Frank Zappa was well known for a lot of things—his sharp satiric wit, his virtuoso guitar improvisations, his excellence as a bandleader, his fearlessness in combating hostile political forces and crooked record-industry executives. But Zappa is all too rarely given credit for his status as one of the most creative musical imaginations of the 20th century, regardless of genre.
Last Friday at the Jazz Standard, I saw clarinetist Don Byron play compositions from his 1996 <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/recordingofthemonth/696/"><I>Bug Music</I></A>, maybe his greatest album, certainly one of the most exciting jazz albums of that decade. It features music from the ‘30s by John Kirby, Raymond Scott, and Duke Ellington—an era largely neglected by jazz musicians and historians.
Dear readers,<br>
You can find our December 2008 issue on newsstands now.
Vol.17 No.2 (February 1994)
Vol.17 No.10 (October 1994)
Vol.19 No.3 (March 1996)
Vol.20 No.9 (September 1997)
Vol.22 No.12 (December 1999)
Vol.27 No.1 (January 2004)
Alright, it's cold now. <a href="http://wcbsfm.com/WCBS-FM-Airstaff---Mr--G/2073164">Mr. G says</a> the mercury will only creep up to around the 38- or 39-degree mark today. I guess it's to be expected. We <i>are</i> deep into November. New York City in the cold, with all of the wreaths and lights and scarves and frigid breath, is beautiful. For a moment or two, that is, until I remember how much I hate this weather. It's funny, too, how I forget how unbearable it can be in <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/102606window/">my apartment</a> this time of year. I don't know how I've lived through the last three winters in that old, drafty shack.