Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
25 February 2001
The present-day composer refuses to die, according to Edgard Varese, a man with legendary eyebrows. He also influenced the guy whose music an eager bunch of resurrectionists revived in the Paul McCartney Auditorium. The Liverpool based-band The Muffin Men and the classical Ensemble 10:10 came together to re-create some of the compositions Zappa produced in his thirty-odd creative years of genre-hopping and -spanning. Anyone hoping for songs about guys with spindles up their butts, dental floss or hungry freaks daddy will have been disappointed but, judging by the audience’s enthusiasm and good-humour, disappointment wasn’t even in the auditorium. And I only heard one guy shout about not eating yellow snow.
The Muffin Men, a six piece, kicked off with selections mostly from 1969/70 material: “Chunga’s Revenge”, “Peaches en Regalia” and “Son Of Mr Green Genes” were all given a dusting off, reminding anyone who’d forgotten just how melodic a composer Zappa could be. Guitarist Carl Bowry turned in what was to be one of many exciting, hair-raising solos, while Andy Frizell and Martin Smith performed the horn parts exceptionally. Bassist Roddie Gilliard humbly announced that the ‘real musicians’ would be on next. No need for such modesty. The Muffin Men were more than just a support band. They set the celebratory tone of the evening.
Ensemble 10:10, conducted by Carl Rundell, celebrated some of Zappa’s influences, specifically Stravinsky and Varese. It was also, I think, a tribute to the way Zappa opened listeners’ ears to other musics. The audience, who had been visibly rocking moments earlier, were equally enthusiastic about Nicholas Cox‘s supremely animated solo rendition of Stravinsky’s “Three Pieces For Clarinet”. The same must be said of Rachel Lyons‘ superb performance of the notoriously difficult “Density 21.5”, Varese’s piece for solo flute. But it wasn’t all solos. The Ensemble joined forces for Varese’s spiky “Octandre”, which was met with less than rapture when it was first performed in public. However, this audience loved it! The Ensemble closed with an arrangement of “Alien Orifice”, one that was every bit as good as my favourite version on Make A Jazz Noise Here. It is always interesting to hear other arrangements of Zappa’s work since he kept on revisiting and perfecting versions of many of his pieces. I think he would have approved of Ensemble 10:10.
After the interval both sets of musicians combined and produced some of the highlights of the evening. They were also joined on vibes and percussion by Ian Gardiner, whose role as M.C. had kept the audience informed and amused between tunes. What they called “The Big Medley” included my personal favourite combination of tunes : “Let’s Make The Water Turn Black”, “Harry You’re A Beast”, “Oh No!” and “Orange County Lumber Truck”. A selection guaranteed to make you bounce in your seat, which is what much of the auditorium was doing! Both bands were so obviously at home together it isn’t fair to single anyone out but I’m going to do it anyway – Muffin guitarist Carl Bowry had us hanging from the rafters in sheer ecstasy. At times he sounded like Zappa, but most of the time he was completely himself, unreeling long, fluid lines and sharp-edged runs. Air sculpture, in Zappa’s words. And it was great to see the obvious joy and delight on the faces of members of Ensemble 10:10 as he took off on his extended, but never self-indulgent flights. And I have to mention trumpet/flugelhorn Muffin Man Martin Smith, who looked like a cross between Alexei Sayle and Stan Laurel. He bounced and danced around the stage and still had the breath to whip out excellent solos and join in the intricate ensemble work.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, it did! The collective power of all sixteen players took on “King Kong”. It was a truly wonderful sound as they unfolded the theme and breathed fresh life into an old favourite. They even mutated it into the Reggae-tinged version you can hear on Make A Jazz Noise Here and threw in a bit of “Sunshine Of Your Love”, a nod towards that other superb live album, The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life. When that was all over, musicians embraced, applauded each other and generally radiated joy. The audience went berserk and gave them a standing ovation until they got an encore. It was sheer gravy, to borrow the words of Raymond Carver. Superlatives fail me. These musicians all put body and soul into the night and the music, their obvious love and respect for Zappa’s work joined with that of the audience. Long may they continue to deliver this memorable body of work to the world.
-Paul Donnelly-
