SNARKY PUPPY SOMNI US TOUR 2026

TRAFFIC - BACK TO THE COUNTRY

• Traffic: Back To The Country
      (2026, cd, Europe, sutra)

Another radio show album recording reached my digital mailbox today.
Traffic's "Back To The Country", subtitled "The Reunion Tour 1994"

Formed in 1967 in Birmingham, England, Traffic quickly became one of the most adventurous bands of the late-’60s British rock scene. Built around the core of Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason, they fused rock, jazz, soul, and folk into an unmistakably fluid and improvisational sound. Their albums Mr. Fantasy (1967), John Barleycorn Must Die (1970) and The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (1971) helped define a new era of expansive, genre-blurring music before the group finally disbanded in 1974, leaving behind a legacy of adventurous studio work and electrifying live performances.

Two decades later, Traffic made an unexpected return to the stage. In 1994, a fan left a voicemail on Bob Weir’s hotel phone suggesting that the Grateful Dead invite Traffic on tour - an idea that sparked the remarkable reunion. Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi regrouped under the Traffic name for a limited series of shows supporting the Grateful Dead on their summer tour, rekindling the band’s free-spirited interplay for a new generation of concertgoers one final time.

With Jerry Garcia as special guest on the final song of the concert.
Very enjoyable.

JETHRO TULL - L.A. 1977 THE WEST COAST BROADCASTS

• Jethro Tull: L.A. 1977 The West Coast Broadcast
      (2026, cd, Europe, sutra)

More than noteworthy, "L.A. 1977 The West Coast Broadcast", a new radio show release that presents Jethro Tull in good shape.

Here's the beautiful 'Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day', from another 1977 show, tv-broadcast.

-- info & more: Danny Mathys

SUN RA - EXOTICA

The Modern Harmonic record label is re-releasing the Sun Ra "Exotica" (compilation) album as a 3 LP set, on orange vinyl.

STUDIO DAN RADIO BROADCAST TODAY

From the Studio Dan newsletter :

Today at 11:03 p.m., Ö1 will broadcast the final concert of the Composers Lab at Klangspuren Schwaz. Those who have been following our newsletters closely may remember the text our violinist Sophia Goidinger-Koch wrote last October about this collaboration. The broadcast now publicly concludes this working process, which brought us into contact with the new generation of composers. Upon request, we are happy to provide the relevant newsletter edition.

Speaking of editions: this email also includes—following the list of dates—a text about Ingrid Laubrock. It was originally published in the summer of 2024 in WeJazz Magazine and is being redistributed here with kind permission. At the same time, we would like to draw attention to WeJazz itself: a large-format print magazine published four times a year and dedicated to the contemporary jazz and improvisation scene, which we can warmly recommend to everyone.

The text serves as an introduction to the upcoming concerts in Vienna, Cologne, and Munich, where we will be on stage together with Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey. Laubrock is present not only as a musician but also as a composer, with whom we have been collaborating since 2023.
Tickets are available online (via the event listings) and at the box office.

Mon, 09.02.2026 - Composers Lab – Klangspuren Schwaz 
Radio Ö1, Stream 23:03

Thu, 26.02.2026 - Studio Dan feat. Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey 
Amuse Gueule, You Better Listen!, Das MuTh, Vienna 18:15
Concert, You Better Listen!, Das MuTh, Vienna 19:30

Sat, 28.02.2026 - Studio Dan feat. Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey 
Stadtgarten, Cologne 20:00

Sun, 01.03.2026 - Studio Dan feat. Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey 
Schwere Reiter, Munich 20:00 ­

THE OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY COWBOY MARCHING BAND - 1997 OSU COWBOY MARCHING BAND

• Oklahoma State University Cowboy Marching Band: 1997 OSU Cowboy Marching Band
      (1997, cd, USA, osu)

Fans of Frank Zappa's music know that different marching bands have performed and recorded Frank Zappa's music: The Asphalt Orchestra, The Fantomatik Orchestra, The Robiano Zirkuskapelle,...

And there's the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Marching Band !
On their 1997 album, "1997 OSU Cowboy Marching Band”, included a medley that featured an abridged version of FZ’s ‘Echidna’s Arf (Of You)'.

Not just your ordinary marching band. Check out this audience recording of one of their performances...

MERIDIAN ARTS ENSEMBLE - SEVEN KINGS

• Meridian Arts Ensemble: Seven Kings
      (2016, cd, USA, innova)

I remember getting introduced to the Meridian Arts Ensemble in the early 1990s. Their "Smart Went Crazy" album presented beautiful arrangements of five (!) Frank Zappa tunes, plus some other fascinating stuff by contemporary composers that I had never heard of.
Brass and percussion... Amazing.

The ensemble kept bringing this mix for their next albums, also including compositions by members of the MAE.
I do admit that I'm not that familiar with the albums they released after "Ear Mind I" but I'm catching up. Fortunately, I have to add.
"Seven Kings" got released in 2016 and, again, shows the MAE in top shape, performing pieces by Daniel Grabois, David Sanford, Dave Ballou, Edward Jacobs, and Robert Maggio.

Here's 'Seven Kings - II. Contrapunctus I'

-- info & more: Danny Mathys

STEFANO BOLLANI - ARRIVANO GLI ALIENI

• Stefano Bollani: Arrivano Gli Alieni
      (2015, cd, --, decca)
      (2015, lp, --, decca)

Stefano Bollani released his "Sheik Yer Zappa" album in 2014.
One year later, Stefano released "Arrivano Gli Alieni".
No pieces by Frank Zappa, but a beautiful album and worth your attention. Original pieces next to compositions by Horace Silver, Duke Ellington, and others. All performed solo on a Fender Rhodes piano. What a sound...

DEVIL'S JAM - STONED AGAIN

• Devil’s Jam: Stoned Again
      (1995, cd, Denmark, bums records)

Devil's Jam's ‘Zappa’s Not Dead’ song had already been released on the 1994  “Metaltrax Part II” sampler, an album that featured the most promising hard rock bands from Holland.

In 1995, 'Zappa's Not Dead' got released on the Amsterdam-based Dutch rock band's first album, "Stoned Again".
“Stoned Again” was their only album. It got released on the Danish Bums Records label.

DON ELLIS AND HIS ORCHESTRA - AUTUMN

Don Ellis And His Orchestra's "Autumn" album got released in 1968.
It featured, a.o. Glenn Ferris, Ralph Humphrey, and Dave Parlato, musicians that would also perform / record with Frank Zappa.

-- info: Jan van Kemenade