Hawaii Tribune-Herald Island Beat Thursday, December 1, 2016 9 ZAPPA From page 7 we got a big standing ovation.” So, Veilleux continues with the tradition he started four years ago, and the UH-Hilo Jazz Orchestra is set to return to the stage Dec. 7-8 with an all-new show of great Zappa music in the fourth annual Frank Zappa Tribute Concert at the UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center. “We can always come up with a new show because Zappa was so prolific,” says Veilleux, who has been directing the orchestra for eight years. “As long as I’m having fun, the musicians are having fun and the audience is having fun, we decided we will keep going with it.” The show is just in time to mark the 50th anniversary of Zappa’s debut album “Freak Out!” The concert will feature songs exclusively by Zappa, including some from “Freak Out!” such as “Hungry Freaks Daddy” and “Trouble Every Day.” “Frank Zappa was a brilliant social commentator and a song like ‘Trouble Every Day’ with lyrics of racial violence, social injustice and sensationalist journalism is just as relevant today as when it was released in 1966,” Veilleux says. “Because 2016 has been so crazy, we decided to include more of Frank’s political songs in this year’s show.” Also in the program are songs from the albums “You Are What You Is,” “Bongo Fury,” “We’re Only In It For the Money” and more. “Frank wrote a huge variety of music,” Veilleux says. “He did classical, jazz and rock ’n’ roll. For this concert, we are focusing on the jazz and rock side.” The UH-Hilo Jazz Orchestra includes more than 25 singers and musicians with a large horn and rock ’n’ roll rhythm section. You’ll even hear a marimba. The most of the band members are returning players as well, and this year there are two students from Waiakea High School who are sitting in with the band as part of their senior project. There are four vocalists who will enhance the instrumentals this year: Joshua Kalima, Josh Timmons, Mayumi Long and Payton Meyer. Timmons and Meyer also double on trumpet and saxophone, respectively. Veilleux says he tries to match the songs he chooses each year with the individual player’s abilities. “I want to showcase the students — both the instrumentalists and the vocalists — but I also want to have a message that we get there,” he says. “So I picked some of my favorites and some of the students’ favorites for this concert.” The music, Veilleux says, is difficult. “Zappa always had amazing musicians in his bands, and he would push them to their limits with very challenging compositions,” Veilleux says. “The students in the UH-Hilo Jazz Orchestra have the difficult task of realizing these compositions on their own instruments. They work incredibly hard over the course of the semester to bring our audience a tight, professional sounding show.” For documentary filmmaker Steven Roby, who grew up in San Francisco during the “psychedelic hippie era,” the music of Frank Zappa is no stranger. In fact, when he came to the Big Island and discovered there was an actual tribute to the late musician, he, “in Zappa terms, ‘freaked out.’” “It seemed to me that this was a rather odd place for this sort of thing to happen,” recalls Roby of why he was interested in making a documentary about the tributes. “I’m fascinated that the students at UH-Hilo are so open to Zappa music because it’s very complex,” says Roby, who also is the author of three books about guitarist Jimi Hendrix. “There are constant time changes and so many ways to play a note that isn’t in the sheet music. To put this on young students … that, in itself, is like, who can do that?” It’s hard for Roby to describe, he says. “It’s more than a Frank Zappa tribute. If you keep an open mind and just watch the production that Professor Trever is putting on, that alone is worth the price of admission. He hand picks the selections that I think are palatable to any audience.” The annual tribute concerts have quickly become an audience favorite and a second show had to be added to accommodate the demand. Veilleux encourages even those who are unsure about the music of Zappa to take a chance and come see the concert because they won’t be disappointed. “I think one of the most common comments I get is, ‘I’ve never heard of Zappa’s music or I’ve never gotten into his music, but I loved this show and I’ll be back next year.’” Veilleux says if you come to this show, you’ll get something that’s so much more like a rock concert and not like a typical “university band recital.” The musicians are standing up, moving around and having fun, and the audience picks up on the high energy. Frank Zappa “We’ve learned that it’s not just Zappa fans that enjoy these concerts — we have a whole contingent of folks who come back year after year that previously could not even name one Frank Zappa song,” Veilleux says. Tickets for the UH-Hilo Jazz Orchestra concert are (open seating) $10 general, $7 discounted, $5 students with valid ID and for children 17 and under. Advance ticket purchase is recommended. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the box office at 932-7490 or visit www. artscenter.uhh.hawaii. edu.
ib
To see the actual publication please follow the link above