Hawaii Tribune-Herald Photos: DANIEL NATHANIEL UH-Hilo Jazz Orchestra continues tribute ABOVE: Vincent D’Angelo and Thaddeus O’Connell perform. BELOW: Mayumi Long sings with the jazz orchestra. University of Hawaii at Hilo Jazz Orchestra musical director Trever Veilleux is a huge Frank Zappa fan. It started when he began learning to play guitar at the age of 12. “I had never heard music like that before,” Veilleux recalls. “The way he combined all these complex arrangements with humorous lyrics and guitar playing … I’ve never heard anyone play guitar the way he did.” So, it’s only fitting that Veilleux’s lifelong love of Zappa came with him to the Big Island and became a part of the annual tradition of music concerts at the university. “Zappa released more than 60 albums in his lifetime, so it was really something you could obsess over,” Veilleux says. “It was a huge study for me.” So he says he started throwing in Zappa songs “here and there.” What started as an occasional affair became a full-fledged Zappa tribute concert. “When we did our first tribute in 2013, we did not know if there was an audience for Zappa’s music on the Big Island and we weren’t expecting to sell a lot of tickets,” Veilleux admits. “That concert ended up being our first ever sellout, and By KATIE YOUNG YAMANAKA Special to the Tribune-Herald See ZAPPA Page 9
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