Jobs for the boys

Ten years after his death, Frank Zappa's still keeping musicians employed all over the world

John L Walters
Friday February 13, 2004. The Guardian

Taking care of Zappa's soul: George Duke

Frank Zappa didn't hate jazz, but he famously quipped (in Bebop Tango) that "jazz is not dead, it just smells funny". His views were based on personal experience. When Zappa shared a package tour with Duke Ellington, he was shocked to see the great jazz bandleader reduced to pleading with the promoter's assistant for a $10 advance. This led him to dub jazz "the music of unemployment".

Ten years after his death, Zappa's own music still provides employment for musicians of all genres: from Kristjan Jarvi's 20-piece Absolute Ensemble to the Liverpool-based rock/classical alliance of Muffin Men and Ensemble 10:10 (of the RLPO), who have just released When Worlds Collide, the Music of Frank Zappa (WWC, £12.99), which includes Ian Gardiner's arrangements of pieces such as Dupree's Paradise and Oh No.

The performances, however, lack the avant-garde heart and Teutonic jazz soul of Ensemble Modern's Greggery Peccary & Other Persuasions (RCA, £14.99). The Frankfurt-based EM perform Ali N Askin's arrangements of gems from Zappa's catalogue. Night School and The Beltway Bandits (from Jazz From Hell) and Put a Motor in Yourself make the most of the band's funky egghead virtuosity, and only a couple of tracks invite the skip button: the tired Peaches en Regalia - effectively Zappa's Pomp And Circumstance March - and the annoying title track.

Jono el Grande is the nom de disque of Jon Andreas Hatun, a 29-year-old Norwegian whose 10-piece band plays tuneful, entertaining instrumentals such as Tango on the Crest of Reality and Rumba For a Slightly Excited Ape. Though Hatun is self-taught, it sounds, on the evidence of Fevergreens (Rune Grammofon, £14.99), as if he took an evening class in "Zappa 101" - the one where they show how any tune can be made to sound like early Zappa by doubling it with mallet instruments, underpinning it with stiff jazz-rock drumming and adding a silly title.

I suspect the jazz-inflected qualities of Zappa's best work came not so much from his own instincts, but from everyday contact with musicians such as Napoleon Murphy Brock (due to guest with Absolute Ensemble), the Fowler brothers and keyboardist/vocalist George Duke, all part of the fragrant line-up that performed Bebop Tango on Roxy & Elsewhere. For Zappa, creative musicians were a necessity, and Duke, who plays a five-day residency at London's Jazz Cafe next week, combined great chops with the ability to send himself up. He brought some valuable warmth and soul into Zappa's intellectual burlesque, and his subsequent career has included hit crossover projects such as Brazilian Love Affair, his 1980s collaborations with Miles Davis and some terrific solo albums.

Face The Music (JJ Tracks, £14.99) is the latest, and he's still on good form, with a great rhythm section that includes bassist Christian McBride. The weakest moments occur when they inject a little Zappa-type weirdness. But plenty of Duke rubbed off on Zappa. The Ensemble Modern performances wouldn't be half as good without that crucial dose of smelly old jazz.