric piano); Gene Estes (vibraphone, percussion); Art Tripp, John Guerin (drums).
Liner Note Author: Leonard Feather.
Recording information: 03/14/1969-03/15/1969.
Arranger: Frank Zappa.
Not just an album of interpretations, King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa was an active collaboration; Frank Zappa arranged all of the selections, played guitar on one, and contributed a new, nearly 20-minute orchestral composition for the occasion. Made in the wake of Ponty`s appearance on Zappa`s jazz-rock masterpiece Hot Rats, these 1969 recordings were significant developments in both musicians` careers. In terms of jazz-rock fusion, Zappa was one of the few musicians from the rock side of the equation who captured the complexity -- not just the feel -- of jazz, and this project was an indicator of his growing credibility as a composer. For Ponty`s part, King Kong marked the first time he had recorded as a leader in a fusion-oriented milieu (though Zappa`s brand of experimentalism didn`t really foreshadow Ponty`s own subsequent work). Of the repertoire, three of the six pieces had previously been recorded by the Mothers of Invention, and "Twenty Small Cigars" soon would be. Ponty writes a Zappa-esque theme on his lone original "How Would You Like to Have a Head Like That," where Zappa contributes a nasty guitar solo. The centerpiece, though, is obviously "Music for Electric Violin and Low Budget Orchestra," a new multi-sectioned composition that draws as much from modern classical music as jazz or rock. It`s a showcase for Zappa`s love of blurring genres and Ponty`s versatility in handling everything from lovely, simple melodies to creepy dissonance, standard jazz improvisation to avant-garde, nearly free group passages. In the end, Zappa`s personality comes through a little more clearly (his compositional style pretty much ensures it), but King Kong firmly established Ponty as a risk-taker and a strikingly original new voice for jazz violin. ~ Steve Huey

Track Listing:

DISC 1

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

Album Information

Release Date:

07/13/1993

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Jazz Instrument

Subgenre:

Fusion

Label:

Blue Note

Producer:

Richard Bock

Catalog Number:

CDP 7895392

Original Release Year:

1970

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

43 : 42

Guest Artist:

Frank Zappa

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