EPBB Home Page

"Eddy Loves Frank"
available now on Cuneiform Records!

"...as Eddy Loves Frank and the previous two Palermo CDs of Zappa's music underline,
there is tremendous complexity and beauty in Zappa's music worthy of reconsideration."
- All About Jazz

Order your copy of
"Eddy Loves Frank"
today at amazon.com

What's New?

Saturday
June 1
at
The Falcon

New
photos
Iridium
October
2012

Email Ed

The
Ed Palermo
Big Band

Ed Palermo
(arranger,
alto saxophone)

SAXOPHONES
Cliff Lyons
(alto saxophone,
flute, clarinet)
Ben Kono
(flute, clarinet,
tenor saxophone)
Bill Straub
(flute, tenor saxophone)
Barbara Cifelli (piccolo, flute, baritone saxophone, clarinet)
Phil Chester
(piccolo, flute, soprano & alto saxophones)

TRUMPETS
Ronnie Buttacavoli John Hines

TROMBONES
Charlie Gordon
Joe Fiedler
Matt Ingman

RHYTHM SECTION
Bob Quaranta
(piano)
Ted Kooshian (harpsichord,
organ,
synthesizer)
Bruce McDaniel
(vocals & guitar)
Paul Adamy
(bass)
Ray Marchica
(drums)
Katie Jacoby
(violin)

"...an ebullient big band
of awesome power and precision."
-Irish Times

Ed and his amazing 17 piece band (+ guests) return with their third album of his distinctive, big-band interpretations of the great 20th century composer, Frank Zappa. This body of work has won them huge acclaim from both new and old fans of the music and they even appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition for a short feature which was heard by millions of listeners in 2006. For those not already familiar with Ed's colorful, jazz-based arrangements of Zappa's compositions, Ed has led a big band for 30 years (!) and has had his band performing the music of Frank Zappa for 15 years. Many years of playing these pieces in front of hugely enthusiastic crowds have honed the band’s skills interpreting Zappa's beautiful but notoriously difficult material to where they are able to perform these challenging charts with apparent ease. All of these musicians are high caliber, hugely talented NYC professional players, and most of them have been playing this music for a decade and a half with this group, not because it is a good paying gig (it isn't) but because they all admire and appreciate the genius of Zappa's work and they love having the opportunity to be able to perform these terrifically exciting charts.

Photo by Bernard Ente

A message from Ed:

For a variety of reasons, I have decided to stop using Frank Zappa's name in our concert and night club advertising. For one, it's common knowledge at this point that the Zappa Estate frowns on it, so part of my decision is to hopefully placate the estate, though it was never my intention to capitalize on FZ's name and fame. It was strictly to inform the audience of the material they would hear at the shows.

Let it be said that this project, The Ed Palermo Big Band in tribute to the music of Frank Zappa, is and will always be, a money losing proposition.

Those of you who have seen us in performance know that this whole thing is about love, as corny as that sounds. Frank himself would probably wretch at this abject sentimentality, but it's true. Love for Frank's music and for everything he brought to our culture. From now on, my concerts will be a mixture of music, but Zappa tunes will always be in the forefront.

So when you check this site for concert information, to get an idea of the exact material we'll be performing, it's best to get on my mailing list so I can send you a personal email detailing what we intend to play.

Fair enough? I sure hope so.