I grew up on FZ & saw him 5 times. Saw some of the greats he had in his band..Napolean Murphy Brock, Captain Beefheart...
It's a crime he died so young. It's also a shame that his "hits" that went commercial painted him differently in the public's eyes than he really was. Personally I think he'll stand the test of time with some of the great composers of the past. A girlfriend I had many years ago had never heard of FZ (she grew up in a rather sheltered world) and happened to be a classical pianist...she's since played in the UK for the Queen and a number of other similar venues in EU & China...also placed very well in Van Cliburn's competition.
..anyway
I played some FZ for her a couple times and even though the music seemed very far from her world she perked up as soon as she heard it..."WHO IS this guy?" She thought he was pretty incredible.
If you're into FZ-once removed you might want to look into the Omibus Wind Ensemble's recordings of FZ compositions...very nice.
http://www.opus3records.com/list.html#Chamber
I'd also put in a vote for Chunga's Revenge, Zoot Allures, I don't think Bongo Fury has been mentioned(excellent), Hot Rats, One Size Fits All, Joe's Garage..., Roxy & Elewhere..others..
It's a crime he died so young. It's also a shame that his "hits" that went commercial painted him differently in the public's eyes than he really was. Personally I think he'll stand the test of time with some of the great composers of the past. A girlfriend I had many years ago had never heard of FZ (she grew up in a rather sheltered world) and happened to be a classical pianist...she's since played in the UK for the Queen and a number of other similar venues in EU & China...also placed very well in Van Cliburn's competition.
..anyway
I played some FZ for her a couple times and even though the music seemed very far from her world she perked up as soon as she heard it..."WHO IS this guy?" She thought he was pretty incredible.
If you're into FZ-once removed you might want to look into the Omibus Wind Ensemble's recordings of FZ compositions...very nice.
http://www.opus3records.com/list.html#Chamber
I'd also put in a vote for Chunga's Revenge, Zoot Allures, I don't think Bongo Fury has been mentioned(excellent), Hot Rats, One Size Fits All, Joe's Garage..., Roxy & Elewhere..others..