[Review] Jean-Luc Ponty: Electric Connection (1969)
Ponty was flown into the US to record this album with George Duke and Gerald Wilson, but the performances feel dialed in.
Category: George Duke
[Review] The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience With The George Duke Trio (1969)
Jean-Luc and Duke play an electrified set at the psychedelicized Sunset Strip spot, Thee Experience.
[Review] Jean-Luc Ponty: King Kong (1970)
The low-budget seduction of a classical/jazz violinist and an ad hoc orchestra.
[Review] Frank Zappa: Chunga’s Revenge (1970)
The beginning of the Flo & Eddie experiment, in which the pair become the witting mouthpiece for Frank.
[Review] Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels (1971)
This probably should have come with a free bar of soap and shampoo, since you’ll need a shower after listening to it.
[Review] Frank Zappa: Waka/Jawaka (1972)
Frank gets pushed from a stage and spends months at home pushing the envelope of musical smallmindedness.
[Review] The Mothers: The Grand Wazoo (1972)
Don’t like classical jazz/rock music? Blow it out your Wazoo.
[Review] George Duke: The Inner Source (1973)
Two albums in one (Solus, The Inner Source) that showcase Duke’s colossal Rhodes skills and artistic range, backed by the George Duke Trio.
[Review] The Mothers: Over-Nite Sensation (1973)
The album that kicked off (kind of) a commercial renaissance for Frank Zappa.
[Review] George Duke: Faces In Reflection (1974)
Duke adds Headhunter Ndugu to the trio and releases a spacey album of jazz fusion that invites comparison to Zappa and RTF.
[Review] Zappa/Mothers: Roxy & Elsewhere (1974)
A sensational selection of new songs recorded live on double elpee and featuring the funny and furiously fast Zappa we all love.
[Review] George Duke: Feel (1974)
A crossover of space fusion and synth funk, featuring Frank Zappa as the mysterious Obdewl’l X.
[Review] Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: One Size Fits All (1975)
The last album from the last and best lineup of The Mothers, featuring two sofas and a modified dog.
[Review] Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart/The Mothers: Bongo Fury (1975)
Okay, so it’s not a replica of Trout Mask Replica, but the pair still create sparks on this suitably demented outing.
[Review] Stanley Clarke: School Days (1976)
This is a lesson in how musicians should approach making a solo album: mix it up and give 110% on every track.