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| cover = Zappa Jazz From Hell.jpg
| cover = Zappa Jazz From Hell.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|1986|11|15}}
| released = {{Start date|1986|11}}
| recorded = 1985–1986
| recorded = 1985–1986
| studio = [[Utility Muffin Research Kitchen|UMRK]] (Los Angeles) <small>(except "St. Etienne": May 28, 1982 at Palais des Sports, [[Saint-Étienne]], France)</small>
| studio = [[Utility Muffin Research Kitchen|UMRK]] (Los Angeles) <small>(except "St. Etienne": May 28, 1982 at Palais des Sports, [[Saint-Étienne]], France)</small>
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| next_year = 1987
| next_year = 1987
}}
}}

'''''Jazz from Hell''''' is an [[instrumental]] album whose selections were all composed and recorded by American musician [[Frank Zappa]]. It was released on November 15, 1986, by [[Barking Pumpkin Records]] on [[LP record|vinyl]] and [[Cassette tape|cassette]], and in 1987 by [[Rykodisc]] on CD.
'''''Jazz from Hell''''' is an [[instrumental]] album whose selections were all composed and recorded by American musician [[Frank Zappa]]. It was released in November 1986, by [[Barking Pumpkin Records]] on [[LP record|vinyl]] and [[Cassette tape|cassette]], and in 1987 by [[Rykodisc]] on CD.


''Jazz from Hell'' was Zappa's final studio album released in his lifetime; for the remaining seven years of his life, he would only release live concert albums, although the posthumous ''[[Civilization Phaze III]]'' (1994) was completed shortly before his death.
''Jazz from Hell'' was Zappa's final studio album released in his lifetime; for the remaining seven years of his life, he would only release live concert albums, although the posthumous ''[[Civilization Phaze III]]'' (1994) was completed shortly before his death.


Zappa produced [[music video]]s for the songs "[[G-Spot Tornado]]" and "Night School". "G-Spot Tornado" features footage he shot in 1961 at a county fair, as well as some 1959 footage of [[Captain Beefheart]] and his family.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKv3BxCzPF4|title=Frank Zappa on Nightlife with David Brenner (1987)|date=July 2, 2016|accessdate=November 15, 2024|via=YouTube}}</ref> "Night School" is a clay animation piece by Bruce Bickford.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjXyB6dY3WA|title=Frank Zappa The Arsenio Hall Show - February 1, 1989 - From my Master|date=July 23, 2022|access-date=November 15, 2024|via=YouTube}}</ref>
Two [[music videos]] were made for the album: "Night School"'s video featured clips from the making of his 1971 film ''[[200 Motels]]'', and "G-Spot Tornado"'s video featured footage Zappa shot in the early 1960s at a county fair.


==Background==
==Background==
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"Night School" was possibly named for a late-night show that Zappa pitched to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]; the network did not pick it up.
"Night School" was possibly named for a late-night show that Zappa pitched to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]; the network did not pick it up.


"[[G-Spot Tornado]]", assumed by Zappa to be impossible to play by humans, would be performed by [[Ensemble Modern]] on the concert recording ''[[The Yellow Shark]]'' (1993).
"[[G-Spot Tornado]]", assumed by Zappa to be impossible to play by humans,{{citation needed|reason=This position credited to Zappa should be established by a credible source.|date=November 2024}} was performed by [[Ensemble Modern]] on the concert recording ''[[The Yellow Shark]]'' (1993).


==Releases==
==Releases==
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{{Music ratings
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r53181 |title=Jazz from Hell - Frank Zappa &#124; AllMusic |first=L. |last=Planer |work=allmusic.com |year=2011 |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r53181 |title=Jazz from Hell - Frank Zappa|first=L. |last=Planer |website=[[AllMusic]] |year=2011 |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev2 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev2score = 8.0/10<ref name="PF">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/frank-zappa-jazz-from-hell/|title=Frank Zappa: ''Jazz From Hell'' Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Goldner|first=Sam|date=November 19, 2023|access-date=November 19, 2023}}</ref>
| rev2score = 8.0/10<ref name="PF">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/frank-zappa-jazz-from-hell/|title=Frank Zappa: ''Jazz From Hell'' Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Goldner|first=Sam|date=November 19, 2023|access-date=November 19, 2023}}</ref>
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[[Category:Frank Zappa albums]]
[[Category:Frank Zappa albums]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance]]
[[Category:Instrumental albums]]
[[Category:1980s instrumental albums]]
[[Category:Rykodisc albums]]
[[Category:Rykodisc albums]]

Latest revision as of 13:59, 15 November 2024

Jazz from Hell
Studio album with live elements by
Frank Zappa
ReleasedNovember 1986 (1986-11)
Recorded1985–1986
StudioUMRK (Los Angeles) (except "St. Etienne": May 28, 1982 at Palais des Sports, Saint-Étienne, France)
Genre
Length34:26
Label
ProducerFrank Zappa
Frank Zappa chronology
The Old Masters Box II
(1986) 		Jazz from Hell
(1986) 		London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II
(1987)

Jazz from Hell is an instrumental album whose selections were all composed and recorded by American musician Frank Zappa. It was released in November 1986, by Barking Pumpkin Records on vinyl and cassette, and in 1987 by Rykodisc on CD.

Jazz from Hell was Zappa's final studio album released in his lifetime; for the remaining seven years of his life, he would only release live concert albums, although the posthumous Civilization Phaze III (1994) was completed shortly before his death.

Zappa produced music videos for the songs "G-Spot Tornado" and "Night School". "G-Spot Tornado" features footage he shot in 1961 at a county fair, as well as some 1959 footage of Captain Beefheart and his family.[1] "Night School" is a clay animation piece by Bruce Bickford.[2]

Background

[edit]

Frank Zappa explained that the album title was a political reference: "Things in America can be from hell. Right now we have a president from hell (Ronald Reagan), and a National Security Council from hell, so we should add Jazz from Hell also."[3] 1987's Video from Hell, in which the quote is featured, is titled similarly.

All compositions were executed by Frank Zappa on the Synclavier DMS with the exception of "St. Etienne", a guitar solo excerpted from a live performance Zappa gave of "Drowning Witch" from his Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch album, during a concert in Saint-Étienne, France, on his 1982 tour.

"While You Were Art II" is a Synclavier performance based on a transcription of Zappa's improvised guitar solo on the track "While You Were Out" from the album Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981). The unreleased original Synclavier performance was done using only the unit's FM synthesis, while the recording found here was Zappa's "deluxe" arrangement featuring newer samples and timbres.

"Night School" was possibly named for a late-night show that Zappa pitched to ABC; the network did not pick it up.

"G-Spot Tornado", assumed by Zappa to be impossible to play by humans,[citation needed] was performed by Ensemble Modern on the concert recording The Yellow Shark (1993).

Releases

[edit]

In the initial European CD release, the album was featured as the second album on a "two for the price of one compilation," with nine tracks from Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention (1985) on the same disc.

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Pitchfork8.0/10[5]

David Fricke of Rolling Stone wrote that "there is nothing particularly hellish about the eight pieces on the album, though it may have been a bitch to program these densely packed parcels of subdivided rhythms and Chinese-checker themes", also remarking that "it would have been nice to hear Zappa tear up his digital soundscape here and there with a little more real-sound guitar".[6] A retrospective review from Sam Goldner of Pitchfork called the album "a MIDI-powered vision of the uncanny and bizarre future of music", with Goldner writing that "for all its complexity, Jazz from Hell is hardly a serious listen—it squiggles and dashes about like stock music that's broken out of its cage, begging to find new ways to be played with".[5]

Awards

[edit]

Zappa won a 1988 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for this album.

Track listing

[edit]

The music to all selections was composed, and all selections were arranged, by Frank Zappa.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Night School"4:47
2."The Beltway Bandits"3:25
3."While You Were Art II"7:17
4."Jazz from Hell"2:58
Total length:19:17
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."G-Spot Tornado"3:17
6."Damp Ankles"3:45
7."St. Etienne"6:26
8."Massaggio Galore"2:31
Total length:16:31

Personnel

[edit]

On "St. Etienne"

Technical personnel

  • Greg Gorman – cover photo
  • Bob Rice – computer assistant
  • Bob Stone – engineering

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Frank Zappa on Nightlife with David Brenner (1987)". July 2, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2024 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "Frank Zappa The Arsenio Hall Show - February 1, 1989 - From my Master". July 23, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2024 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ de la Fuente, Manuel (2016). "Zappa and His Cultural Legacy" (pp.33-48), Frank Zappa and the And, p.45. Quotes Zappa in Video from Hell. Carr, Paul; ed. Routledge. 2013 Ashgate. ISBN 9781317133155.
  4. ^ Planer, L. (2011). "Jazz from Hell - Frank Zappa". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  5. ^ a b Goldner, Sam (November 19, 2023). "Frank Zappa: Jazz From Hell Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  6. ^ Fricke, D. (2011). "Frank Zappa: Jazz From Hell : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 25, 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
[edit]
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