GIOVANNI SOLLIMA'S NEW ALBUM WILL INCLUDE SEVERAL ZAPPA PIECES

Cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima will be releasing "Wild Love" next month, an album that will include pieces by both Francesco and Frank Zappa.

The tracklist:

-- info: Mick Zeuner

ROBERT DAVIDSON - - - ZAPPA AND ME

A lot of people probably saw the picture of Frank Zappa sitting on the toilet before they had ever heard his music. Let alone that they knew who he was.

Taken by photographer Robert Davidson in a London hotel room in 1967, it became one of the best-selling rock posters in history. Zappa himself famously noted that he was more famous for sitting on the toilet than for his music.

I must have seen the picture before I started listening to Frank's music but, for me, that wasn't what triggered me to find out who the man in the picture was.
I got hooked when I found "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" and "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" in the public library. The album artwork pulled me in and the music blew me away.
Still, I can imagine that many people found the photo funny and subversive and thought it embodied the counterculture.

It is an iconic picture and the story behind it is fascinating to say the least.
And that's what the upcoming "Zappa And Me" documentary will be about.

Robert Davidson at Zappanale 2026, picture taken by Andrew Greenaway.

Here's the link to the Kickstarter for the project:
https://www.wilddogworld.com/zappa-and-me-the-image-that-created-an-icon/

Although the Zappanale festival had existed for quite some years, the first 'international edition', with invited guests from all over the world and the inauguration of the statue, took place in 2002.
It's no surprise that the poster referred to the famous picture.

ZAPPA'S 'PEACHES EN REGALIA' PERFORMED AT THE BBC PROMS 2026

BBC Proms: Prog Rock – A Fanfare for the Common Man
by the BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of Robert Ames

It included Zappa's 'Peaches En Regalia', starting at 60 minutes into the recording.

• Aaron Copland (arr. ELP) – Fanfare for the Common Man (met Carl Palmer)
• Jethro Tull – Living in the Past
• Soft Machine – Out-Bloody-Rageous (Part 1)
• Genesis – A Trick of the Tail & I Know What I Like
• Renaissance – Northern Lights (met Jane Weaver)
• The Moody Blues – Nights in White Satin (met Jane Weaver)
• Van der Graaf Generator – Refugees (met Peter Hammill)
• Yes – And You and I
• Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells (Part 1)
  
  
• ELP – Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2
• Focus – Sylvia
• Osibisa – Komfo
• Frank Zappa – Peaches en Regalia
• King Crimson – Medley (Schizoid Man / Wind / Court)
• Genesis – Entangled
• Gentle Giant – On Reflection
• Incredible String Band – Maker of Islands (met Gruff Rhys)
• Pink Floyd – The Great Gig in the Sky (met Vanessa Haynes)
• Supertramp – Crime of the Century
• Mussorgsky (arr. ELP) – Pictures at an Exhibition (Great Gate) (met Carl Palmer)

 

THE ARTCHIPEL ORCHESTRA PLAYS ZAPPA

"Zappa Variations"
by the Artchipel Orchestra

Teatro Civico Roberto De Silva Rho (Mi) - 31/01/26

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ANDREAS RAUSCH - - - THE DOG & FRANK ZAPPA

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MUZE JAZZ ORCHESTRA PLAYS ZAPPA

The Muze Jazz Orchestra.
From Belgium.
Recorded quite a while ago already, but what a great performance !

AN UPDATE FROM CHATO

Chato Segerer just shared his upcoming gigs !

F.O.S. BROTHERS - 1ST APRIL

• The F.O.S. Brothers Band: 1st April
      (1990, cassette, UK, private release)

I don't recall if I already mentioned this cassette release.

Recorded on the 1st of April 1990, the F.O.S. Brothers released the recording on cassette in an oversized box. The album kicked off with the band performing FZ's 'The Torture Never Stops".
The Zappa song would get re-recorded and re-released on cassette and on CD in later years.

I'm assuming the cassette got released the same year that it got recorded.
I came across this one by accident earlier this year, browsing the internet. And it was for sale. No further comment needed.

The oversized box:

PYGMY TWYLYTE TOURDATES

 

THE FURIOUS BONGOS PLAY ZAPPA - - - TOURDATES AND MORE

April 2027 will be two weeks in the Northeast. We’re finally going to be able add shows in Boston and Connecticut, plus we’ll be back in New Hampshire, Maine, Albany, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. July 2027 will be two weeks in Germany, Netherlands, and France. That’s just a tease for what’s coming in 2028….

October 2027 will cover a LOT of ground. We’ll start in North Carolina, head south to Florida (finally!), then work our way back up through Atlanta, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. The last show of the tour will be on Halloween night at Reggies in Chicago – and that will be EPIC fer sher fer sher.

And then, there’s 2028, our 10 year anniversary! More about that soon, but we’re finally going to be able to hit the US West Coast, more Canadian dates (including the Atlantic provinces), and if all goes as planned, an extended run through Europe.

So, thank you all for bearing with us as we grow, and we can’t wait to get back out there in September!

HENRY KAISER

"Henry Kaiser demonstrates Neodymium GS Q-tuners",
improvising on FZ's 'Outside Now'.

-- info: Kjell Knudde

TYLERSONGS - THE CASIO COOKBOOK

Tylersongs' "The Casio Cookbook" includes a cover version of Frank Zappa's 'Let's Make The Water Turn Black'. Out on Bandcamp and on cassette !! 

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STEFANO BOLLANI

I recently received a recording of Stefano Bollani's concert at the Cappella Paolina del Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome, Italy, from October 10, 2004.

Broadcast on Italian national radio, Rai Radio Tre, the recording is of excellent quality.
At least as interesting is the fact that Stefano performed Frank Zappa' s 'Eat That Question' !

The piece can also be found on Stefano's "Sheik Yer Zappa" album.

EUGENE CHADBOURNE & JIMMY CARL BLACK - THE JACK AND JIM SHOW - THE REFLECTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF JIMI HENDRIX

• Eugene Chadbourne & Jimmy Carl Black: The Jack And Jim Show - The Reflections And Experiences Of Jimi Hendrix
      (20??, cdr, Germany, inkanish records)

I recently came across this re-issue of "The Reflections And Experiences Of Jimi Hendrix".
The original 2001 release, also released on Jimmy Carl Black's DIY Inkanish Records label, had Eugene, Jimmy Carl and Black Paddy on the album cover.
I don't know when this re-issue got released or even if there are other versions out there, but I'm glad I found it.

Eugene Chadbourne and Jimmy Carl Black plus Pat ‘Black Paddy’ Thomas (piano) did a Jimi Hendrix tribute show on October 26, 2001 in Emilia, Italy.
The album presented Zappa’s ‘Hey Punk’ mixed with Hendrix’ ‘Hey Joe’ as FZ took the chords of Jimi’s song as inspiration.

 Here's what the duo looked and sounded like in 1995:

DWEEZIL ZAPPA & VINNIE COLAIUTA

 

DANIEL ROHR - ALLES ÜBER FRANK - 14. JULI 2006, ZAPPANALE 17

• Daniel Rohr: ZAPPA! Alles Über Frank – 14. Juli 2006, Zappanale 17, Bad Doberan
      (2006, dvdr-promo, Switzerland, private release)

Daniel Rohr performed his "Zappa! Alles Über Frank" theater show at Zappanale in 2006.
I knew of a promotional CDR of the Zappanale recording, but it seems that Daniel also made a video recording available as a (promotional) DVDR.
Recorded, directed and edited by Jörg Herrmann’s Zappanale video team.

I wasn't aware of its existence.
Pretty happy that I could get hold of this. Another fine addition to The Others Of Invention.

Here's a promo for an October 2006 concert:

KOMMISSAR HJULER - ANTIFLUX 2

• Kommissar Hjuler: Antiflux 2 / Free Frank Zappa Anti-Object 7”
      (2026, 7”, Germany, private release)

Kommissar Hjuler produced this Frank Zappa Anti-Object 7” in 2026.
I received it as a gift. It was part of a series of works with / inspired by Milan Knizak.
It has pictures of Frank Zappa's face glued on the grooves of the 7".
The particular item, an anti (or non-playable) 7” was #41 in the Antiflux 2 series.

TWO NEW BOOKS

Mentioned a little while ago, these two books recently arrived:

• Alan Jenkins: The History Of Expermental Surf Music

If you are a fan of Jenkins’ delightfully weird discography (including his work with The Deep Freeze Mice or R. Stevie Moore), or simply love unclassifiable, delightfully eccentric garage-psych or his surf music excursions, "The History Of Experimental Surf Music" will be very enjoyable reading.
Although the booklet discusses several releases on Alan's Cordelia Records label, the reader should not expect any answers, details or other insights. Instead, you will be treated to stories that sprang from the imagination of Alan Jenkins. (At least, that's what I hope they are.)

• Raphael Henry: Frank Zappa

Another book about Frank Zappa. I quote the writer:
What interested me more was how he constructed his music, his ideas, and his independence over time.

RUSS STEDMAN - AROXOMONOPEDIA

New release by Russ Stedman: "Aroxomonopedia".
If someone has a clue as to what the title might mean, let me know.

Funny detail: I was listening to the first track and I really liked it. It was turning into a Zappa-esque guitar solo.
So I bought the album, dowloaded it, and started listening to it again. It was only then that I discovered that three minutes and twenty-five seconds into the first track, Russ quotes part of FZ's 'Inca Roads'.
Serendipity !!

NEW BOOK ABOUT FRANK ZAPPA

 New book about Frank Zappa by Raphael Henry.