FRANK ZAPPA
Waka/Wazoo UMC
Five-disc set documenting Zappa’s jazz-rock experiments.
It’s astonishing to think that just four months after being pushed from the stage of London’s Rainbow theatre in December 1971 and left with head injuries, a broken rib, a fractured leg and a paralysed arm, a wheelchair-bound Frank Zappa was back in the studio having already composed more than two albums’ worth of material. The latest deep dive into the archives explores Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, both released in 1972, a period sometimes referred to as ‘big band Frank’ due to the extended brass arrangements showcased on both records.