Frank Zappa Grand Wazoo CD

Personnel: Frank Zappa (vocals, guitar, percussion); Sal Marquez (vocals, trumpet, brass); George Duke (vocals, keyboards); Janet Neville-Ferguson (vocals); Tony Duran (guitar); Mike Altschul, Earl Dumler, Tony "Bat Man" Ortega, Joanne Caldwell McNabb, Johnny Rotella, Fred Jackson, Joel Peskin (woodwinds); Ernie Watts (saxophone); Bill Byers, Ken Shroyer (trombone); Malcolm McNabb, Ernie Tack (brass); Don Preston (Mini-Moog synthesizer); Erroneous (bass); Aynsley Dunbar (drums); Bob Zimmitti, Alan Estes, Lee Clement (percussion).
Recorded at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, California.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Like its immediate predecessor, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo was a largely instrumental jazz rock album recorded during Frank Zappa's convalescence from injuries sustained after being pushed off a concert stage. While Zappa contributes some guitar solos and occasional vocals, the focus is more on his skills as a composer and arranger. Most of the five selections supposedly form a musical representation of a story told in the liner notes about two warring musical factions, but the bottom line is that, overall, the compositions here are more memorably melodic and consistently engaging than Waka/Jawaka. The instrumentation is somewhat unique in the Zappa catalog as well, with the band more of a chamber jazz orchestra than a compact rock unit; over 20 musicians and vocalists contribute to the record. While Hot Rats is still the peak of Zappa's jazz-rock fusion efforts, The Grand Wazoo comes close, and it's essential for anyone interested in Zappa's instrumental works. ~ Steve Huey
This album appeared within the same year as WAKA/JAWAKA and continued Zappa's exploration of the possibilities for composing and arranging material for a big band with a hefty brass and reed section. Both albums were produced during the period in which he was recuperating from injuries sustained when he was thrown from the stage during a London concert the year before. THE GRAND WAZOO still sounds like a fresh and equal marriage of Zappa's already developed and apparent musical sensibilities with large ensemble jazz writing. The couple vocal numbers utilize the singing as another melodic line, and are knitted into the whole fabric rather than laying on top.
Unfortunately, after this pair of 1972 albums, Zappa never revisited this particular approach again--his touring bands were never on this scale and his large-scale writing was directed towards orchestras.Rolling Stone (2/1/73, p.44) - "...back in the forefront, where he belongs, with an inspired and consistent album containing some of his best intrumental work, compositions and arrangements...an excellent indication of his particular talent at its best..."
Q (8/95, pp.150-151) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "Zappa in Sun Ra mode, bulging with epic electric jazz and bogus big-band pomp..."j