Especially when the mind in this case is that of Francis Vincent Zappa (zap’-uh). I’ve just re-read his 1988 book The Real Frank Zappa Book (with Peter Occhiogrosso). When I first read this book, I thought, ‘Frank, you really were an asshole’ which he’d probably appreciate. However, on a reading it again, the chapters on Bush (No.1), Iran/Iran foreign policy, home taping (teenagers read ‘illegal’ mp3 downloading), schools, religion, Union bashing, being a parent and much more including, of course, sex, the thoughts of Chairman Frank don’t seem so insular as they did all those years ago.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m a big Frank fan. I’m of the large school that thinks his best work was with Captain Beefheart and when he ‘shut up’ and played the guitar. And it looks like this will be the period/works that the North German Radio Big Band (directed by British writer Colin Towns) will be concentrating on the UK tour in November. Entitled, Frank Zappa’s Hot Licks (and Funny Smells) it will be focus on the classic early 70’s jazz-rock period of Waka/Jawaka and the classic Hot Rats (featuring Shuggie Otis, Paul ‘KeepInTime’ Humphrey and Cpt. Beefheart).

Getting back to the book, have you ever wondered who it was crawling out of the crypt on the cover of Hot Rats? Well he tells us it was Christine Frka who was Moon Zappa’s baby sitter at the time. The unlikely named Ms Frka apparently recommended Frank to record Alice Cooper so engraving her mark in rock and roll history. Perhaps less meritoriously, she was a member of the GTO (along with Cynthia Plaster Caster and Pamela ‘I’m With The Band’ Des Barres) but as Frank tells us, she OD’d sometime during the 70’s.

In addition to Mr. Zappa having healthy hatred of the US income tax system, he also had a low opinion of rock journalists and critics. And with that in mind, that’s probably enough about the book.

Getting back to the NGR Big Band tour, in addition to the Zappa works, Winstone will showcase the new album (out this autumn) called It’s Later Than You Think recorded with the NGR directed by Colin Towns. The tracks she’ll be covering are by contemporary artists such as Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman. Anyone familiar with Winstone’s work (from to the New Jazz Orchestra with Neil Ardley to ECM with John Taylor to Jazz Britannia to Robert Mitchell’s Panacea to Trust and the equally brilliant Gwilym Simcock) will want to see her live.

Zappa died five years to the month after working on the book The Real Frank Zappa and he’d be have a great laugh at the post death Zappa-tribute industry that has grown up since. Not sure about the Dweezil Zappa efforts but the NRG tour is on my ‘must attend’ list of forthcoming gigs.

Tour
November 15 The Stables Theatre, Wavendon, Bucks, UK
November 16 Turner Simms Hall, Southampton University, Hants, UK
November 17 The Sage, Gateshead, UK
November 18 The Queens Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
November 19 The Cadogan Hall, Sloane Sq. Chelsea, London
November 20 College of Music, Leeds, Yorks, UK
November 22 RNCM, Manchester, UK
November 23 Warwick Arts Centre, UK

Links
www.normawinstone.com
Gwilym Simcock
Norma Winstone & Colin Towns & NDR-BigBand Feb 04
The Real Frank Zappa (Picador) www.zappa.com