The Grand Wazoo

After being shoved off a stage and into an orchestral pit and suffering injuries that kept him off his feet for some time, Frank Zappa disbanded that edition of the Mothers of Invention and went to work on several albums of jazz-fusion that followed in the tradition of the excellent Hot Rats. First up was Waka/ Jawaka in July,1972 and the even better The Grand Wazoo appeared in December. The original vinyl release switched the order of the first two tracks, with the 1995 re-master asserting that the correct order begins with the thirteen-minute title track. Enough cannot be said about the high level of musicianship that Zappa demanded and received from his extensive list of players. Ernie Watts takes a brilliant solo for "Cleetus Awreetus Awrightus," however, the steadying hands of keyboardist George Duke go a long way towards making this album the masterwork that it is. Duke is Zappa's perfect foil and it's his sensitive electric piano on "Eat That Question" and his keys elsewhere that sets the tone for Zappa's inspired conducting of this grand orchestra.