Personnel: Jean-Luc Ponty (violin); Ian Underwood (conductor, alto & tenor saxophones); Ernie Watts (alto & tenor saxophones); Vincent DeRosa (French horn, descant); Arthur Maebe (French horn, tuben); Johnathan Meyer (flute); Gene Cipriano (oboe, English horn); Donald Christlieb (bassoon); Milton Thomas (viola); Harold Bemko (cello); Gene Estes (vibraphone, percussion); George Duke (piano); Frank Zappa (guitar); Buell Neidlinger, Wilton Felder (bass); Arthur Tripp III, John Guerin (drums).

Rolling Stone (8/6/70, p.33) - "...Jean-Luc Ponty is a French gypsy violinist with an unusually fluid style that is full of wide leaps, unorthodox bowing techniques, and big surprises....a major musical mastermind..."
Down Beat (12/93, p.46) - 4.5 Stars - Very Good Plus - "...[KING KONG is] the extraordinary 1969 album that helped establish Ponty as a versatile and progressive jazz violinist....the violinist twists and turns through straightahead and free jazz, 20th-century classical and rock stylings...."
Musician (12/93, p.93) - "...Ponty's command of Frank Zappa's quirky polymetric arrangements on KING KONG have aged gracefully....[it] makes us long for the days when we believed a violinist had arrived who could blow modern jazz in tune, and with feeling...."

Average Rating: (4.7 out of 5 stars) 

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 Jazz meets Zappa
Jean-Luc Ponty was a jazz violinist developing at the end of the late 60's. He went on to perform with the second edition of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and launched a successful solo career in the mid 70's. ( I recall a (semi)-popular video from the early 80's which is the last time I recollect hearing about him. No idea what he's doing currently [if he's alive even!] but could Google him later.) Anyway, this album is Jean-Luc's first album. A fortuitous hearing of his work by Frank Zappa led to his involvement in this project. Supposedly this was to be a collaborative venture, but the Zappa influence is all pervasive, possibly overwhelming Ponty's. Zappa wrote and arranged the album, and, although his is not the producer acknowledged in the liner notes, there are many similarities between the sound quality of this album and his of the same period! Basically, if you're a fan of Jean Luc Ponty, you know what he's about and why you're reading this review , and still won't know whether you should buy it.. If you're a Zappa fan you probably should own this album. Whilst he only plays a solo on one track, the music contains some of his most pleasing compositions done by a cast of ex(and soon to be) Mothers of Invention,as well as by some skilled jazz and classical musicians. Jean Luc Ponty is an interesting jazz/rock violinist, playing some of Zappa's greatest melodies with a sterling cast.
Submitted by pete_tarrant (Coburg, Vic, Australia) 
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 Not for everyone
Despite it's really awful, cheesy cover with dear Jean-Luc standing in the giant gorilla's hand while being buzzed by biplanes, this is a great album, but certainly not for everyone! First, for fans of Jean-Luc Ponty himself, this is a window on the period that brought him to the attention of a wider audience through his work with Frank Zappa. For fans of the music of Frank Zappa, this album goes a step further than the avante-garde grab bag of 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh' and goes towards the ‘fusion’ sound which Frank played around with on his contemporaneous 'Hot Rats' set. 'King Kong' features quite a few of Frank's 'usual suspects' from this time - Ian Underwood on saxes, George Duke on keyboards and the tighter than tight John Guerin on drums. Ponty's violin playing is almost a quantum leap away from his mid-sixties Parisian style which was closer to Coltrane than Captain Beefheart. Although Frank himself only plays on one track ('How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That?') it is one of his less self-indulgent solos and almost worth the price of the CD itself. The rest of the tracks are up to that standard and mix Zappa's influences and the virtuosity of his instrumentalists perfectly. There are not too many musical ‘sets’ as interesting and inventive as this one. 5/5
Submitted by a reviewer (Sydney, Australia) 
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