Waka / jawaka

Waka / jawaka
Studio album by Frank Zappa
Publication (s)	5th July 1972
Label (s)	Bizarre Records Reprise Records Zappa Records (CD) Rykodisc (CD) VideoArts Music
Format (s)	LP vinyl , CD
Genre (s)	Jazz rock , big band
Title (number)	4th
running time	36:09
occupation	Frank Zappa - acoustic and electric guitar , percussion , electric bed springs Tony Duran - slide guitar , vocal George Duke - piano Sal Marquez - Trumpet , Flugelhorn , Glockenspiel (musical instrument) , Chimes , Vocal Erroneous - electric bass Aynsley Dunbar - drums , washboard , tambourine Chris Peterson - vocal Joel Peskin - tenor saxophone Mike Altschul - tenor saxophone , baritone saxophone , bass clarinet , bass flute , piccolo flute Jeff Simmons - Hawaiian guitar , vocal Sneaky Pete Kleinow - pedal steel guitar Janet Ferguson - Vocal Don Preston - piano , Moog Minimoog Billy Byers - trombone , baritone horn Ken Shroyer - trombone , baritone horn
production	Frank Zappa
Studio (s)	Paramount Studios, LA
chronology Just Another Band from LA (1972) Waka / jawaka The Grand Wazoo (1972)

Waka / Jawaka is a jazz rock album by Frank Zappa from 1972.

History of origin

The album was created after the catastrophic European tour, during which the entire system of the band in Montreux went up in flames and Zappa was pushed into the orchestra pit by a concertgoer on December 10, 1971 at a concert in London's Rainbow Theater . Zappa was injured so badly that he had to spend nine months in a wheelchair. He had to cancel the tour and dissolve his previous music group around the former singers of the Turtles , Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan ( "Happy Together" ). He used the time to return to composing and jazz rock after the album Hot Rats (1969). The album Waka / Jawaka opened a new period of work, in which new musicians appeared, whom one met again on the following albums, such as jazz musicians such as trombonist Billy Byers . The album opens with a long piece, Big Swifty , which resumes the dialogue that has been developing for some time between Zappa and jazz pianist George Duke . From then on, Duke played alongside Zappa on many recordings and tours. Despite his injury, Zappa does not give up the tour idea. In 1972 he went on a tour with eight concerts, mainly in Europe.

Stylistic classification

Waka / Jawaka is a jazz rock album, whereby the arrangement and the use of overdub techniques refer to the music of big big bands .

Track list

No.	title	Duration
1.	Big Swifty	17:22
2.	Your Mouth	03:12
3.	It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal	04:16
4th	Waka / jawaka	11:09

Description of each title

Audio sample: Change from 7/8 to 6/8 time with additional (in the original not available, built-in for demonstration) drums in the title Big Swifty from the album Waka / Jawaka .

Big Swifty (album Waka / Jawaka ) is a long-term piece with unusual rhythmic variations. The theme changes twice in fifths from 7/8 to 3/4 time and then from 5/8 to 6/8 time, until finally the 4/4 time is reached in the chorus .

Album cover

The album has a drawing by Marvin Mattelsson on the cover showing a sink with two taps, which are labeled Hot and Rats. It refers to Zappa's first jazz rock album, Hot Rats , which was released in October 1969.

Album art Waka / Jawaka
External web links to copyrighted content.

• Front of the cover on zappa.com

Publications

In the USA, the album was released on July 5, 1972 on Bizarre Records , the worldwide distribution was responsible for Reprise . In December 1987 the album became part of The Old Masters series . It was released on compact disc in America in January 1989 by Rykodisc and in Europe by Zappa Records . In 1995 the CD was reissued by Rykodisc.

reception

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Waka / jawaka   US 152 07.10.1972 (7 weeks)

Waka / Jawaka reached number 152 on the Billboard 200 charts. The Anglicist Kelly Fisher Lowe rates it as an "interesting studio construction" and several reviewers compare the album with Bitches Brew by Miles Davis .

literature

• Rob Houghton: Album Reviews . In: Rolling Stone magazine . October 12, 1972 ( rollingstone.com [accessed April 1, 2010]).
• Kelly Fisher Lowe: The Words and Music of Frank Zappa . University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London 2007, ISBN 978-0-8032-6005-4 , Chapter 4, Section: Waka / Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo , pp. 100-104 .
• Wolfgang Ludwig: Investigations into the musical work of Frank Zappa. A music-sociological and analytical study to determine a musical style . Publishing house Peter Lang, Berlin u. a. 1991, ISBN 3-631-45128-8 ( European University publications . XXXVI series: Musicology 88).
• Ben Watson: Frank Zappa. The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play . Quarted Books, London 1996, ISBN 0-7043-0242-X .

Web links

• Waka / jawaka. In: Official discography on zappa.com. Retrieved April 1, 2010 . 
• Frank Zappa. Texts and background information on Waka / Jawaka. In: globalia.net. Retrieved April 1, 2010 . 
• Waka / Jawaka at Allmusic (English)
• Reviews of Waka / Jawaka on the baby blue pages

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alain Dister: Frank Zappa - The rebel from the underground . Heyne, Munich 1980, p. 96 ff.
2. ↑ Harvey Siders: Meet the Grand Wazoo , in: Down Beat of November 9, 1972, page 13 and page 36, quoted in Ludwig (1991)
3. ↑ The Frank Zappa Album Versions Guide. Waka / jawaka. Retrieved April 1, 2010 .  
4. ↑ Charts US
5. ↑ Kelly Fisher Lowe: The Words and Music of Frank Zappa . University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln / London 2007, ISBN 978-0-8032-6005-4 , Chapter 4, Section Waka / Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo , pp. 100-104 .