The album was recorded in 1972, a fantastic year for Frank Zappa musically. In April and May, he recorded two albums of ambitious, sophisticated, and witty jazz fusion – Waka/Jawaka (released July that year) and The Grand Wazoo, which hit shelves in November. The music itself is proof of Frank Zappa’s incredible creativity, but what makes his output that year truly remarkable is that he managed to write and record anything at all. The April 11 take of "Blessed Relief" is one of this collection's most glistening highlights. The soft, languid piece in waltz time lives up to its name, showcasing some particularly lovely playing from Marquez, burbling keys from Duke, and a slow-burning groove. The song would end up as a subtle respite on The Grand Wazoo. It's contrasted here by the freer jazz of "For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)." This April 13 version has been cobbled together from remaining outtake source material, with its different sections not yet melded into a final form. Following are some of my first reflections on fun details I heard while listening to each of the albums, mostly in Dolby Atmos. Please note that these are first impressions and I reserve the right to alter/update my perspective upon subsequent listens (as I ask myself: “Did I really hear what I thought I heard?”). Navigation screen for The Grand Wazoo on the Waka/Wazoo Blu-ray Disc amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br />

Waka/Wazoo contains a live rendition of "Approximate" featuring the Electric Orchestra from Sept. 24, 1972, at the Boston Music Hall — the only known live recording of the full group — as well as the Petite Wazoo's final show of thetour at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on Dec. 15, 1972. In celebration of half a century of the pioneering early 1970s phase of Frank Zappa’s peerless career, which resulted in the two albums, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, Zappa Records/UMe will be releasing Waka/Wazoo, a five-disc multi-format box set that features a complete historical rundown of the entire project, on December 16, just ahead of what would have been the Maestro’s 82nd birthday. In this review, I’m not covering the four compact discs, which fans like yourself can take the time to explore on their own. Of course, releases from Frank Zappa must be unusual, and Waka/Wazoo follows this path. For years I have not understood why a label would duplicate content made available on a high-resolution format by making it available on a CD in the same box set. Finally this has become reality with this box set chalk full of bonus material across the CD’s! Thus, the Blu-ray contains the two albums in their entirety in various hi-res codecs, while the CDs contain the following bonus material without any duplication - CD1 and CD2: Paramount Studios Recording Session Alternates and Outtakes, CD3: George Duke Demos (The Master Versions) + George Duke Session Outtakes, the end of CD4 + all of CD5: 10 Piece / Petite Wazoo (Live)The musicians largely consisted of players new to Zappa, with a few familiar faces in the mix, and included folks like drummer Aynsley Dunbar and bassist Alex “Erroneous” Dmochowski, who Dunbar brought into the fold, longtime Mothers keyboardists George Duke and Don Preston, guitarist Tony Duran, percussionists Alan Estes, Bob Zimmitti and a whole host of brass and woodwind players that included the likes of Sal Marquez, Malcolm McNab, Kenny Shroyer, Earle Dumler, and Tony “Bat Man” Ortega. By the time the band arrived in San Francisco, the next phase of Frank Zappa’s life was already beginning to unfold and selections such as Montana, Father O’Blivion and Cosmik Debris, from 1973’s Overnite Sensation album, had found their way onto the setlist. No moss ever grew on Frank Zappa! Tony "Batman" Ortega - woodwinds ( "Think It Over (The Grand Wazoo)", "For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)")

Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers, the comprehensive 4CD + Blu-Ray Audio set boasts unreleased alternate takes of almost every composition recorded during the album sessions, Vault mix session outtakes and oddities, and also includes the full final show of the 10-piece tour, recorded at the famous Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on December 15, 1972. Bob Zimmitti - percussion ( "Think It Over (The Grand Wazoo)", "For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)") During this time, he managed, among other things, to assemble an ensemble that quenched his thirst and desire to work with a large “Electric Orchestra.” Ultimately, he contracted a 20-piece group for recording sessions and an eight-city tour. Shortly thereafter, a scaled down 10-piece configuration, now popularly known as the “ Petite Wazoo” toured for almost two months. After all was said and done, Zappa finished the experiment with two albums in the can — Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo — plus two tours and an archive of show masters in his vault. It was a monumental feat for a guy with a cast on his leg and a conductor’s baton in his hand. The Waka/Wazoo Box Set features a complete historical run-down of the entire project, featuring alternate takes of almost every composition recorded during the album sessions, along with Vault mix session outtakes and oddities. Frank Zappa had spent the early weeks of 1972 in hospital, recovering from the injuries he sustained after being pushed from the stage at London’s Rainbow Theatre by a crazed fan on 10 th December 1971. He spent the first half of 1972 in a wheelchair, constrained in a leg brace and, confined to his home in Los Angeles, he started to set out the framework for the next stages of his career, including producing doo-wop band Ruben And The Jets (named after Zappa’s own 1968 doo-wop project) and taking steps to realise his dream of working with a large “Electric Orchestra.”Finally, during the album recording sessions at Paramount Studios, FZ worked with George Duke on some of Duke’s solo material. These demos were produced by Zappa, who also played guitar. Earl Dumler - woodwinds ( "Think It Over (The Grand Wazoo)", "For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)") Zappa created Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo under extenuating circumstances. After being pushed offstage by a fan during a concert at London's Rainbow Theatre, he spent months recovering at his Los Angeles home. The wheelchair-bound Zappa assembled a 20-piece group of musicians known as the Electric Orchestra for recording sessions and an eight-city tour. He later scaled down to a 10-piece Petite Wazoo orchestra and launched another nearly two-month tour with the group. Matrix / Runout (Disc 4): 4859464 [2 x Universal Logo] AM83838-01 manufactured by optimal media GmbH

Joann Caldwell McNab - woodwinds ( "Think It Over (The Grand Wazoo)", "For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)") Though it was the second of the pair to be released, in no way is The Grand Wazoo a collection of outtakes or off-cuts – it’s a fully-formed album with a strong identity. Waka/Jawaka swims in similar jazz fusion waters, but it uses a small jazz combo, The Grand Wazoo saw Zappa embracing a big band with a clarity of purpose. Waka/Wazoo” is a Comprehensive 4-CD + Blu-ray Audio box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mothers Of Invention/Hot Rats/Grand Wazoo experience from 1972.The Wazoo 20-piece band seems to have been only captured on tape once, or at least that’s all that has been found in the Vault thus far. Included in the box set is Zappa’s sonically treated edited master of “ Approximate” from the September 24 th, 1972 Boston Music Hall show. The version is unreleased, although the full Boston performance was released in 2007 as Wazoo. Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers, the comprehensive 4CD + Blu-Ray Audio set boasts unreleased alternate takes of almost every composition recorded during the album sessions, Vault mix session outtakes and oddities, and also includes the full final show of the 10-piece tour, recorded at the famous Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on December 15, 1972. Matrix / Runout (Disc 3): 4859463 [2 x Universal Logo] AM83837-01 manufactured by optimal media GmbH Rehearsals started for the album recording sessions sometime in late March/early April and once the material was honed to his satisfaction, Zappa and crew decamped to Paramount Studios where recording began on April 10, 1972. By the end of the month, Zappa, who handled production, guitar and conducting duties, had recorded the bulk of two albums, the jazz-influenced Waka/Jawaka (intended by Zappa as a sequel to Hot Rats), recorded with a lineup of six to nine musicians, and the epic and ambitious jazz-fusion masterwork, The Grand Wazoo, recorded with a larger ensemble ranging from eight to as many as 20 musicians.

After all was said and done, Zappa finished the experiment with two albums in the can – Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo – plus two tours and an archive of show masters in his Vault. It was a monumental feat for a guy with a cast on his leg and a conductor’s baton in his hand.Mixed by: Craig Parker Adams, Erich Gobel ( surround mix), Karma Auger ( surround mix), John Polito ( Petit Wazoo – Live) Also, an important note of warning as you start to explore this disc: the 96 kHz, 24-bit Stereo (original album) mix is set significantly louder than the surround mixes. So if you are switching in real time between the different options (as I frequently do), be sure to lower your volume settings accordingly before switching to it! That is a disc mastering issue which probably should be fixed for subsequent pressings.