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The Ed Palermo Big Band At The Iridium Jazz Club in NYC

Those who might be surprised to hear Frank Zappa’s name mentioned in a jazz context (or classical, for that matter) need only investigate the sophisticated arrangements of so many of the instrumental compositions that peppered his huge catalogue of recorded works, especially in the years following the Hot Rats album, and certainly from the Waka Jawaka / Grand Wazoo period forward (not to mention his still-releasing posthumous works). Sometimes too well-hidden among the humor, social satire and general craziness of Zappa’s music was an undercurrent of brilliant composition – compositions sometimes sophisticated beyond the understanding of the many of us that just came ‘for the show,’ but so well-informed in the way of the hook that they stayed with us until we began to really hear and understand what was going on.

Thankfully, none of this was lost on Ed Palermo, who – by his own admission – is basically a rock and roll fan that grew up loving not only the music of Frank Zappa, but The Beatles and Steven Sondheim as well. Apparently, such melodic, structural, and harmonic influences not only served to entertain young Palermo but to establish a solid understanding of the way music works, producing one outstanding arranger and big band leader.  

The Iridium is one of New York City’s most well-known and respected jazz clubs, having been the performing home of the late Les Paul, who used to be a fixture on stage there every Monday night. October 21, 2009, on a clear, mild, pristine Manhattan evening, sixteen musicians filled that same stage to pay tribute to another musician of a different generation – Frank Zappa - whose legacy continues to gain him the respect and legitimacy that he seemed to eschew while he was still with us.

Onstage at The Iridium, guiding his talented troupe of musicians through their paces, it’s obvious that Palermo is enjoying every minute of what’s happening – as much a fan of the music as anyone of us in the audience. Ultimately, it was all about the performance (after all – “music is the best,” as Frank used to say), and Palermo conducted the band like a well-oiled machine, guiding the gifted players through every twist, turn and stop-on-a-dime break. Picking up his own sax only for one number (a delightfully expanded rendition of “Evelyn, a Modified Dog”), Palermo played gracious host and musical tour-guide through the evening as he carefully sited not just song titles, but the albums they first appeared on, occasionally reminiscing about when he first heard them. 

Showing obvious respect for the original recordings, Palermo’s arrangements don’t discard the rock elements of the often guitar-heavy original recordings but tweak them toward a big band sound – a sound that Zappa obviously loved himself, as evidenced by his Grand Wazoo period. That right alongside Zappa (which did make up the bulk of the material) we were treated to a bit of Brahms, King Crimson, Sondheim and Procol Harum, speaks well not only of Palermo’s arranging skills, but of his instincts in designing a musical set. Yes, this pretty much defined the audience demographic….  

The band – acoustic piano, electric keyboard, electric bass, guitar and drums, augmented by no less than ten woodwind and brass players blowing an ever-changing combination of flutes, piccolos, alto, tenor, and soprano saxes, trombones, trumpets – was musically tight and stylistically elastic. Responding to Palermo’s cues, the band went from the subtle, smoky jazz of “Little Umbrellas” to the full-throttle brass assault of “King Kong,” to the lounge-y but legitimately big band rendition of “America Drinks and Goes Home” (complete with Sinatra-esque vocals by guitarist Bruce McDaniel). Aside from handling the Zappa material to any fan’s satisfaction, the flexible combo performed a suitably crunchy “21st Century Schizoid Man,” a stirring “My Friends,” from Sweeny Todd, and a heroic-sounding version of Procol Harum’s “A Salty Dog.” 

Zappa fanatics were treated to lesser-known works like “Run Home Slow” as well as favorites like the  challenging “Black Page,” and even Absolutely Free’s signature “Suzy Creamcheese,” featuring bandleader Ed delightfully sharing the vocals with McDaniel. Other highlights of the show included “Florentine Pogen,” “Echidna’s Arf (of You),” a mash-up of Santana’s “Jingo,” Ellington’s “Caravan,” and “G-Spot Tornado,” and a nice musical exploration based of the chord structure of “Montana,” and featuring the song’s familiar complex, melodic runs, all perfectly executed.

In some ways a mirror-image of Zappa in terms of his stage demeanor, Ed Palermo presents this intricately-performed big band music in a spirit of warmth and genuine enthusiasm. Ed Palermo serves up Zappa’s music in such a palatable form that it becomes accessible even to those who would otherwise dismiss this wonderful work as absurdist rock & roll excess.
I think even Frank would approve of The Palermo Variations.

Bert Saraco 
Photos: Bert Saraco, for Express Image Photography