JEAN-LUC PONTY — King Kong : Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa (1970-1993) Two Version | WV (image+.cue), lossless + FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Not just an album of interpretations, King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa was an active collaboration; Frank Zappa arranged all of the selections, played guitar on one, and contributed a new, nearly 20-minute orchestral composition for the occasion. Made in the wake of Ponty's appearance on Zappa's jazz-rock masterpiece Hot Rats, these 1969 recordings were significant developments in both musicians' careers. In terms of jazz-rock fusion, Zappa was one of the few musicians from the rock side of the equation who captured the complexity -- not just the feel -- of jazz, and this project was an indicator of his growing credibility as a composer. For Ponty's part, King Kong marked the first time he had recorded as a leader in a fusion-oriented milieu (though Zappa's brand of experimentalism didn't really foreshadow Ponty's own subsequent work). Of the repertoire, three of the six pieces had previously been recorded by the Mothers of Invention, and "Twenty Small Cigars" soon would be. Ponty writes a Zappa-esque theme on his lone original "How Would You Like to Have a Head Like That," where Zappa contributes a nasty guitar solo. The centerpiece, though, is obviously "Music for Electric Violin and Low Budget Orchestra," a new multi-sectioned composition that draws as much from modern classical music as jazz or rock. It's a showcase for Zappa's love of blurring genres and Ponty's versatility in handling everything from lovely, simple melodies to creepy dissonance, standard jazz improvisation to avant-garde, nearly free group passages. In the end, Zappa's personality comes through a little more clearly (his compositional style pretty much ensures it), but King Kong firmly established Ponty as a risk-taker and a strikingly original new voice for jazz violin. Steve Huey   

Tracklist :
1    King Kong 4:54
Bass – Buell Neidlinger
Composed By, Arranged By – Frank Zappa
Drums – Arthur D. Tripp, III
Electric Piano – George Duke
Tenor Saxophone – Ian Underwood
Vibraphone, Percussion – Gene Estes
Violin [Electric Violin & Baritone Violectra] – Jean-Luc Ponty
2    Idiot Bastard Son 4:00
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Ernie Watts
Bass [Fender] – Wilton Felder
Composed By, Arranged By – Frank Zappa
Drums – John Guerin
Electric Piano – George Duke
Violin [Electric Violin & Baritone Violectra] – Jean-Luc Ponty
3    Twenty Small Cigars 5:35
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Ernie Watts
Bass [Fender] – Wilton Felder
Composed By, Arranged By – Frank Zappa
Drums – John Guerin
Electric Piano – George Duke
Violin [Electric Violin & Baritone Violectra] – Jean-Luc Ponty
4    How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That 7:14
Bass [Fender] – Wilton Felder
Composed By – Jean-Luc Ponty
Drums – John Guerin
Electric Piano – George Duke
Guitar – Frank Zappa
Tenor Saxophone – Ernie Watts
Violin [Electric] – Jean-Luc Ponty
5    Music For Electric Violin And Low Budget Orchestra 19:20
Bass – Buell Neidlinger
Bassoon – Donald Christlieb
Cello – Harold Bemko
Composed By, Arranged By – Frank Zappa
Conductor – Ian Underwood
Drums – Arthur D. Tripp, III
Flute – Jonathan Meyer
French Horn, Recorder [Descant] – Vincent DeRosa
French Horn, Tuba [Tuben] – Arthur Maebe
Oboe, English Horn – Gene Cipriano
Piano, Electric Piano – George Duke
Viola – Milton Thomas
Violin [Electric] – Jean-Luc Ponty
6    America Drinks And Goes Home 2:39
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Ian Underwood
Bass – Buell Neidlinger
Composed By, Arranged By – Frank Zappa
Drums – Arthur D. Tripp, III
Electric Piano – George Duke
Vibraphone, Percussion – Gene Estes
Violin [Electric Violin & Baritone Violectra] – Jean-Luc Ponty