The audacious, ground-breaking instrumental music of American iconoclast Frank Zappa.
“The pieces are fiendishly difficult to execute, with lots of surface complexity to dazzle the ear… Brian Coughlin, Fireworks’ director and bass player, produced some hell-for-leather arrangements that the players, relaxed and grooving, played the heck out of, down to show-stopping solos in ‘The Purple Lagoon/Approximate’.” — Anne Midgette, The New York Times
Watch
Listen
- G-Spot Tornado Frank Zappa; Fireworks Ensemble
- Sofa Frank Zappa; Fireworks Ensemble
- Drowning Witch Frank Zappa; Fireworks Ensemble
Frank Zappa’s works for instrumental ensemble balance mind-boggling complexity with pop vitality, proving that the rock band could be a vehicle for both visceral expression and serious composition. Jazz? Rock? Classical? Zappa’s music blurred the lines between these styles, transcending categories to remain defiantly “None of the Above.” In collaboration with the Zappa Family Trust, Fireworks director Brian Coughlin created new arrangements of works left unperformed at the time of Zappa’s untimely death along with favorites such as Big Swifty, Drowning Witch, The Black Page, and King Kong.
Sample Program
The Black Page Drum Solo
T’Mershi Duween
Big Swifty
Manx Needs Women
Drowning Witch
Leather
Cruising for Burgers
The Black Page No. 2
The Black Page No. 1
Be-Bop Tango
Number 6
Number 7
Number 8
Number 9
King Kong
Oh No
The Purple Lagoon/Approximate
G-Spot Tornado
Sofa
