Frank Zappa, in his personal life, musical adventures, and entrepreneurial endeavors, is a character of great significance to the 20th Century Arts scene. From the beginning of his career he shook the system and rattled the cages of every prescribed norm in music. Whether his music was humorous or serious, rock or Orchestral, blues or jazz, he was always pushing the boundaries and leaving the greatest musicians in the world staring in awe, dizzy in his wake.
He inspired many of the most talented, professional instrumentalists and vocalists and had an exceptional ability to bring out the characteristic features of each one. This may be the key to understanding Zappa's impact. He was very observant. He knew what he wanted and when he looked for musicians he had a clear goal in mind of what he wanted to achieve. When he found the musician who displayed even the most remote amount of that feature, he exposed it, displayed it, and took advantage of it in his works. He truly was a genius of music, one capable of seeing the world in a way no one else did.
Though it can be stated that he was a control freak, and that he could be hard to work with, these qualities are overlooked when witnessing the results of such a personality. His prolific career as a songwriter has left the world with over 70 (all notable, in one way or another) albums spanning genres between the world's first concept album, rock and roll through Jazz, to orchestral music, and then back again, over and over.
As a business man, he has helped shape the entrepreneurial standard to strive for in the twenty first century. He helped to break all of the accepted norms in censorship and in what is acceptable musically and visually. His incredible confidence to simply 'stick it to the man' has allowed for artists to do things that were never possible 30 years ago. He battled for the manifestos and librettos of his making to be published in his albums so to let the audiences of his band see truly what it was he was thinking, and to encourage them to think for themselves also. He put his own sweat and blood and hard earned money into interpreting his music within the context of a symphonic orchestra. And now, he is considered amongst the greatest of twentieth century composers, let alone one of the greatest rock and roll stars of all time.
In his personal life, he never backed down from his own beliefs, not for a moment letting his guard slip to the way he wanted things around him to be. He made it clear from the start that this was his show and he made the rules. Even though it is possible that his feelings towards drugs and hippie culture in general may have, at the time, hurt his image, and definetely hurt his earnings, he didn't care. He held strong and now we read about him and are baffled yet quiety impressed with this man's convictions to his cause. There are not many, very few indeed, musicians/rock stars who are so self-disciplined, so unmovable in their beliefs as Frank Zappa. And we hear such qualities in his music. His songs all flow by as an unmovable object. Consistent even at the most scattered of times. And, needless to say, his opinions towards drugs and other dangerous substances have surely allowed for this artist to keep producing masterpieces through his entire life. He is an icon to the rock music business for all artists battling their ego and the wave of stardom.
Frank Zappa is an idol, a simple man with a family, a healthy image of control and self-confidence and conviction. On top of it, he is a hell of a musician who has left a legacy of outstanding music for younger generations to listen to, appreciate, study in class, and carry with them into their own artistic practices.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Zappa's orchestral adventures
Though the name Zappa, for the most part, reminds us of a Rock and Roll star, slightly off his rocker, Zappa delved deep into the world of classical orchestration later in his life. Ironically, it was with songs like "Valley Girl" that made him the substantial amount of money required to hire such a large group of musicians and orchestrate such an immense project. But, nonetheless, he achieved his goal and some of his most memorable musical works are of the orchestral variety. Particularly, his recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra are of substantial quality.
Zappa, early in his career, realized that to attract audiences and to have any fighting chance in the music industry he needed to appeal to the popular crowd. And so, with this in mind, the world was introduced to such classics as Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, We're Only In It For The Money, Lumpy Gravy, and later albums such as Hot Rats, Apostrophe, and the list goes on. There are something like seventy albums within the Rock and Roll genre produced in his lifetime. So it would seem that Zappa was a Rock musician, bred through and through. But to listen to his early music, and then to his classical music (if classical is really what it should be called), the listener becomes aware of an undertone in all of his popular music which finally expresses its full potential with the London Symphony Orchestra. This undertone is compiled of the melodic and harmonic irregularities and experiments and, more importantly, the rhythmic variety and diversity of all of Zappa's music. Virtually every element of music: Melody, Harmony, Rhythm, and Timbre, go against the grain of the popular, consonant musical taste.
One element of Zappa's early music that is fully realized in his later orchestral works is Timbre. Lumpy Gravy, the concept album which interweaves some elements of orchestral arrangement with recording clips and voice-overs, is full of varying timbres. The entire album, front and back, paints a colorful musical landscape for the listener. The London Symphony Orchestra fulfilled this same effect live with the many instruments' quality of sound being tossed around endlessly. Zappa also threw in a couple of odd sound effects of his own creation, most of which their origin is difficult to discern.
Another element present in Zappa's earlier work which later manifests its full potential in his orchestral arrangements is, of course, his beautiful--yet disjointed melodies. Zappa has one of the most vivid, though, obscure musical visions of all twentieth century composer/musicians. Take for example the many interweaving melodies of "Peaches En Regalia". They are so obscure and original, yet when they come together in a whole piece, they sound almost like pop music. They are so rough when separated, but together they are consistent and gorgeous. In his London Symphony recordings, a similar effect is achieved, though on an even more obscure scale. The limitations within the orchestral symphonic medium are nearly non-existent, and it is obvious in the result of Zappa's scores that he has been itching to escape the conformity of rock music.
The third element present in Zappa's rock music which fully takes shape in his orchestral music is rhythm. Combined with his incredible melodic sense, the resulting orchestral product can only be compared to the likes of Stravinsky and, in my mind, Hector Berlioz:
(Watch from 3 min 25 sec)
The fantastic combination of the melody in the tuba's and baritones, later played at double the speed and in varying patterns, with the haunting melody creates an effect which can only be related to a select few modern day composers and arrangers. Frank Zappa, in my opinion, is one of them.
Other rhythmic components present in Zappa's early and later orchestral works include odd meters, such as 5/8, 7/8, etc, etc. Stravinsky had already laid the ground work which Zappa would introduce in his rock music, but would explore most prominently in his orchestral manuscripts:
(Watch from 3 min 5 sec)
And the last element present in Zappa's early works which fully bloom in his later works is harmony. His harmonic arrangements, though rusty and simplified in his rock and roll period, come into their own unique self, and create their own musical language within the context of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Zappa, early in his career, realized that to attract audiences and to have any fighting chance in the music industry he needed to appeal to the popular crowd. And so, with this in mind, the world was introduced to such classics as Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, We're Only In It For The Money, Lumpy Gravy, and later albums such as Hot Rats, Apostrophe, and the list goes on. There are something like seventy albums within the Rock and Roll genre produced in his lifetime. So it would seem that Zappa was a Rock musician, bred through and through. But to listen to his early music, and then to his classical music (if classical is really what it should be called), the listener becomes aware of an undertone in all of his popular music which finally expresses its full potential with the London Symphony Orchestra. This undertone is compiled of the melodic and harmonic irregularities and experiments and, more importantly, the rhythmic variety and diversity of all of Zappa's music. Virtually every element of music: Melody, Harmony, Rhythm, and Timbre, go against the grain of the popular, consonant musical taste.
One element of Zappa's early music that is fully realized in his later orchestral works is Timbre. Lumpy Gravy, the concept album which interweaves some elements of orchestral arrangement with recording clips and voice-overs, is full of varying timbres. The entire album, front and back, paints a colorful musical landscape for the listener. The London Symphony Orchestra fulfilled this same effect live with the many instruments' quality of sound being tossed around endlessly. Zappa also threw in a couple of odd sound effects of his own creation, most of which their origin is difficult to discern.
Another element present in Zappa's earlier work which later manifests its full potential in his orchestral arrangements is, of course, his beautiful--yet disjointed melodies. Zappa has one of the most vivid, though, obscure musical visions of all twentieth century composer/musicians. Take for example the many interweaving melodies of "Peaches En Regalia". They are so obscure and original, yet when they come together in a whole piece, they sound almost like pop music. They are so rough when separated, but together they are consistent and gorgeous. In his London Symphony recordings, a similar effect is achieved, though on an even more obscure scale. The limitations within the orchestral symphonic medium are nearly non-existent, and it is obvious in the result of Zappa's scores that he has been itching to escape the conformity of rock music.
The third element present in Zappa's rock music which fully takes shape in his orchestral music is rhythm. Combined with his incredible melodic sense, the resulting orchestral product can only be compared to the likes of Stravinsky and, in my mind, Hector Berlioz:
(Watch from 3 min 25 sec)
The fantastic combination of the melody in the tuba's and baritones, later played at double the speed and in varying patterns, with the haunting melody creates an effect which can only be related to a select few modern day composers and arrangers. Frank Zappa, in my opinion, is one of them.
Other rhythmic components present in Zappa's early and later orchestral works include odd meters, such as 5/8, 7/8, etc, etc. Stravinsky had already laid the ground work which Zappa would introduce in his rock music, but would explore most prominently in his orchestral manuscripts:
(Watch from 3 min 5 sec)
And the last element present in Zappa's early works which fully bloom in his later works is harmony. His harmonic arrangements, though rusty and simplified in his rock and roll period, come into their own unique self, and create their own musical language within the context of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Zappa the serious composer
This week in Concordia's Zappa class, students were introduced to the composer's more serious, classical oriented work. It was an exceptional thing to witness an almost giddy Frank Zappa on stage where the London Symphony Orchestra was to play his incredible works only days later. The class witnessed a clip of Zappa sitting back and listening to the sounds of his mind's creation being played together for the first time ever and the experience was truly satisfying; though it must have been even more satisfying for him.
All throughout Mike Pinsonneault's course, lectures have focused--at one point or another--on the desire of Zappa to be surrounded by perfection. To have the best musicians in the world around him, playing his music. With the performances by the London Symphony Orchestra, Zappa achieved the closest thing to that perfection. He had saved diligently, and with his own money he made a project that he had envisioned for years come to life. The scores he had poured over endlessly were finally--and for the first time--animated before his eyes and ears.
What lends such a satisfactory quality to the achievements of Zappa in the world of serious orchestral music is his obvious interest and devotion to it right from the beginning of his career. His first album, Freak Out!, featured a seventeen piece orchestra including piano, on top of the five Mothers. When the musicians arrived they were shocked a) to be seated in front of arranged and scored music, and b) to be conducted effortlessly by the "beatnik" Zappa.
Zappa, at that point in his career, may have continued along the path of orchestral music had it not been for money. He was able to hire such a large number of musicians because he was given an unlimited budget by the very impressed Tom Wilson. A deal like that would not happen for Zappa again for a while. He struggled financially through a large part of his career and was essentially "forced" into playing rock music to make money. Not that he didn't enjoy Rock & Roll, and of course, there was a large social-political criticism behind his rock music that he found equally important. Butl, lately I have wondered how Frank Zappa would have been remembered had he been wealthy enough (or found steady commission) to compose and have played his more serious works. Perhaps he would have been recognized as an entirely different figure.
Nonetheless, regardless of how Zappa's career played out and despite the recognition he got and the way he was perceived, in the end of his career he truly received the recognition of a serious composer for the type of music he loved most. Along with the praise of the general public, the comments of internationally renowned and respected conductor Kent Nagano solidified Zappa's position as a respected contemporary composer. Nagano compared Zappa to the most highly regarded of all 20th century composers and praised his scores as some of the most difficult yet enjoyable he had ever worked with.
All throughout Mike Pinsonneault's course, lectures have focused--at one point or another--on the desire of Zappa to be surrounded by perfection. To have the best musicians in the world around him, playing his music. With the performances by the London Symphony Orchestra, Zappa achieved the closest thing to that perfection. He had saved diligently, and with his own money he made a project that he had envisioned for years come to life. The scores he had poured over endlessly were finally--and for the first time--animated before his eyes and ears.
What lends such a satisfactory quality to the achievements of Zappa in the world of serious orchestral music is his obvious interest and devotion to it right from the beginning of his career. His first album, Freak Out!, featured a seventeen piece orchestra including piano, on top of the five Mothers. When the musicians arrived they were shocked a) to be seated in front of arranged and scored music, and b) to be conducted effortlessly by the "beatnik" Zappa.
Zappa, at that point in his career, may have continued along the path of orchestral music had it not been for money. He was able to hire such a large number of musicians because he was given an unlimited budget by the very impressed Tom Wilson. A deal like that would not happen for Zappa again for a while. He struggled financially through a large part of his career and was essentially "forced" into playing rock music to make money. Not that he didn't enjoy Rock & Roll, and of course, there was a large social-political criticism behind his rock music that he found equally important. Butl, lately I have wondered how Frank Zappa would have been remembered had he been wealthy enough (or found steady commission) to compose and have played his more serious works. Perhaps he would have been recognized as an entirely different figure.
Nonetheless, regardless of how Zappa's career played out and despite the recognition he got and the way he was perceived, in the end of his career he truly received the recognition of a serious composer for the type of music he loved most. Along with the praise of the general public, the comments of internationally renowned and respected conductor Kent Nagano solidified Zappa's position as a respected contemporary composer. Nagano compared Zappa to the most highly regarded of all 20th century composers and praised his scores as some of the most difficult yet enjoyable he had ever worked with.
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