1970 Jean-Luc Ponty – King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa
King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa (or simply King Kong) is an album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty first released in 1970 on Liberty Records’ World Pacific Records subsidiary label and later released on Blue Note. The album contains numerous selections Zappa had previously recorded either with the Mothers of Invention or under his own name, including:
“King Kong”, originally included on the Mothers’ 1969 album Uncle Meat
“Idiot Bastard Son”, from the Mothers’ 1968 album We’re Only in It for the Money
“Twenty Small Cigars”, from Zappa’s 1970 album Chunga’s Revenge
“America Drinks and Goes Home”, from the Mothers’ 1967 album Absolutely Free
In addition, the track “Music for Electric Violin and Low Budget Orchestra” includes the themes from “Duke of Prunes”, from Absolutely Free, and “Pound for a Brown”, from Uncle Meat. Zappa excised those themes, and everything that followed them, when he later recorded the piece himself under the title “Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra”, which was first released on his 1978 album Studio Tan.
Tracks
1 King Kong (Frank Zappa) 4:54
2 Idiot Bastard Son (Frank Zappa) 4:01
3 Twenty Small Cigars (Frank Zappa) 5:34
4 How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That (Jean-Luc Ponty) 7:16
5 Music For Electric Violin And Low Budget Orchestra (Frank Zappa) 19:24
6 America Drinks And Goes Home (Frank Zappa) 2:39
Biography
Musicians
1 King Kong
Bass | Buell Neidlinger |
Drums | Art Tripp |
Piano | George Duke |
Sax | Ian Underwood |
Violin | Jean-Luc Ponty |
Vibraphone | Gene Estes |
Percussion | Gene Estes |
2 Idiot Bastard Son
Bass | Wilton Felder |
Drums | John Guerin |
Piano | George Duke |
Sax | Ernie Watts |
Violin | Jean-Luc Ponty |
3 Twenty Small Cigars
Bass | Wilton Felder |
Drums | John Guerin |
Piano | George Duke |
Sax | Ernie Watts |
Violin | Jean-Luc Ponty |
4 How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That
Bass | Wilton Felder |
Drums | John Guerin |
Guitar | Frank Zappa |
Piano | George Duke |
Sax | Ernie Watts |
Violin | Jean-Luc Ponty |
5 Music For Electric Violin And Low Budget Orchestra
Bass | Buell Neidlinger |
Bassoon | Don Christlieb |
Drums | Art Tripp |
Piano | George Duke |
Flute | Jonathan Meyer |
Horn | Arthur Maebe |
Horn | Vince DeRosa |
Horn | Gene Cipriano |
Oboe | Gene Cipriano |
Cello | Harold Bemko |
Viola | Milton Thomas |
Violin | Jean-Luc Ponty |
6 America Drinks And Goes Home
Bass | Buell Neidlinger |
Drums | Art Tripp |
Piano | George Duke |
Sax | Ian Underwood |
Violin | Jean-Luc Ponty |
Vibraphone | Gene Estes |
Percussion | Gene Estes |
Liner Notes
Producer – Richard Bock
Arranged By – Frank Zappa (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6)
Conductor – Ian Underwood (Track 5)
Engineer – Dick Kunc
Art Direction, Design – Ron Wolin
Copyright Capitol Records Inc
Phonographic Copyright Capitol Records Inc