Frank Zappa: "G-SPOT TORNADO" | Frankfurt Radio Big Band | Mike Holober | Jazz From Hell |

A look back at 2015 - we dedicated the Jazz Festival to the music of Frank Zappa.
Do you like it? Please subscribe: / @hrbigband
G-SPOT TORNADO a composition by Frank Zappa
An arrangement by Mike Holober
Solo: Jean Paul Hochstädter, dr; Mike Holober, ep
Mike Holober | Arrangements, Conductor
hr-Bigband / Frankfurt Radio Big Band
saxes, woodwinds: Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn, Oliver Leicht, Tony Lakatos, Steffen Weber, Rainer Heute
trombones: Günter Bollmann, Jürgen Neudert, Christian Jaksjö, Manfred Honetschläger
trumpets: Frank Wellert, Thomas Vogel, Martin Auer, Axel Schlosser
rhythm: Thomas Heidepriem, b; Jean Paul Höchstädter, dr; Martin Scales, g, Peter Reiter, p
Performance of the Frankfurt Radio Big Band; 31 october 2015
46. German Jazz Festival, hr-Sendesaal, Frankfurt, Germany
#FrankZappa #Jazz #bigband
More about Frankfurt Radio Big Band:
www.hr-bigband...
A production of Hessischer Rundfunk © 2015

[@mikecimerian6913]

Jazz is not dead, it just smells funny. - Frank Zappa

[@sandwichtv2164]

40 yo, discovered Zappa in 1997 at 14. That's the most talented tribute of Zappa's music I've ever seen. Those brass are exquisite.

[@philovance1940]

I wish my local jazz radio station would play more Zappa.

[@timowalker24]

Well, ya gotta remember, “jazz isn’t dead it just smells funny” and you probably know where that line comes from…

[@kamilkashaf2766]

The audio engineer did a heck of a job. Outstanding mix!

[@christopherlawley1842]

Yes, they did!!

[@rainerwaansinn]

sehr schade, dass er keine Credits bekommen hat 😞 very sad that he did not get any credits

[@PaulDiBenedetto]

Frank would have loved this. They do the song justice. Great band.

[@hrbigband]

Thanks for that comment! We are happy to read that.

[@LancerMyMan]

Nice to see that Zappa’s music lives on.

[@hp67c]

The present day composer refuses to die.

[@mrmusic248]

@@hp67c: As long as there are real musicians playing real instruments, such as we see here, the present day compose will NEVER die. Frank is getting his best revenge on those that shunned his music, and that never gave him any credit as a serious composer. It's sad that the most remembered song in the Zappa catalog is "Valley Girl", or possibly, "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow". Somewhere in the ethos, Frank IS observing these bands/orchestras that are keeping his music alive, and smiling at it all.

[@avatacron60]

@@mrmusic248 I couldn't have said it better myself.

[@bikingfencer]

Zappa has been my favorite since 1966; I have all his records. I like some songs better than others, some I do not care for, some are to die for. Your orchestrations have brought NEW life to compositions I did not appreciate as much before. Thank you.

[@craigparker1146]

I actually liked this version better, but I'm not a big fan of electronic sounding stuff.

[@russellmillar7132]

All 52? Unless Zappa is the only artist in your collection, you must have a lot of albums!😊

[@daviddunne4737]

My 70 year old G spot and I like this . Frank could always (ZAP)PA the music scene . We need to hear more ZAPPA . Well done (FRANK)furt Radio Big Band .

[@hrbigband]

Thanks David! It's wonderful to know that you like it that much.

[@popogast]

Schön, dass mittlerweile einige Orchester/Big Bands/Kammermusiker Frank Zappa spielen. Für mich ist er einer der Top 5 Komponisten der USA in der zweiten Hälfte des letzten Jahrhunderts.

[@urbanbader4113]

Wer die anderen 4 📀

[@popogast]

@@urbanbader4113 Jetzt hast Du mich in die Falle gelockt. 4 kann ich spontan nicht aufzählen. George Gershwin ist schon in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts verstorben, das war mir nicht bewusst. Aus dem Bereich Jazz würde ich Miles Davis einbeziehen, aus dem Bereich Pop Prince. John Cage gehört auch in die Top Five.

[@urbanbader4113]

Wer sind die aenderen 4 grossen Komp.

[@gentle_goy23432]

​@@urbanbader4113Carter , Zappa. who else?

[@PrankZabba]

omg, i thought that was Jeff Daniels on drums at first

[@joshuakatz2499]

drum and drummer

[@groovinhooves]

Stewart Copeland, following too closely on botox therapy.

[@rollagiovanni]

Absolutely mind blowing. Amazing opening with the Black Page.

[@hrbigband]

Thank you, Giovanni! Jean Paul Höchstädter is a great drummer and he tried his best to honor Frank Zappa. Sure you like it, or?

[@sPi711]

​@@hrbigbandNo one doesn't like this.

[@Draxtor]

And the Black Page thrown in there too - pretty darn good ;)

[@nameloss]

Draxtor Despres and on a much smaller kit, too! i am very impressed

[@holdencaustic]

I see a lot of criticisms on this.... It does come across as less urgent than some other versions.. BUT: they are keeping Zappa's music out there, and I would personslly rather listen to this, than, say, the umpteenth jazz big band version of "chicken" . Kudos!

[@shayneoneill1506]

Plus its Jazz. Interpreting rather than just reciting music is the very beating heart of what Jazz is all about. And Frank would have been fine with that. He constantly reinterpreted his own songs, and often built in spaces for his band to interpret the song too.

[@blahpunk1]

If the horns weren't so much louder than the bass/guitar parts it would sound much closer to the original. The way I see it there are two melodies and one of them isn't nearly as prominent as the other here.

[@martins.7060]

I can read music,sort of, but to read those drum patterns while playing it in real time is simply amazing.

[@eintovenaar]

the sheer craftsmanship is astounding

[@anantsundaram452]

What a stirring cover of a Zappa classic! Masterful. Kudos!!

[@nathanhuffines]

I tried to learn this on guitar years back. This arrangement is so far outa the box it seems impossible to play live. This is fantastic!

[@todd8155]

It was from the Jazz from Hell album, which Frank composed using the Synclavier as Frank considered the material to difficult for humans to play. That might be why you had some trouble ;-O One track has a solo from Ship Arriving too Late, and also has Steve Vai and some other guitarists.

[@TheRudySchwartzProject]

Really nice arrangement.

[@santiagorojaspiaggio]

We have the synclavier version, the orchestral version, and now the jazz band version. Great work!

[@fnbworld5177]

MIND BLOWING PERFORMANCE!!!

[@HoraceMash]

Wow! Faaaantastic arrangement! Amazing performance! Sounds so sweet! Thank you thank you thank you!

[@hrbigband]

It's a pleasure for us to share it with you out there!

[@BenEller]

This is absolutely glorious.

[@mstevensn50]

I am still amazed with Franks music and I have been listening to FZ since 1979

[@professorwagner8546]

Zappaaaaaaa

[@ElainePerkins-j8v]

ZAPPA WAS ONE OF THE WORLDS TRUE GENIUS'S "WHO NOBODY COULD ARGUE WITH"WHAT A LEDGAND "PERFECT PIECE OF MUSIC"❤

[@SvetlanaBakushinaArt]

Great piece of music!

[@thecapetownjazzscene2485]

This is just so good!

[@Toddobvious]

Doesn’t the drum solo at the beginning have stuff from The Black Page #1 in it?

[@brucepieroni9102]

Outstanding composition and performance.

[@darrenthomas6469]

Almost like The Grand Wazoo plays G Spot, good fun Arf!!! Arf!!!

[@todd8155]

Yeah the Grand Wazoo, and the Petite Wazoo are some of my favorite band lineup; Frank could do Big Band! In fact, I would have been OK if Frank continued with that lineup and that line of music for another decade or two. The Grand Wazoo and Waka Jawaka albums are superb. If anyone is a fan of these there is the Wazoo album featuring the Petite Wazoo Big Band. Not at consistent as the previous mentions 2 albums, but still has some great material.

[@michaelledford4751]

Great choice opening an intensively complicated piece such as G-spot tornado with the Black Page ,sounded fantastic .

[@todd8155]

The Black Page, considered to be the hardest rock song to play, and G-spot tornado, considered by Zappa to be too hard for humans to play. Not an easy target!

[@Revelator2025]

Very nice arrangement. Not what I was expecting but pleasantly surprised!

[@hernanrios4590]

Grandes musicos que saben interpretar y respetar a un grande

[@ripaseca]

what a performance. Thank you all for that.

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

I came back again because today is Mike's birthday (4/21). It is still a great arrangement and performance

[@NicleT]

Eccellente versione, arrangiamenti brillanti e una registrazione sonora / mix straordinari. Bravooo!

[@Steven-p4j]

When ever I have been to see performances of FZ's music, in ensemble format, I am always overjoyed by how happy the performers are. They laugh and smile throughout, whenever possible, which increases the sense of intimacy of the performance & the composition. Music & poetry must have life, or it withers by degrees.

[@kelvinwilson9217]

What a wonderful performance of this iconic masterpiece of music. It's also nice to see a percussionist have a lot of joy in playing, as can be seen on the expression of his face.

[@arnowinter462]

At the beginning I thought he would start playing The Black Page :-) And he did...

[@NicolasMarinoDiTeana]

Chapeau.

[@SamyDaussat]

Excellent

[@HauteMessJazz]

I'd previously only heard this performed by Zappa on his solo album, Jazz From Hell, with Frank playing all instruments. I always wanted to hear this played by a band. This is excellent!

[@todd8155]

Was pretty much all done on the Synclavier synthesizer, with only St. Etienne having human instrumentalists.

[@officialwalterwhiteheisenb3544]

Wonderful cover, making something new out if it aswell. Everyone involved did a wonderful job

[@CONSOMI33]

fantástica presentación.

[@Rasenschneider]

The black page seems very shorted but the g-spot performance is interesting

[@atomaalatonal]

excellent brass section arrangement, and the drummer is pretty good. i really like this version of gspot tornado. lots of mothers spirit in it paired with big band jazz sound.

[@swellgod1177]

Fantastic choice of composers. Great arrangement. It's nice to know there are still people with taste left.

[@ZaraMoonVideos]

that was beautiful - - - needed applause at the end - great version

[@Guitar6ty]

Awesome performance top class musicianship.

[@zmbewolfable]

Well played

[@jublaim]

Wonderful! And fun!

[@markc6557]

This great music needs to be played.... and you do it very well.... Thanks:)

[@inci0078]

amazing work, truly genius

[@bonsaisonixnet]

What a drummer!!!!!

[@hrbigband]

Thank you Andrew! We're very happy that Jean Paul Höchstädter is part of our band! He's a great player!

[@rockinrob2004]

Brilliantly done! BRAVO!

[@simonprice8737]

Stunning work, Frank would be very happy, the drum work on this track is especially amazing.....

[@gerryb154]

That was gorgeous.

[@WilliamWilsonEgoliGolf]

I love!

[@stonyhil]

Geez this is outstanding 🙏👌😎♥️

[@kennhetnilsson4091]

Mycket bra

[@TheSlandis]

Black Page intro is cool.

[@stevereinecke8972]

Drummer bringing some serious Billy Cobham vibes to the intro!

[@coyoteboy5601]

Yeah, you're right. Good ear!

[@jimhardiman3836]

Nice drum intro

[@giovanni863]

Bravissimi, grande esecuzione e arrangiamento

[@Stubummer]

Awesome!

[@bdavidson6444]

Happy Zappadan

[@MrWaterpumpkin]

really, exceptionally good drumming... by Jeff Daniels ;)

[@joshuakatz2499]

Drum and drummer.

[@Steven-p4j]

Wow Frank. Even a Fender Rhodes makes an appearance.

[@jkol323]

This is fucking KILLER wooooweee nicely done friends :)

[@ProfessorPille]

That's nice. Where's G-Spot Tornado? I hear a few references to it.

[@heisenberg460]

Great.

[@SpaceCattttt]

That's some pretty tasteful drumming, I must say.

[@atomaalatonal]

nomatter what, u have to admit that the whole brass an wind section of the hr band is fuckin tight

[@robertgraf-waczenski1213]

Maybe i'm too biased by Terry Bozzio and others playing The Black Page and have heard the Ensemble Modern version of G-Spot Tornado too often, but, come on. That drum intro is *not* the Black Page, it's a solo (albeit a good one) containing some *elements* of The Black Page. And that G-Spot Tornado rendition is a good jazz piece by itself but lacks precision and punch. Sorry, FZ would have these guys rehearse for a few more weeks before letting them perform this on stage.

[@MASHMU]

I have read that Frank would rehearse his musicians to the point that they would try to hide from him. So I take your point about more rehearsals before getting on stage. Nonetheless, I can appreciate the effort here.

[@esjope]

Most bigger groups can't keep keep it together with Zappa's rhythmically more challenging compositions. This group is better than most. Bit more punch and eyebrows would make it. But appreciate it anyway a lot... And I would buy tickets to see them do this on stage.

[@alejandrocorona1766]

And the soft improv section (anything would be soft between the harsh Zappa obbligatos, agreed) doesn't do this version any favor

[@samandor1]

Alejandro Corona I could see FZ doing a version just like this, shaving off the sharp corners, and making it all more approachable to the audience in a live arrangement. That is, after all, why we have the easy teenage NY version of Black Page. Very well done!

[@Daionzrip]

This may not be as razor sharp as some apex mid 70's Zappa, but it's pretty swift to behold. To be fair FZ frequently shaved off precision and statistical density live. He was onstage during many performances that were not as sharp or as well recorded this one.

[@larst560]

Il solo di batteria non e' # black page ?

[@rintunt]

Great arrangement

[@scottreynolds3542]

Is it just me or isn’t the beginning solo the black page?

[@bigfootpegrande]

Super, dooper, wooper!

[@floatymcboaty9851]

Amazing version

[@gianlucamoretti311]

Me lo ricordo benissimo questo concerto, perché NON c'ero...

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

Way to go Mike! Dappa Zappa!

[@ArtMuzak]

yes!

[@andyreid2590]

Just WOW!

[@ArtMuzak]

Lovely!

[@wolframhohmann1300]

Oh man, the first drum measures. "Black Page".. the most complicated drum piece of all times

[@arieschouten4628]

If a drummer plays every note and timing perfect it is, but not how he played it.

[@zappas10]

Ruth Underwood was missing the vibes with drum rolls!

[@nicholasdala]

fucking amazing!

[@alexanderkonrad8998]

...it's the black page, followed by G-spot tornado. - but great!

[@FrankTerranova1]

ZappaMusic lives on. Not my favorite version of G-Spot. Carry on.

[@aljazrazdevsek9525]

Hey guys! You know where can I buy scores of this arrangement? Thanks!

[@hrbigband]

Hi Aljaž - I am sorry, the arrangements have been written exclusively for the hr-Bigband and therefore not available.

[@aljazrazdevsek9525]

hrbigband - thank you for your answer!

[@UNCLERAJI]

Check VKgoeswild for possible FZ arrangements

[@christianugolini8493]

somptueux !

[@not_emerald]

The Black Page into G-Spot Tornado?

[@Sortirai]

Bravo

[@andrewshutty3345]

a diffrent floor so to speak, fantastic, perhaps let the charts live on the stands a little , read it in rehearsal , than feel it on stage? Complex I know.. Great, thanks

[@HauteMessJazz]

Is that Chad Wakerman on drums?

[@hrbigband]

No, that's our drummer Jean Paul Höchstädter

[@MrMftech]

Well done...keep the circle complexity simply circular...

[@joshuakatz2499]

Drum and drummer

[@johnleonard3806]

Crazy good. I thought this was great.

[@FALCOY]

I didn't know john Tesh played drums....

[@DoomKid]

rofl

[@tixximmi1]

John's a vegan. Hope they wouldn't use animal skins.

[@diegoka7943]

excelente batero,como se llama?

[@hrbigband]

The drummer is Jean Paul Höchstädter.

[@Saggradin]

Den Meister wird es gefreut haben.

[@squanto2]

+Mike müller Honestly? Even after they changed the goddamn notes? Frank would NOT have liked this at all.

[@DoomKid]

To be fair, this song is REALLY hard to play. They made a good crack at it, even if it isn't perfect.

[@sheercerebralpower]

HEEEEY!!!!!MARTIN!!!!!!!LG!!!!!!AZHARRRRRRR