Tuesday, January 28, 2020

ELVIS SCHOENBERG PRESENTS THE ORCHESTRE SURRÉAL - MANIC VOODOO LADY

This third album by Elvis Schoenberg's Orchestra Surréal pays tribute to the music of Jimi Hendrix.
I knew E.S. from his two excellent "Air Surreal" and "It's Alive" albums, released in 1998 and 2003.
I had no idea that he had released a third album. What a nice find. (thanks for the info, Danny !)

Unpredictable and fun. One might call it Zappa-esque.
Featuring Ken Rosser (who we also know from The Grandmothers) in their line-up and special guest Scott Henderson one one track.
Love it.


-- info: Danny Mathys

MIKMÂÄK RELEASED A NEW ALBUM


Recorded in concert in January 2019 and released by the IGLOO record label : Mikmâäk's #2.

Featuring Laurent Blondiau trompette and bugle - Fabian Fiorini piano - Bart Maris trompette and bugle - Jean-Paul Estiévenart trompette - Adrien Lambinet trombone and trombone basse - Pascal Rousseau tuba basse - Guillaume Orti saxophones - Jeroen Van Herzeele saxophones - Bo Van der Werf saxophones - Grégoire Tirtiaux saxophones - Pierre Bernard flûtes - Quentin Manfroy flûtes - Yann Lecollaire clarinette - Nathan Wouters contrebasse - Samuel Ber batterie

Modern jazz !!

You can listen to some of the tracks here :
https://www.igloorecords.be/album/mikmaak-2/


-- info: Danny Mathys


TEAR - TARQUAHET


a message from Mark Wingfield and Markus Reuter:

This is the third album in a series of duo releases by Mark and Markus under the moniker TEAR. Stay tuned for deep explorations, both live and studio recordings, to surface here. This album is a free download ("pay as much as you like") to get us, and you, started. Enjoy the music and we appreciate your support!



JOHN TABACCO - UNFULFILLED SHOPPING CARTS SYNDROME

Originally released as a download-only album by Muffin Records Productions, John Tabacco re-released "Unfulfilled Shopping Carts Syndrome" on CDR on his f/x label in 2017.
Track two is John's re-arranged version of Frank Zappa's 'How Could I Be Such A Fool?'. Beautiful.

On his bandcamp page, John explains: "Most of the lyrics were inspired by my on again off again relationship with Susan DeVita. A relationship that taught me a lot about myself and made me re-examine what it is to truly love another person."
This might sound a bit corny, but the result is anything but cliché.
"Unfulfilled Shopping Carts Syndrome" presents 22 fine songs.
Check it out.



Monday, January 27, 2020

KIRK WHALUM, FEATURING GEORGE DUKE


Jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum recorded a series of smooth jazz albums called "The Gospel According To Jazz". Volume one got released in 1998, volume two in 2002 and volume three in 2010.
All of these feature George Duke on keyboards.
Quite different from what George did when he was in Zappa's band, but very nice to listen to.

  • kirk whalum: the gospel according to jazz - chapter I
        (1998, cd, usa, warner gospel)

  • kirk whalum: the gospel according to jazz - chapter II
        (2002, cd, usa, word entertainment)

  • kirk whalum: the gospel according to jazz - chapter II
        (2010, 2cd, usa, top drawer records)

Talking about moving an audience...


-- info: Aad Hoogesteger 

Sunday, January 26, 2020

NIKOLOV-IVANOVIC UNDECTET FEAT. MAGIC MALIK


Promoted by MoonJune Records:

The Nikolov-Ivanovic Undectet feat. Magic Malik is a large ensemble with an eclectic instrumentation. This eleven-piece band led by pianist and arranger Vladimir Nikolov and drummer Srdjan Ivanovic fuses tradition and out-of-the-box thinking to produce sophisticated Balkan influenced music that challenges the listener on an emotional and intellectual level.

Featuring some of the best inter-generation musicians from Serbia and France the band is presenting their new album Frame and Curiosity. They were joined on the album by the flutist Malik Mezzadri, known as Magic Malik and upon realising the musical fit of Malik’s playing and sound with the Undectet, he became an important factor in the new album’s sound.




SUN RA TRIBUTE ALBUM BY THE BARRENCE WHITFIELD SOUL SAVAGE ARKESTRA


Sun Ra tribute album by the Barrence Whitfield Soul Savage Arkestra:
"Songs From The Sun Ra Cosmos".

Out on the Modern Harmonic label.
Available on LP and CD.



Saturday, January 25, 2020

ZAPPA


From Alex Winter:

Because we love you. Here's the very first look at our special festival poster for Zappa. It will ONLY be used for festival screenings prior the public release of the film. Hope you dig it! Dates coming soon for premiere and private backer screenings!

Photo by the great Bill Gubbins.


KEITH EMERSON TRIBUTE


Dan Gross produced a movie of the 2016 Keith Emerson tribute concert.
The movie is getting screenings at various festivals and will be made available on DVD as well.

Featuring Eddie Jobson, Vinnie Colaiuta and Joe Travers.


20 YEARS OF IDIOT BASTARD MUTTERING


Over at The Idiot Bastard website, Andrew said

To celebrate 20 years of bringing you Zappa and related news via this here website, I will be writing an article each month that provides answers to some of those questions no one asks. Yes, I am giving you 12 FUQs (Frequently Unasked Questions) in 2020! Here's number one.
http://www.idiotbastard.com/FUQ.htm



NEW ALBUM BY LAZULI


French band Lazuli announced a new album:

Le fantastique envol de Dieter Böhm


Available for pre-order at: https://lazuli-music.com/






VINNIE COLAIUTA


From Glass Onyon PR:

Metal Icon DON DOKKEN Steps Into The Spotlight On This Superb Solo Album Solitary!

Los Angeles, CA - He’s the voice behind multi-platinum selling albums and heavy metal classics such as “Breaking The Chains,” “In My Dreams,” “Dream Warriors” and many more! But for the aptly named album Solitary, Dokken vocalist Don Dokken strips away the metal trappings and takes center stage as a singular creative force on this acoustic album that includes both original songs and imaginative reworkings of other’s songs. Dokken’s powerful singing truly shines throughout these recordings, bringing both fiery passion and gentle emotion.

To help bring this project to life, Don reached out to several high-profile musicians including The Firm/Whitesnake bassist Tony Franklin plus renowned drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa / Sting).


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

DAVID LINX & MICHEL HATZIGEORGIOU


David Linx and Michel Hatzigeorgiou made an album together : "The Word Smith".
Vocals and bass guitar.


In concert in Liège, BE,
at 'L'An Vert'
on January 25, 2020

Sam. 25 janvier 2020
20h30

David Linx et Michel Hatzigeorgiou

ANGEL ONTALVA & VESPERO


Angel Ontalva and Vespero released their new album, "Sala, today.

Here's a sample track :



Monday, January 20, 2020

NEW BOOK ON PROG ROCK


From Glass Onyon PR :

Is Prog Rock Really Progressive? A New Book Discussing the Progress in Progressive Rock Music

Is Prog Rock really progressive anymore? How do the current Prog bands feel about the genre and its legacy? Do they feel that there is progress in the music they perform? Different Prog artists/bands are being interviewed and answer 5 questions about the current status of the Progressive Rock and its culture. This exploratory research focuses on exploring the present and the future of a music genre that survived through the years due to its innovative nature.

While most of the previous Prog books focus on historical facts of the genre, this journalistic effort is a self-criticism of the genre through the looking glass of modern and active Prog musicians. The book starts with an introduction to Prog Rock by VIAJERO INMÓVIL Records (Argentina) and the rest of the material is divided into chapters that include the musicians’ answers to the following discussion themes:
1. What is progress in Progressive Rock?
2. Is Progressive Rock really progressive?
3. Accepting other music genres as progressive music
4. Next step for the progress of Progressive Rock
5. Technology and Progressive Rock

The participating Prog artists/bands that are being interviewed: Aisles, Anubis, Ant-Bee, EchoTest, Evership, Karakorum, Kotebel, Life After Mars, Light Freedom Revival, Lars Eric Mattson, Liquid Orbit, Magenta, Mouth, Process of Illumination, RTFACT, Robert Berry, Seven Impale, Soul Enema, Sproingg, Terra Collective, Time King, Wobbler, Yang.

The book was written by Vasileios Yfantis who has also authored other thematic books on Punk, Metal and music technology. Next plans for Vasileios Yfantis include the release of a Prog musical album in 2020 and a new book on melodic rock scheduled for release during the early 2021.

Product details
Paperback: 119 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (January 11, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1548614416
ISBN-13: 978-1548614416


NEW ALBUM BY MARKUS REUTER


Leonardo / Moonjune says :
This is a historic 100th release on MoonJune Records, and it is very special, Markus Reuter is not only one of my favorite musicians, but also one of my best friends among musicians, and in past 7 years we did so much with Stick Men and on various sessions, on 4 continents. This is a brutally phenomenal monster power trio, and one of the highlights of my label, and the good news is that we will record Truce 2 later this year at La Casamurada, where this album was recorded on May 15, last year, while we are working on mixing and mastering of Markus next album on MoonJune, “Oculus”, featuring David Cross, Mark Wingfield, Fabio Trentini, Asaf Sirkis.

This band will debut at a music festival this upcoming May, and after making the follow up album, we have plans for some touring, mostly in 2021.



Sunday, January 19, 2020

NEW RELEASE BY CHATO INCLUDES A ZAPPA TRIBUTE


If you're unfamiliar with the music of Chato Segerer, I urge you to check out his 2015 "Prog Fusion With Balls" and his 2017 "So Und Nicht Anders" albums.

More recently, Chato has added two 'new' tracks to his Bandcamp page, released as "Live In The Studio Session 2018".

Both tracks sound great and I'm really impressed with his 'In Memoriam, Frank Zappa'.



YUVAL RON - SOMEWHERE IN THIS UNIVERSE, SOMEBODY HITS A DRUM


Guitarist and composer Yuval Ron recently released his second album.

Next to Yuval, "Somewhere In This Universe, Somebody Hits A Drum" features Matt Paull on keyboards, Roberto Badoglio on bass, and Marco Minnemann on drums.

As the title shows, this album will take you on a trip. A progressive rock / fusion trip to be more exact.

I like it a lot. Beautiful compositions, superb flight crew !!

Check it out :



The album, which was over three years in the making, features six beautiful and profound compositions placing a strong emphasis on big, orchestral, film music-like arrangements and production. On top of those, the players give some virtuosic and passionate performances, soloing over the tunes while keeping their original intent. It leaves the listener fascinated throughout the extensive pieces, traveling through space with tunes like “Gravitational Lensing”, “The Discovery of Phoebe” and “I Believe in Astronauts”.


Saturday, January 18, 2020

THE ZAPPA EARLY RENAISSANCE ORCHESTRA'S NEW ALBUM !!

Earlier today, I got a sneak peek of the new Z.E.R.O. album. It'll be released by the Cordelia Records label and should be out in about six weeks.

Sixteen tracks. 14 FZ pieces and two by Kevin Crosby.
Quite a lot of people contributed to this album. It's not just the familiar Z.E.R.O. crew (Kevin Crosby / Juliana Brandon / Ted Clifford / Rupert Kettle / Prairie Prince).
MagNiFZnt is present on a couple of tunes, as is Inventionis Mater, and Craig 'Twister' Steward, and the extended version of Tante Tofu, and Sandro Oliva (!!), and Fred Händl, and Joe Trump.
The result is an excellent Zappa tribute. Quite diverse, funny and beautiful.

The 1971 live arrangement of Who Are The Brain Police? gave me goosebumps. Again. Juliana Brandon. Wow !

Inner album artwork will use pictures of Bruce Bickford's clay art. Amazing.

Here's a completely different version of 'Who Are The Brain Police?", from the "Zero - Tolerance" album, from 2016.



HALL OF FAME RECORDS UPDATE


Luis G. has been putting new versions of older albums on various digital platforms.

He has also put together two free digital compilations :


including FZ-pieces  performed by A.L. Guillèn and by Marieta Y Lot Jetas.

and

Check them out at: https://halloffame.es/




Friday, January 17, 2020

MATS ÖBERG'S ZAPPA TRIBUTE AVAILABLE ON CDBABY


Mats Öberg's superb Frank Zappa tribute album, "Frankful", has been made available at CDBaby.

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/press1?



THE MEN'S ROOM


Official Selection for the 2020 Victoria Film Festival

Director: Petter Sommer, Jo Vemund Svendsen
Norway 2018 74 min
Audience Award Krakow Film Festival
Documentary


-- info: Rudy Schwartz


WHO THE F*@% IS FRANK ZAPPA?


WHO THE F*@% IS FRANK ZAPPA? by Alex Winter



The movie is COMPLETE and headed to its world premiere at our favorite film festival in March, baby! Here we discuss the deets, the ever-bountiful vault and info on future events for backers!

GET OUT YOUR JAZZ DISCHARGE PARTY HATS!

The movie was accepted to the great SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. I’ll announce the screening dates as soon as I have them! I couldn’t be more thrilled; this is both a movie and music festival and draws a huge crowd of music lovers. Please come join us if you can. And thanks to Rolling Stone for this cool piece on the premiere!

Of course now we will also be scheduling the other backer screenings in the different cities around the country. We are working in collaboration with the mighty Alamo Draft House who know how to put on a great show, and I can’t wait to meet all of you at those screenings! Look for announcements of those dates to follow the SXSW premiere, as well as additional film festivals worldwide!

The coffee table book is being made as we speak; stuffed with never before seen images and the text being written for us by the legendary David Fricke, with design by the great Mike Mesker. It’s going to be amazing! The soundtrack is also in the works, with original album cover art being created by the genius Cal Schenkel. We’re not f*cking around! And all information on the dates for those and the other remaining backer rewards will go out as soon as we have them!

WE GOTTA COME UP WITH SOME NEW SHIT!

Here's the link to the Rolling Stone article:
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/frank-zappa-south-by-southwest-doc-937847/



Wednesday, January 15, 2020

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF FRANK ZAPPA'S MUSIC


In 2017, Stefan Ullmann wrote an essay on the music of Frank Zappa as part of his bachelor study.
He released it as a 36-page booklet in February 2019.
It includes scores and lots of theoretical explanations (and it's in German)


He re-released it last September as a book-on-demand.
Different cover, altered title, same impressive booklet. Also in German.


In the meantime, Stefan also released an English version.



KEVIN AYERS & THE WIZARDS OF TWIDDLY - TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN!

I'm happy to have obtained a copy of "Turn The Lights Down" by Kevin Ayers & The Wizards Of Twiddly. Kevin Ayers should need no introduction as he was part of The Soft Machine.
The Wizards Of Twiddly are a superb band in their own right. At a certain time, Carl Bowry, Andy Frizell and Martin Smith also were part of The Muffin Men, performing the music of Frank Zappa.

Anyway, "Turn The Lights Down" is a pretty fine album. Laid-back.

Here's The Muffins Of Twiddly, or The Wizard Men if you prefer, in concert in 2002 :



ANOTHER ZAPPA COLORING BOOK

  • frank zappa coloring book
    by denise day
        (2019, book, --, private release) 
The Zappa Coloring Book that got published by Fantoons last November, was a 'real' coloring book.
The above pictured 40-page booklet by Denise Day does not qualify as one as it offers terrible black and white scans of pictures of FZ.

I'll be putting my crayons back in the drawer...


Tuesday, January 14, 2020

MARBIN COMPILATON ALBUM

It's time for another Marbin compilation album.
Digital, but also available on vinyl.



ZAPPA BAND AT X-JAM


https://www.showclix.com/event/x-jamm2020

 Saturday, January 18 at M3 Live in Anaheim, California! 




HERBIE MANN AND AYNSLEY DUNBAR


Herbie Mann's "London Underground", featured Aynsley Dunbar :

https://egrojworld.blogspot.com/2020/01/herbie-mann-london-underground.html


-- info : Jan van Kemenade

STICK MEN


Another digital "Beat The Boots' release by Stick Men;

Tony Levin: Chapman Stick, Voice
Markus Reuter: Touch Guitars® U8 Deluxe, Live Looping
Pat Mastelotto: Drums, Loops, Samples

Robert Frazza: F.O.H. engineer


Sounds pretty good...

Stick Men adds:
We are now making recordings like this publicly and officially available for purposes of archiving, (our own) historical research, and for your enjoyment as a fan and collector. Each show is offered for a rather low price and the proceeds from these downloads will get split evenly between Tony, Markus, Pat, and Robert, the four people who worked as a team to make this music come alive.


DIJF SANDERS


From the Unday record label:

Following the success of the critically acclaimed 2018 album ‘Java’, Brugge-born musical visionary Dijf Sanders just released ‘Ravana’, taken from his forthcoming album ‘Puja’, to be released on the 14th of February via Unday Records. 
A multi-instrumentalist and composer, David ‘Dijf’ Sanders combines a broad mix of styles including exotica, psychedelia, jazz and electronica, approached with a boundless enthusiasm for multicultural blends and influences



TOHPATI AND SIMAKDIALOG


I've probably mentioned this before, but you can get simakDialog's "Live At Orion" album for the price of your choice over at Bandcamp.
Or order the regular CD set.

Tohpati on the guitar !



THE BUREAU OF ATOMIC TOURISM

  • the bureau of atomic tourism: spinning jenny
        (2014, cd, bel, rat records)
A couple of weeks ago, I got hold of "Spinning Jenny", the third release by The Bureau Of Atomic Tourism, a sextet that features Teun Verbruggen, Andrew d'Angelo, Nate Wooley, Jozef Dumoulin, Marc Ducret and Jasper Stadhouders.

Quite experimental.
Pretty impressive. Especially if you know that it was recorded live.

Check it out :



Saturday, January 11, 2020

THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION


at MorYork, L.A.
January 24, 2020
The Grandmothers of Invention




MY FIDDLE WANTS TO KILL YOUR MAMA


Matt Bell, ThatViolaKid, Joe Deninzon, Ross Holmes and Patrick Contreras recorded "My Fiddle Wants To Kill Your Mama".

https://open.spotify.com/album/51g9qHgdJXWvUGKl4GGE0i

Couldn't find any info for other media...


Thursday, January 9, 2020

NI IN CONCERT


10.01 FREIBURG - Slow Club Freiburg, DE - Ni
11.01 BASEL - Irrsinn Bar, CH - Ni
13.01 ZURICH - Boschbar, CH - Ni
14.01 SAVONA - Raindogs House, IT - Ni
16.01 FAENZA - Clan Destino, IT - Ni
17.01 LECCO - Circolo Libero Pensiero, IT - Ni
18.01 ANNECY - Le Brise Glace, FR - Ni



Tuesday, January 7, 2020

NEW ALBUM BY TOON TELLEGEN AND CORRIE VAN BINSBERGEN

Corrie van Binsbergen is releasing a new album by Toon Tellegen & Het Wisselend Toonkwintet on her Brokken Records label.

With Toon Tellegen (narrator), Corrie van Binsbergen (guitar), Joost Buis (trombone), Albert van Veenendaal (prepared piano), Hein Offermans (bass) and Alan Gunga Purves (percussion).

https://corrievanbinsbergen.com/projecten/toon-tellegen-ik-wou/


Monday, January 6, 2020

HUMBLE GRUMBLE - LIVE

Humble Grumble released 7 albums on CD between 2000 and 2013.
The last two were released on the Italian Altrock label!
In 2014 a download-only release got added to the series.

If you don't know Humble Grumble, be sure to check them out.

The 2014 "Live" album is available from CDBaby and other digital platforms.

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/humblegrumble5

Two of the tracks from this live compilation can also be found on YouTube :




ROSA - EFFATA

"Effata" (Awake) is the latest Rosa release, formerly know as Rosa Ensemble.
The album presents live and studio material : composed, improvised, traditional and experimental.

Contemporary chamber music with electronics.



ROSA ENSEMBLE - NO ARK DEAD EEL

from the Rosa Ensemble website :

A continuation of BigLifeHi Electronic beats and unexpected break, mixed with exciting vocals and mysterious soundscapes. Playful, daring, enchanting, unruly and exciting music. Experimental in the same way Frank Zappa’s music is experimental.


Sunday, January 5, 2020

THE RUDY SCHWARTZ PROJECT - TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS AND SING TO ME LIKE DICK POWELL

Just in time for the new year, The Rudy Schwartz Project released a means to survive 2020.
One song a day should keep you sane for the next year or so.
Doctor's prescription.

Mixing musical styles and adding textures that one would expect from a music box, The Rudy Schwartz Project has released another fine album.
"Take Me In Your Arms And Sing To Me Like Dick Powell" has it all.
From the Zappa-esque guitar instrumental "I Was Wrong About The Tomato Juice" to the hilarious discussions with Waldo.

Thank you !!
Great music. Superb package.

Essential listening.

Out on CD and on digital platforms.
Check it out here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0828G7MG3

CD available from Kunaki :
(credit card ordering)
http://kunaki.com/mSales.asp?PublisherId=148137
(paypal ordering)
http://kunaki.com/mSales.asp?PublisherId=148137&PP=1


MARBIN - STRONG THING

"Strong Thing" is the tenth (!!)  album by Marbin.
Apparently, ten years of making music equals ten albums in the Marbin world and you don't hear me complaining.

Excellent high-energy instrumental rock.
Guitar, sax, bass and drums.
No further explanation necessary.
Give it a listen.



ROSA ENSEMBLE - TROUBLING FOR SUGAR


Concerts by the Rosa Ensemble focus on music, but also on literature, theater and visual arts.
Another point of interest is contemporary chamber music.

On "Troubling For Sugar", the ensemble performs 6 pieces that were written for them by Dutch contemporary composers.
Released in 2001.

Here's "Hout (Wood)" by Louis Andriessen.



ROSA ENSEMBLE - DE DIEPE WILDERNIS

Adding data of adventurous music to the United Mutations Archives, here's the first album by the Rosa Ensemble.
Re-released in 2007 with a bonus disc (= a Portugese version).

"Diepe Wildernis".
Texts by João Guimarães Rosa (from where the ensemble got their name!!), translated by August Willemsen.



IDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT FEATURING RALPH ALESSI


i.f.o (Identified Flying Object) is Alex Koo (rhodes/keys/fx/loops) and Attila Gyárfás (drums/fx).

Sunday, March 29, they will be joined by Ralph Alessi for a concert at Michel Mast's  AchterHamSession.

Concert will start at 15h00
In Ghent, BE
at AchterHam.

Identified Flying Object :



ED PALERMO BAND IN CONCERT AT THE JAZZ ON THE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL, SUNDAY JANUARY 12


Sunday January 12

Jazz on the Mountain
Mohonk Mountain House

3pm Show

1000 Mountain Rest Road
New Paltz, NY 12561

​ WBGO’s Michael Bourne hosts this year’s Jazz on the Mountain with an outstanding roster of performers. Returning favorites include Dave Stryker’s 8-Track Band, the eclectic Scott Robinson, bassist Martin Wind, pianist Helen Sung, Ed Palermo’s Big Band, along with Catherine Russell, La Tanya Hall, and Carolyn Leonhart Trio. We are pleased to welcome new performances by Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom, and pianist Andy Milne. Immerse yourself in a weekend of cool sounds and spirited jams, all within a spectacular natural setting.

https://www.mohonk.com/events/music-arts/jazz-on-the-mountain/


Saturday, January 4, 2020

MR. SKULL BOBBLEHEAD


Announced on MVDAudio,

the Mr. Skull Bobblehead.
1 000 copies
Street date = February 7, 2020



NEW ALBUM BY JOHN TABACCO


John Tabacco has just released a new album.

Lots of great tunes !
One track features the Vegetarians and is produced by Hans Annellsson,
and the album includes FZ's 'Mom & Dad' and 'Fountain Of Love', written by Frank Zappa and Ray Collins !!

How about that ?!?

Check it out on Bandcamp :



Wednesday, January 1, 2020

GEORGE DUKE ON MIXCLOUD


Check out George Duke on Mixcloud.

I'm listening to the Ronnie Scotts Radio Show at this very moment !
Haven't heard any George Duke yet, but lots of Tribal Tech.
Great show.

https://www.mixcloud.com/discover/george-duke/


-- info / link : Aad Hoogesteger


Happy New Year !!


Happy New Year, everyone.
Wishing you good health and a happy life, with lots of good music.