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Jazz From Hell
''Jazz from Hell'' is an instrumental album whose selections were all composed and recorded by American musician Frank Zappa. It was released in November 1986, by Barking Pumpkin Records on vinyl and cassette, and in 1987 by Rykodisc on CD. ''Jazz from Hell'' was Zappa's final studio album released in his lifetime; for the remaining seven years of his life, he would only release live concert albums, although the posthumous ''Civilization Phaze III'' (1994) was completed shortly before his death. Zappa produced music videos for the songs " G-Spot Tornado" and "Night School". "G-Spot Tornado" features footage he shot in 1961 at a county fair, as well as some 1959 footage of Captain Beefheart and his family. "Night School" is a clay animation piece by Bruce Bickford. Background Frank Zappa explained that the album title was a political reference: "Things in America can be from hell. Right now we have a president from hell (Ronald Reagan), and a National Security Council from hell, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and ''musique concrète'' works; he additionally produced nearly all the 60-plus albums he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Musical improvisation, improvisation sound experimentation, Virtuoso, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation. As a mostly self-taught composer and performer, Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the Magic Band, he recorded 13 studio albums between 1967 and 1982. His music blended elements of blues, free jazz, rock music, rock, and avant-garde music, avant-garde composition with idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdism, absurdist wordplay, and Vliet’s gravelly singing voice with a wide vocal range. Known as an enigmatic persona, Beefheart frequently constructed myths about his life and was known to exercise extreme, dictatorial control over his supporting musicians. Although he achieved little commercial success, he sustained a cult following as an influence on an array of experimental rock and punk music, punk-era artists. He began performing in his Captain Beefheart persona in 1964, when he joined the original Magic Band line-up. The grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the Drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and the waterway of the Bosporus, Bosporus Strait. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles." Europe covers approx. , or 2% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface (6.8% of Earth's land area), making it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Yellow Shark
''The Yellow Shark'' is an album of orchestral music by American musician Frank Zappa. Released in November 1993, it was the last album Zappa released in his lifetime, almost exactly a month before he died of the cancer from which he had suffered for several years. It features live recordings from the Ensemble Modern's 1992 performances of Zappa's compositions. In the album's notes, Zappa describes ''The Yellow Shark'' as one of the most fulfilling projects of his career, and as the best representation of his orchestral works. Singer Tom Waits has listed it as one of his favourite albums, commenting: "The ensemble is awe-inspiring. It is a rich pageant of texture in colour. It's the clarity of his perfect madness, and mastery. Frank governs with Elmore James on his left and Stravinsky on his right. Frank reigns and rules with the strangest tools." History In 1991, Zappa was chosen to be one of four featured composers at the Frankfurt Festival in 1992 (the others were John Cage, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of contemporary composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries. History Ensemble Modern was founded in 1980 by members of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. From the beginning, the ensemble chose to organize itself democratically. There is no artistic director or chief conductor; instead, all projects, productions and financial matters are decided and supported by the musicians directly. Currently, the ensemble combines 19 soloists from different backgrounds: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States. Since 1985, Ensemble Modern has been based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. They offer a subscription series at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, host regular opera productions in cooperation with the Oper Frankfurt. Since 1993, the Opera has held the "Happy N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. ABC is headquartered on Riverside Drive in Burbank, California, directly across the street from Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Studios and adjacent to the Team Disney – Roy E. Disney Animation Building. The network maintains secondary offices at 77 66th Street (Manhattan), West 66th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, which houses its broadcast center and the headquarters of its news division, ABC News (United States), ABC News. Since 2007, when ABC Radio (also known as Cumulus Media Networks) was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC has reduced its broadcasting operations almost exclusively to television. The youngest of the "Big Three (American television), Big Three" American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timbre
In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instruments. It also enables listeners to distinguish instruments in the same category (e.g., an oboe and a clarinet, both woodwinds). In simple terms, timbre is what makes a particular musical instrument or human voice have a different sound from another, even when they play or sing the same note. For instance, it is the difference in sound between a guitar and a piano playing the same note at the same volume. Both instruments can sound equally tuned in relation to each other as they play the same note, and while playing at the same amplitude level each instrument will still sound distinctive with its own unique tone color. Musicians distinguish instruments based on their varied timbres, even instruments playing notes at the same pitch and volume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sampling (music)
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample might comprise only a fragment of sound, or a longer portion of music, such as a drum beat or melody. Samples are often layered, Equalization (audio), equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, Loop (music), looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using electronic music instruments (Sampler (musical instrument), samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations. A process similar to sampling originated in the 1940s with ''musique concrète'', experimental music created by Tape splice, splicing and Tape loop, looping tape. The mid-20th century saw the introduction of keyboard instruments that played sounds recorded on tape, such as the Mellotron. The term ''sampling'' was coined in the late 1970s by the creators of the Fairlight CMI, a synthesizer with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frequency Modulation Synthesis
Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of Synthesizer#Sound synthesis, sound synthesis whereby the frequency of a waveform is changed by Frequency modulation, modulating its frequency with a modulator. The instantaneous frequency, (instantaneous) frequency of an oscillator is altered in accordance with the amplitude of a modulating signal. FM synthesis can create both harmonic and Inharmonicity, inharmonic sounds. To synthesize harmonic sounds, the modulating signal must have a harmonic relationship to the original carrier signal. As the amount of frequency modulation increases, the sound grows progressively complex. Through the use of modulators with frequencies that are non-integer multiples of the carrier signal (i.e. inharmonic), inharmonic bell-like and percussive spectra can be created. FM synthesis using analog oscillators may result in pitch instability. However, FM synthesis can also be implemented digitally, which is more stable and became standard pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
''Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'' is a series of three albums - ''Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'', ''Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More'', and ''Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'' - released by American musician Frank Zappa in 1981. The albums consist solely of electric guitar instrumentals and improvised solos (mostly) played live by Zappa and featuring a wide variety of backing musicians. The music was well received by critics, and Zappa subsequently produced additional albums focusing solely on guitar-oriented instrumental music. The albums were initially released as individual LPs in May 1981 on Barking Pumpkin Records and sold only through mail order in the United States. The recordings were subsequently reissued as a triple album box set in 1982 and distributed by CBS Records in Europe. The complete package later appeared as a two CD set. Background After the release of ''Joe's Garage'', Frank Zappa set up his home studio, the Utility Muffin Research Kitche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch
''Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch'' is the 35th album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in May 1982 and digitally remastered in 1991. It features five tracks composed by Zappa, and one song, "Valley Girl", co-written with his then-14 year old daughter Moon Zappa, who provided the spoken monologue mocking Valley girls, including phrases like "Gag me with a spoon!". The album's first half consists of studio recordings, while the second half consists of live recordings. Production Side one was recorded at Zappa's Utility Muffin Research Kitchen studio at his home in Los Angeles; while side two consisted of live performances from Zappa's fall 1981 U.S. tour with studio overdubs. The live material was originally intended for a double album tentatively titled either ''Chalk Pie'' or ''Crush All Boxes II'', which was scrapped after Zappa's record distributor requested a single album instead. The cover art for the album (from which it gets its name) shows the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synclavier
The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. Used by many notable musicians, the Synclavier was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame, an honor given to "products and innovations that have had an enduring impact on the development of audio technology," in 2004. History The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of Jon Appleton, Professor of Digital Electronics, Sydney A. Alonso, and Cameron Jones, a software programmer and student at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering. Synclavier I First released in 1977–78, Note: This magazine article itself lacks sources, and as a result, lacks verifiability. it proved to be highly influential among both electronic music composers and music p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
