New York Times has a review of the American Composers Orchestra concert on Sunday afternoon at Carnegie Hall: “The arrangements, by Ali N. Askin, were true to the spirit of Zappa’s originals, and Mr. Sloane incited his players to turn them out with the energy they require. Here and there a listener missed some of the grit that Zappa and his band brought to the music, but particularly in the 20-minute “Greggery Peccary,” the spirit was intact. In that work David Moss was the narrator and adopted a style reminiscent of Zappa’s, if not a slavish imitation. Howard Bender sang and spoke the title role.”
(Thanks Bob!)
-
Archives
- May 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 2003
- November 2003
- October 2003
- September 2003
- August 2003
- July 2003
- June 2003
- May 2003
- April 2003
- March 2003
- February 2003
- January 2003
- December 2002
- November 2002
- October 2002
- September 2002
- August 2002
- July 2002
- June 2002
- May 2002
- April 2002
- March 2002
- February 2002
- January 2002
- December 2001
- November 2001
- October 2001
- September 2001
- August 2001
- July 2001
-
Meta
Thanks, Bob! Just curious: were you able to attend the concert?
No, I did not have that good fortune. There was a fellow who commented here in January when Barry first mentioned this event. He was planning to attend. I’m looking forward to his review. I hope he was actually able to go.
I was at the concert on Sunday..The first person I bumped into in the lobby of the hall was none other than Ed Palermo (Big Band),who was picking up his tix at the box office..I introduced myself to Ed and complimented him on his many Bottom Line performances…Carnegie Hall is a wonderful space with great acoustics..To see and hear orchestral music there is a thrill to say the least..I was sitting in the second tier on the left side above the orchestra..Sitting across from me in the first balcony was Gail,Diva and I believe Ahmet with some friends of the family..They appeared to really enjoy the performance of Frank’s works..I do have to disagree with the Times review in that I felt both Narrator David Moss and Vocalist Howard Bender (who was a replacement for the original Vocalist who was scheduled to perform)were a bit off with their interpretations of the piece..Mr Moss was at times over the top and very announcery with some of his parts and tried adding his own “Hip” approach to the material, which came off a bit forced at times ..Mr Bender obviously was very new to this material and it showed..He was behind (timing-wise) the orchestra at certain points ,and seemed a bit lost in the piece (but overall did a decent job,given his short prep time)…The background vocals were dubbed in which was a bit strange..The orchestra itself was wonderful and the pieces were performed exceptionally well..G-Spot,Uncle Meat,and the “Encore” Peaches were excellent..Amazing to see 50 or so classically trained musicians really go for it with Frank’s complex and difficult pieces..The Percussion section in particular was fantastic..At one point during the Greggary Peccary Steno Pool section,they all sat down and started playing seperate typewriters in perfect time! It was quite amusing..The Zappa’s seemed happy and touched by the American Composers Orchestra performance..as were all of us in the audience…I wouldn’t be suprised if Frank’s spirit was present watching the proceedings with some degree of bemusement and pride!…D.Skigen
Thanks heaps, David. I knew you’d come through for us. Sounds like a great show, even if the vocals/narration weren’t quite there.
Seems you had a great evening. Thanks David!!