Late in his life,
Frank Zappa hooked up with the small German avant-garde orchestra
the Ensemble Modern for what are said to have been the most enjoyable encounters with an orchestra he had in his career. The combination resulted in the last album
Zappa released during his life,
The Yellow Shark. This album, issued seven years later by the Zappa Family Trust, chronicles some more of the sessions. "These are recordings from
Frank Zappa's rehearsals with
the Ensemble Modern in preparation for
The Yellow Shark, writes
Todd Yvega, who also served as a recordist on the project. In some cases, such as "Whitey (Prototype)," an early version of "Get Whitey," the tracks are actual run-throughs of material that would turn up on
The Yellow Shark. Others find
Zappa conducting the orchestra through improvisations. With his usual sense of humor, and with sympathetic classical musicians for once, he combines experimental music with other found sounds, including recitations by pianist Hermann Kretzschmar, who begins by reading the information from his library card and later in the album reads letters to the editor from Piercing Fans International Quarterly ("Keep up the great work. I don't know what to pierce next.") The juxtapositions of spoken word and orchestral sounds is reminiscent of
Lumpy Gravy, while Kretzschmar's German accent recalls
Theodore Bikel in 200 Motels. But the unusual percussion effects bespeak the continuing influence on
Zappa of his early mentor
Edgard Varèse, bringing these late recordings full circle to some of his first compositions. ~ William Ruhlmann