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The Ed Palermo Big Band
Plays the Music of Frank Zappa July 25, 2003, Bottom Line, NYC By Brian Carr
Vinnie Coliauta, Adrian Belew, Lowell George,
George Duke, Chester Thompson, Steve Vai, Mike Keneally, Terry Bozzio,
Jean Luc Ponty, Captain Beefheart. Any critic worth his column inches
knows what connects these names: Frank Zappa band alumni who went on to
reknown as sidemen, band leaders, influential axe and drum gurus, or to
Syd/Salinger-like obscurity.
So with Frank over ten years gone, what could Bob Quaranta, Paul Adamy, Ray Marchica, Carl Restivo, Ronnie Buttacavoli, Johnny Tabacco, and about ten or so others have in common, besides lots of names ending in vowels? Sadly, too few can answer this, though this group shines like the first. Answer: Ed Palermo, whose jazz big band has performed Zappa's music for nine years at NYC's Bottom Line. Even the Beatles didn't last that long, but more on them later. On July 25th, the band performed their last concert of 2003. Partly to return to his own compositions, Palermo has ended his run of quarterly Zappa gigs, each showcasing fresh examples of his arranging genius. While well-attended on mere word of mouth and their now out of print 1997 CD (with guest soloists like Bob Mintzer and Mike Stern), paying some 20 musicians has produced a negative, well, bottom line. A lack of coverage hasn't helped. "Nine years," noted Palermo onstage, "and not one NY paper has reviewed us." This despite NYC's Zappa stronghold status (even the Philharmonic had a Zappa/Varese show). So what have critics been missing? The only comparably entertaining, longer running dose of brilliance is also Palermo's popularity opposite: The Simpsons. As couch potato cognoscenti well know, Simpsons creator Matt Groening was heavily influenced by and later a close friend of Zappa. The show's Zappa-ish score by Danny Elfman (of Tim Burton fame) and Alf Clausen is awash in eclectic, riff and genre referencing tunes. So imagine the Simpson theme played live by some perfectly deranged oompah band which was seamlessly, simultaneously true to Zappa's smoking song segues and Dada quotes, Ellington swing, be-bop improv and classical. And those Beatle guys. Now you've got Palermo. What makes the Palermo band so great? For starters, Frank's early 70's big band was short-lived, and on each tour for twenty-some years evolving, under-sized groups struggled with a ream of black pages. Palermo, by contrast, has spent a decade fronting a driven core stacked with Broadway pit and session quality stars dedicated to mastering those twisted signatures and 32nd notes. Unique talents keep showing up to make the stew even more amazing. Mr. Tabacco (his real name) is the latest. Looking like he's tight, on-screen and off, with Steve Buscemi, this Hawaiian-shirted, fuzzy L.I. Italian has inherited Zappa's distinctive baritone and engaging, slightly unwashed presence. Palermo, quite simply, has distilled Zappa to perfection. Not all of Zappa's experiments worked, but none of Palermo's have failed. Luckily, Zappa left a Motherlode for him to mine. Hearing the band's searing horn sections rock and swing through an intricate scoring of Peaches en Regalia, (Zappa's own "A Train" and father to the Simpsons theme), is transcendental. The baritone sax hits your belly's secret b-spot, giving off the same sense of infinite pleasure as the horn runs in Steely Dan's "My Old School." It's Becker and Fagen-level perfection. Indeed, the music is more beautiful and powerful than Frank could ever manage or maybe imagine. While Frank was pleased, nearing death, that the German Ensemble Modern could execute some of his Synclavier and classical works, Palermo's group, now up to some 100 tunes, revives the soul of nearly the entire Zappa canon, in both music and concept. Frank's tunes have been capably covered in recent years by a French wind quintet, a Swedish wind ensemble, and a Finnish baroque group, among others. All charming, revealing interpretations, but as dead in their own way as Frank. In Palermo, the music lives. He's done for Zappa what Rimsky-Korsakov did for Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," and Ellington/Strayhorn with their Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite. And then some. Palermo shows are often events, with Zappa alums like Keneally, singer Ike Willis, and sister Candy Zappa sitting in. Once I skipped Palermo's late set to see Ike's band Project/Object a few bars down. It seemed simplistic and unsatisfying. Unlike Project/Object and Zappa-alum group Band from Utopia, also fronted by Ike, Palermo never breaks Frank's ban on pointless solos. Most solos have a George Harrison or Andy Summers-like economy. Bass player Adamy and drummer Marchica manage to simultaneously rock, swing and groove. With Quaranta's piano, they lay down a steady support fire plus the unexpected chords and rhythm that challenge and drive the soloists. The others watch intently, marveling themselves until the four count from Palermo kicks off another obscure Zappa-theme made magical. Like Duke and Frank, alto sax/guitarist Palermo lives to hear his band. Slowing an intro to a sonorous, Gershwin-like languor, milking the sweetness of the melody, he holds the pause to savor the silence before the toilet-plunger muted trumpets emit that signature Zappa queef. Watching Palermo conduct a feverish arrangement of Zappa's Synclavier tune, "G-Spot Tornado," as the frenetic polyrhythm gives way to a John Zorn-like acid jazz tenor sax freak out, as he pulls down the band, bit by bit, until only the drummer is beating out a wicked, driving off-beat in support, is a thrilling avante-garde moment, a total train wreck only one bad note away. The bad note never comes. Zappa broke boundaries, throwing in "Louie Louie," classical motifs, whatever fit. His 1988 "Bolero" was straight Ravel but for a climactic, hilarious "My Sharona" quote, and his "Stairway to Heaven" simultaneously sent up and celebrated that sacred warhorse. Palermo does all this and better, quoting "Inca Roads" here, "Mother People" there, then slipping into Saint Saens' "Carnival of the Animals" (or Stravinsky, Shostokovich, or Brahms). Even to the unconverted, the music is totally accessible and enjoyable, like the Saturday morning cartoon soundtracks of your youth. Watching, you begin listing tunes by others you wish Palermo would cover. The reworking never ends. Tunes are demolished to essential rhythm and melody and remade into something new, yet true. After retiring the Zappa staple "King Kong," a theme, improv and restatement piece, Palermo re-scored it, brilliantly topping himself. Halfway through, the tune melds into the staccato midsection from "21st Century Schizoid Man," the band firing in perfect sync. You sit thinking, this rocks, I know this, what is it? As the power chord chorus arrives, so does the epiphany. "King Kong meets King Crimson. Oh yeah, that's why music is the best." So where are the Beatles when you need them? Luckily, they're here too, sure as Frank took on Sgt. Pepper, cover and all, with "We're Only in it for the Money." For Palermo, who's clearly not in it for the money, the final gig segues from the front half of "A Day in the Life" to Zappa's "Waka/Jawaka" to Abbey Road's "The End" (complete with Ringo's taut solo). The encore brings a delicious, straight take on "I Am the Walrus," part of Zappa's ‘88 Beatles medley. At the "Sitting in an English garden..." classical radio dial-switching snippet, the sax section whispers on flutes and piccolo. Then the band stomps back full blast for the "I am the Eggman (goo goo ga joob)" chorus while the audience yells out "Wooo-ooo!" You sing along, too, at one with the Fab Four and Frank. You can't buy that anywhere else on the planet. If you like music one tiny bit, you leave very impressed. Unless you never came. In which case, you'll have to wait for next year's show. Until then, as Frank once said (of Al DiMeola), "Let's hear it for another great Italian."
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For Zappa, A Smother Of Attention By Daniel Connolly BERLIN -- Living in communist East Germany, Wolfhard Kutz used all kinds of schemes to smuggle in his beloved Frank Zappa records: secretive rendezvous with West Germans at highway rest stops; hidden compartments in his car doors; accomplices who sneaked albums across borders. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Kutz could pursue his passion openly and created a fan club: the Arf Society, a reference to Zappa's Barking Pumpkin record label. Thanks to the group, the little town of Bad Doberan, in an economically depressed area near the Baltic Sea, has become the unlikely site of an annual Zappa festival. This week, the town also dedicated a bronze bust of the late American musician in its central square. The image, of Zappa in the 1970s, "represents him as a rebel and avant-gardist," said Kutz, 47. "That's the way we want to hold him in memory." The town council initially was skeptical, Kutz said, but gave in after some hard lobbying -- and an Arf Society pledge to pay the equivalent of $10,000 to build and care for the monument. He said the council hopes Zappa will draw tourists. The town of 12,000 is already something of a magnet for Zappa freaks. Last weekend, the 13th annual Zappanale festival included bands from the United States, Sweden, France and Hungary, and a German-language play called "All About Frank." The festival started in 1990 when Kutz threw a party and found a band that could play a few Zappa songs. This year, he said, about 2,500 people showed up for each of the three days. Eleven former members of Zappa's band, the Mothers of Invention, played, and two of Zappa's siblings attended. "It was incredible to see that kind of outpouring of love and respect for Frank," Candy Zappa, Frank's 51-year-old sister, said by telephone from California's San Fernando Valley. She attended the festival with her brother Bob. "If I'd have known as a little girl living with him that I would grow up and come to a foreign city and see posters of my brother sitting on a toilet, I wouldn't have believed it," she said, referring to a well-known Zappa image that was used as this year's festival poster. Frank Zappa died of cancer in 1993. Kutz, who owns companies that install cable and antenna systems, saw him perform live once. He had become hooked at age 16 when he heard Zappa's 1969 album, "Burnt Weeny Sandwich," which remains his favorite. "It was because we were especially restricted, and Frank Zappa strove for freedom and democracy," Kutz said. Zappa -- a cult favorite in the United States for his quirky, irreverent and often off-color lyrics in tunes like "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow," "Dancin' Fool" and "Valley Girl" -- had a significant following behind the Iron Curtain. Czech President Vaclav Havel said after Zappa's death: "Frank was a friend of our newly emerging democracy . . . a friend of our country." Vilnius, capital of the former Soviet republic of Lithuania, already boasts a monument to Zappa, erected in 1995. For Kutz, smuggling the Western records into East Germany and selling copies on the black market was an act of defiance that could have cost him dearly. After the fall of the communist regime, Kutz learned from his secret Stasi police file that he had been under surveillance and that 21 people had informed on his activities. "I was shadowed my whole life," he said. Now, Bad Doberan Mayor Hartmut Polzin, 45, said he supports the festival and the new monument, although he doesn't personally see the appeal of the music: "I have to say I'm not the biggest fan." © 2002 The Washington Post Company
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Downbeat magazine
On his first Mothers of Invention album, Freak Out!, released in 1965, Frank Zappa quoted musical visionary Edgard Varese: "The present day composer refuses to die." Little did FZ know then how prophetic that statement would be after his own death. During his life, Zappa insisted that the rock & roll side of his multifaceted musical career gave him enough economic security to pursue his true love: composing complex postmodern classical music. Shortly before he passed away in 1993, he insisted that he wanted to be remembered most for his "serious" music. Three and a half years later, while some of his pop-music catalog-which is safe in the hands of Rykodisc-feels dated, musically Zappa’s instrumental works continue to sound fresh, challenging and intriguingly adventurous. Shortly before his death, there was a scattering of attention to his oddly titled contemporary orchestral works. Zappa was pleased to report that the president’s own U.S. Marine Corps Band in Fairfax, Va., had requested the score of "Dog Breath Variations" and the Connecticut-based dance group Iso was granted permission to choreograph a performance based on The Grand Wazoo. Two new CDs foster further recognition and celebration of FZ’s prowess as a composer. Big band leader Ed Palermo applies his remarkable arranging touch to the iconoclastic maestro’s instrumentals on the appropriately titled Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa, and Strictly Genteel, a superb collection of his works for orchestra. In the liner notes to his project, Palermo thanks his cohorts (an orchestra with full woodwinds, brass and rhythm sections as well as several special guest soloists) for their talent and enthusiasm by noting, "Folks, this Zappa stuff ain’t easy, but my band mastered all of it." Palermo takes on the FZ challenge as he leads his orchestra through the twists and turns of such well-known works as "Peaches In Regalia," "King Kong" and "Heavy Duty Judy." Palermo’s arrangements do justice to FZ’s compositions, accentuating their musical sophistication as well as amplifying their humor, grace, whimsy and passion. While Zappa’s music is characterized in stretches by dense polyrhythms, atonal melodic lines and odd time signatures, Palermo and crew sail through without sinking. Guitarist Mike Stern and tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer turn in noteworthy solo performances on the spirited, funk- and reggae-inflected "We Are Not Alone" and the swinging "Toads Of The Short Forest," respectively. A couple short non-Zappa works, including the fun "Finale From Carnival Of The Animals" (written by Camille Saint Saens) and Palermo’s own quirky coda, "wai, fu?" fill out the collection well.
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Friday June 13th, 1997 Ed Palermo Big Band No doubt "Plays the Music of
Frank Zappa" will come as a revelation to listeners who considered Frank Zappa
nothing more than a rock-and-roll oddity-part maverick, part instigator, part farceur. But
even fans familiar with the breadth and depth of his music-and his even more wide-ranging
musical interests-are likely to view this album as an ear-opening experience. This is truly a work of imagination, after
all. In arranging Zappa's tunes for big band, alto saxophonist and guitarist Ed Palermo
has thrown new light on his legacy while retaining the composer's original melodic and
harmonic designs. A case in point is a two minute musical vignette, "Toads of the
Short Forest. " In Palermo's expansive treatment, the piece initially comes across as
an airy, light footed jazz waltz, whimsically punctuated by reeds before undergoing a
muscular and swinging transformation. Likewise, "20 Small Cigars," another of
Zappa's small melodic gems, glistens with new instrumentation, while "Abye Sea/Inca
Roads" finds Palermo's band celebrating Zappa's baroque to blues sensibility and sly
sense of humor. The arrangements also leave plenty of room for the band's gifted soloists
and guests. The latter include guitarist Mike Stern, saxophonists Bob Mintzer and Chris
Potter and vibist Dave Samuels. Palermo and co-producer Bob Beldon chose
to leave out Zappa's lyrics, feeling it was better to focus on the musical possibilities.
As entertaining as some of Zappa's commentaries are, it proved a wise decision. The music
stands-and frequently swings-on its own. |
Mike
Keneally's Comments
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The Ed Palermo Big
Band Plays the Music of Frank Zappa I am really enjoying this album a lot. The sound is fantastic. The arrangements, where they vary greatly from Frank's, give the pieces an exciting newness, and although the changes are not *all* entirely wonderful, it would be boring to hear a whole album of note-by-note reproductions of FZ recordings. And this album is anything but boring. The playing is real tight, but not stiff (track one excepted, perhaps). The packaging is perfect: just enough liner notes, just enough photos, a few fun quotes, and multiple gatefolds. (Do the horizontal line patterns in the liner art remind anyone of what you see in some MIDI composition software?) I'm tempted to compare this disc more to Ponty's King Kong than any FZ recordings, and Palermo's effort faces that comparison bravely. A big band can't always be as wild as a smaller ensemble (like on King Kong) but what it loses in spontaneity it more than makes up for intonal richness. A great album; I highly recommend it. Peaches En Regalia: This stands out for me as the low point of the disc, unfortunately. I've always preferred the tempo a bit quicker on this tune (I was introduced to the piece via Peaches III, so that figures), although this seems to be about the same tempo as the Hot Rats version. This rendition seems kinda lifeless to me. I'm not real crazy about some of the arrangement choices, either. The opening drum thing threw me off right away, but little differences are often what makes a cover worth hearing, so I ignored it. But the RUM-dee-DUM-dee-DUM right before the guitar comes in turned me off too; it sounds so wooden to me. [Get used to my "dah-dee-dum" method of musical description, btw; there's more to come.] Keneally has said his solo here is not real spectacular, and I agree. None too inspired, but there were time constraints in the studio so I can't say too much about that. The arrangement of the grouped-16th-noteexchanges near the end sounds forced to me, but it's a minor nit. Throughout the track, the playing seems kinda "squareish" and stiff. All very clean and accurate, but not much in the way of inflection. Not a great start, but things get much much better... Toads of the Short Forest: Yes, yes, yes!!! One of my very favorite FZ melodies, and I don't have to wince in agony as it goes into that chunka-chunka-chunkidda thing. Bless you, Ed Palermo! The band really makes this melody swing with the kind of energy they could've used more of on the first track. The chord progression proves to be fertile soloing ground indeed, and some of the best soloing on the disc is done right here. Not wailing-a-mile-a-minute soloing, mind you, but thoughtful, articulate and heartfelt soloing that makes great use of the underlying chords. Forget "Peaches", start the disc here and weep at the splendor. The organ solo gives me huge chills, especially as it crescendos into the sax solo. The track fades in the midst of this solo, which is a bummer, but it^s an outstanding track nonetheless. Who Are the Brain Police/Holiday in Berlin (excerpt): This is quite well done. An intriguing exploration of the two pieces, featuring a very nice Mike Stern guitar solo. Do I hear a little "Uncle Meat" thrown in for good measure? Twenty Small Cigars: A bit fast, me thinks. I love this piece in it's original form, even more so on King Kong; the somber tone of that recording allows for deeper absorption of the exquisite harmonies in the melody. I think this version is trying to pep it up a bit, but the melody ends up sounding rather rushed to my ears. Ultimately, this faster tempo serves the solo section well, as I'm not sure Dave Samuels' great vibes would have been as appropriate to the more "down" arrangement. Overall, it sounds very good. King Kong: Is it possible to fuck this piece up? (Actually, I thought the reggae version came close, but to each his or her own). Any band that can't kick ass on this tune shouldn't be playing Zappa at all; the Palermo band does a very nice job of nailing this little bastard to the wall. I'm not crazy about some of the arrangement choices, but again, vive le difference. The track as a whole is really good and lively, if a bit short; I could have used a few more solos (bitch bitch bitch). Aybe Sea: This starts off pretty straightforward, arrangement-wise, which is a good thing. Not everything needs to be tinkered with. But then comes Keneally's solo, which is much less straightforward, at least to my ears. Super-fine, Mikey! Do my ears deceive, or does this solo section (MK's playing excluded) turn into the Sharleena solo section, like when Dweezil plays it on _YCDTOSAv3_? The solo section ends in a WICKED abrupt fade into the piano restating the theme; could we not have worked out some sort of segue here? Still, I like this a lot. Waka/Jawaka: Wow, caffeine, anybody? Palermo steps up the tempo a notch on this piece and the band makes it work quite nicely. I wouldn't have thought the staccato bursts would be played so cleanly at this tempo. I particularly dig the sax solo. As it was approaching, I sort of expected the guy to rise to the tempo challenge with some balls-to-the-wall 16th-note scale madness flying all over the place. When it comes, however, Chris Potter says "fuck the challenge, I'm playing a solo here" and lays back into the groove beautifully, not even starting right away, building it up only as he sees fit, and only when he's damn good and ready. Very well done, probably my favorite solo on the album. Nice "Idiot Bastard Son" snippet at the end of the track. Sofa #1: The band wrings plenty of emotion out of this one, a piece that (it seems to me) would be easy to play dull-ly. My poor grammar notwithstanding, the most surprising thing to me is the change into a steady four for the middle section. The transition into it is quite pleasing, and the transition out is barely noticeable. Very nice sax work by Palermo, and vibes by Samuels. The Little House I Used to Live In: A nice lively arrangement on this one. The playing is hot; lots of drive and conviction. A very strong opening. I adore the tone on Mike Stern's beautiful solo. It's funny, the title of this piece never had much of a connection to the music in my mind, but I'll be damned if Stern's solo doesn't make me think of a little house I used to live in. How wonderfully unexpected! We Are Not Alone: Where's that dwoinky little guitar thing, god dammit!?!?! You know what I mean, at the very end of the main theme, that DIDdleDIDdledeeDIDdleDIDdledee DWOINK dee-DWOINK dee-DWOINK dee-DWOINK. It was myfavorite part of the track and it's gone! I mean hell, Keneally stuck it in at those Bottom Line shows two Aprils ago, why isn't it here? That aside, however, the track is really hot. The middle section features traded guitar licks from Palermo, Stern and Keneally. MK wrote in his discography who's playing when, but I say fuck it, it all sounds great! Nice overall; the ending is a bit abrupt. wai,fn? (written by Palermo) I'm guessing this stands for "what am i, fucking nuts?" Sounds good tome. As does this track, although it starts as abruptly as the previous one ended (I could see that being done intentionally, I guess). The opening sax jam is very "Grand Wazoo". It goes into a really nifty piano-harpsichord thing, then the band comes back and polishes the whole thing off in grand fashion. A fun and fitting tribute to end a...well, a fun and fitting tribute. A quick track which beats the hell out of "How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That" as far as I'm concerned. If you're going to put an original track on a tribute album, this is how it should be: short and sweet. Kudos! In summary, I'm very impressed with this disc. I find it to be an excellent companion piece to King Kong, as though they represent FZ as filtered through either hemisphere of the brain. I don't know if Palermo will ever record a follow-up Zappa disc, but if he does I will buy it without hesitation. Pick this one up right away! --ron |
Ed Palermo Big Band "LET'S HEAR IT FOR another great Italian . . ." was how Frank Zappa sometimes introduced such band members as Vinnie Colaiuta or Warren Cucurillo. These days, the "another great Italian" revered by Zappa fanatics is Ed Palermo, whose 18-piece Big Band has been playing Palermo's brilliant interpretations of Zappa's music for over four years at New York's Bottom Line. Palermo's Bottom Line Zappafests have become an every-couple-of months-or-so tradition, Ed Palermo documented in small part by his outstanding 1997 Astor Place album The Ed Palermo Big Band Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa, that featured guest stars Mike Stern, Dave Samuels, Bob Mintzer, Chris Potter and ex-Zappa frontman Mike Keneally. "I'm not a famous guy," Palermo told me when I asked for his professional history. He graduated college and moved to New York with hopes of making his way in jazz as a tenor saxophonist, but soon became more interested in writing and arranging. While playing tenor for Tito Puente, Palermo put together a nine-piece band, which was expanded into the Ed Palermo Big Band. In the early 1980s, the group was in Monday night residency at the Brecker Bros.-owned club Seventh Avenue South. Palermo's first album, Ed Palermo, featured Randy Brecker, Dave Sanborn--"This is when Sanborn was still affordable" said Palermo--and Edgar Winter. The album was released on a label called-with shades of Zappalogical nomenclature--Vile Heifer Records. His second album, Ping-Pong, was released by Pro Jazz Records. In 1991, the life long Zappaphile in Palermo asserted itself and he began to transcribe Zappa's music and arrange it for a big band, starting with such early-days classics as "King Kong" and "Toads Of The Short Forest." Before the first EP-plays-FZ show at New York's Bitter End, Palermo posted a notice for the show on an Internet Zappa bulletin board. "Up until then, my own shows at the Bitter End were drawing next to nobody," said Palermo. "For some reason, the word got out about the Zappa show and the place was swamped. And it was incredibly exciting--people there were Zappa fanatics. A couple people drove down from Montreal, a couple people from Boston. And I thought, 'Man, this is something special here.' "As much fun as the Bitter End show had been, Palermo saw it strictly as a one-off event, until he was contacted by Alan Pepper of the Bottom Line, where the series has remained ever since. Although Palermo has made repeated attempts to contact Zappa's widow Gail Zappa about the on going project, he has never heard back from her. "I'm not doing this to capitalize on Frank's death," said Palermo, "It's just that there are some people out there who love the music so much that they're willing to spend a significant amount of their time arranging and performing it." As to notions that Palermo is "making a living" off Zappa's music, he replied: "You can't make a living playing in a tribute band, let alone a Frank Zappa tribute band where you've got 18 members of the band. Financially, everyone loses on this thing. "Ironically, the Palermo Big Band Zappa shows are wildly creative, technically dazzling and sometimes zany affairs--proving themselves utterly faithful to the spirit of Frank Zappa. "I used to worry about saying something that would offend the Zappas," Palermo concluded, "but I realized a long time ago that there's nothing that I'll ever be able to do to get them to appreciate what I'm doing." Performances by the Ed Palermo Big Band hew closely to Zappa's seamless execution, with the Ed Palermo band playing for at least a half hour before the first break between songs. They opened with "Theme From 'Run Home Slow'," from the early '60s soundtrack Zappa wrote for the movie of that name. That segues into vocal number "Son Of Orange County," then without pause into the bittersweet chiming of the solo piano intro to "Absolutely Free." On "Zoot Allures," Zappa's sustained, whang-barred chords are transformed into a thick carpet of woodwinds. Palermo's powerful big band blasts give gospeloid tune "Uncle Remus" the kind of depth of soul typical of Muscle Shoals, while the chorus of "Cruising For Burgers" embraces a reedily lovely Renaissance/madrigal style. Palermo builds the bluesywah-wahed guitar line from "Get A Little" into a big band chart and on1966 tune "Status Back Baby"--which originally featured quotations from Stravinsky's "Petrouchka"--Palermo artfully folds two snippets of the famed ballet over on itself. The final tune of the evening is "Eddie Are You Kidding?," which was an FZ throwaway, but its revival affords Palermo an irresistible cue to insist that no, indeed he is not kidding, the show is coming to a close. Palermo clearly loves Zappa's music as much as he loves putting witty new spins on it. "What I do is my interpretation of it," he said. "As long as I get the melodies right and the harmonies right--rhythmically, I mess around with rhythms more than the other stuff--but as long as I get the melodies and harmonies right and don't fluff over them, then I've done my job. From that point on, it's just my interpretation and my personality doing this music." And also in keeping with the Zappa approach, Palermo sprinkles cover tunes throughout the set--some that were in Zappa's repertoire, some not. Palermo plays Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart To You" as Zappa did, but with wonderfully rolling saxophone accompaniment. They also covered the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus," which was actually in the FZ set list on his final tour. The evening's other covers were Edgar Winter's "Jimmy's Gospel" (from his 1970 Entrance album, which Palermo plans to arrange stem-to-stern for some future performance) and the ludicrously giddy rev-up of a melody from "The Nutcracker Suite" called "The Nutrocker." It had been also covered by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but was originally a 1962 top 40 hit by some LA session players who called themselves B. Bumble & The Stingers. Their other notable covers not in the evening's program are Todd Rundgren instrumental "Breathless," Jimi Hendrix' "Rainy Day," Los Lobos' "Kiko And The Lavender Moon" and Tony Williams' "Snake Oil." The also play delightful work-ups of Beach Boys tunes "Sail On Sailor" and "Disney Girls." (Of the latter song, Palermo noted: "We would never play that at the Bottom Line, because it's such a beautiful corny little tune--it's so corny that the Zappa audience might throw things at me.") Other nuggets they've played include Jeff Beck tunes "Definitely Maybe," "Rice Pudding" and "Diamond Dust"; the Beatles' "Good Morning" and "Good Night"; ELP's "Bitches Crystal"; and Jaco Pastorius' "Three Views Of A Secret. "Keneally is the one ex-Zappa musician who's appeared with Palermo's group the most, although former FZ lead singer Ike Willis has done a couple guest appearances as well--although he failed to show up as promised at a Bottom Line show last summer. "It didn't matter," said Palermo. "The night he didn't show up, the band sounded so good I didn't care to be perfectly honest. I mean, I cared, because it's always fun playing with him, but the fact of the matter is the band is the focal point for me. "Indeed, Palermo has a strong, at times seemingly telepathic, connection to the band that crowds the small Bottom Line stage. His loose style of conducting belies an ability to shift the band's gears at a moment's notice--or to give another chorus to a soloist who's really on a roll. Palermo, who sometimes plays alto sax or guitar as well, leads Cliff Lyons (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone); Chuck Fisher, (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone); Jeff Lederer (flute, tenor saxophone); Al Hunt (piccolo, flute, oboe, soprano & baritone saxophones, bass clarinet); Phil Chester (piccolo, flute, soprano & alto saxophones); Liesl Whitaker, Jami Dauber, Ronnie Buttacavoli and Elaine Burt (trumpet); Dan Levine and Dale Kirkland (trombone); Jack Schatz (bass trombone); Bob Quaranta (piano); Ted Kooshian (harpsichord, organ, synthesizer); Paul Adamy (electric bass); Ray Marchica (drums); and Carl Restivo (vocals). The Ed Palermo Big Band also has its own site. Many of Palermo's crew earn their livings from Broadway orchestras or session work. "I try to tell the guys, it this is your main source of income, don't have any kids," he explained. Palermo himself will take gigs at weddings to make ends meet, but he's never sought a non-musical means of getting by. "I'm proud to say that I haven't got a straight gig," he said. "All I do is music. I also do a lot of a lot of arranging for those society bands, the type of bands that do corporate gigs." Palermo is a composer, and while his band often rehearses his pieces, they remain mostly unheard. What about an evening entitled "Ed Palermo Plays The Music Of Ed Palermo?" "The guys in the band keep saying that. I'd love to. In fact, down the line, I'll have a night somewhere. Do my own music and no one will show up," he concluded with a laugh. Although Palermo's next record won't be for Astor Place, he has ventured back into New York's Power Station recording studio, where he's recorded versions of Zappa tunes "Regyptian Strut" and "Cy Borg," as well as Rundgren's "Breathless." Still, Palermo wonders if all the tracks he's recorded are complimentary, as Zappa's eccentric melodies would sit beside his big band chart for Neil Young's folky "Harvest Moon." "It's like Nelson Riddle meets Neil Young" enthused Palermo. It's a juxtaposition that surely would've made Frank Zappa smile. |
Billboard magazine CD review, 2/15/97 For the past few years, guitarist/saxophonist Ed Palermo has been honing his tribute to Frank Zappa with a series of live shows at the Bottom Line in New York. Palermo and company have finally documented several of their crafty interpretations, and the result is "Plays The Music of Frank Zappa," due from the Astor Place label in May. The bandleader has chosen to reconfigure some of Zappa's most gorgeous and iconoclastic pieces, including 'Toads Of The Short Forest," "Twenty Small Cigars," "Waka/Jawaka," and "Mother People." Guitarist Mike Stern, vibist Dave Samuels, and tenor saxophonist Chris Potter each participate on the date as guest soloists. |
Zappa
Tribute Featuring Live at the Bottom Line, NYC by Sal Cataldi, The Music Paper The body may be dead, but the music and the underground which came to love the man and his work are very much alive. Zappa shed the mortal coil a year ago, but you'd never know it from the packed house of fans - of all ages and Zappa eras - who jammed The Bottom Line on a cold, rainy December Monday. The reason? To see Old Soul Piece's infinitely diverse works interpreted by a group of his most diehard worshipers: the 18-piece Ed Palermo Big Band. In case you haven't noticed, a living, breathing big band is a rare occurrence these days. For a leader, launching such a dinosaur is a prescription for certain frustration and financial suicide unless you're a Janet Plastic Face who can afford to cart along a coterie of jiggle boys and girls and let the Mac take care of the music-making. Palermo, a talented arranger who can also make an alto hop like Bird or go greasy like Cannonball, should be commended for a lot of things, but mainly for his ability to first craft great charts and then gather together solid talent and lead them on a difficult mission where the rewards are limited to the joy of art alone. Since shortly after Zappa passed on, Palermo and band (three trombones, six saxes, four trumpets, two singers, piano, bass and drums have been playing concerts dedicated to Zappa's music, principally for peanuts at The Bitter End. The show witnessed at The Bottom Line was a great pleasure from a musical perspective, and a bargain to boot. The band performed impeccable Palermo arrangements of 33 tunes, unexpected cult faves from the mid '60s through the '90s. After a brief intro from "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" the band swung hard into the rolling thunder of "King Kong." From the jump it was evident who the standouts were - drummer Tommy Igoe and bass player Paul Adamy - who drove the band, smoothed out several rough spots and pushed soloists like "Kong" trumpeter Rick Savage to the edge of their talents (the only place to be, no matter how talented). Naturally, the repertoire relied heavily on mid-era Zappa - the offbeat orchestral chamber music and big band avant discs like Burnt Weeny Sandwich (my desert island offer, buy it todayl). Weasels Ripped My Flesh, The Grand Wazoo, Waka/Jawaka and, of course, Hot Rats. Palermo and band should be noted for their delicate renderings of pieces like 'Toads Of The Short Forest," "Oh No" and "Dwarf Nebula," where the reed section went to oboes, flutes and piccolos. But by in large, they swung the tunes, giving pieces like "Sofa" a driving, gospel feel with percolating brass chordal backdrop for soloists. The set had great pace, moving quickly and interestingly between unexpected segues and changes of mood. Special note for solos go to Palermo (on "The Grand Wazoo") and tenor man Jeff Lyons ('Waka Jawaka"). |
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Ed was part of a
Frank Zappa Tribute
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