OK, I'm sending this off to Ted.
I've also hopinated the vine, keeping it the order that the requests
were submitted as best I could. If I've made any mistakes or if anyone
has a better order, please correct me.
Ted B - (US) << monastic3@ - (USA) << skipsign - (US)
<< john g in kansas - (US) << del (Ohio, USA) << Jc (BC,
Can) << nick ullmannick@ (UK) << r2daft2 leswatts@ - (UK) <<
Darko ( Croatia ) <<
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Originally seeded on Dime - I've made no changes to the files, jump on
the seed folks
Frank Zappa & Jean-Luc Ponty
Festival de Valbonne
July 25th,
1970
source: audience recording
1. tuning up (1:21)
2. jam 1 (16:04)
3. King Kong (17:22)
4.
jam 2 (8:09)
5. jam 3 (3:40)
Frank Zappa - guitar
Jean-Luc Ponty - violin
Alby Cullaz - bass
Aldo Romano - drums
The Valbonne festival was organised by Claude Rousseau, who had organised
the Bourget festival (near Paris) the previous March.
The programme, as announced in late June, was as follows :
July 23rd
: Iron Butterfly, Warm Dust, Swegas & Moving Gelatine Plates
July 24th
: Gong, Brigitte Fontaine, Amon Duul II & Red Noise
July 25th :
Zappa/Ponty, King Harvest & Ame Son
It seemed like it was going to be a great Summer for lovers of rock
music, with no less than three major festivals announced in the South of
France for late July and early August : in addition to Valbonne, there was
another one in Aix-en-Provence on August 1st-3rd, organised by trendy fashion
designer Jean Bouquin, as well as the follow-up to the 1969 Amougies festival
by Jean Karakos, in Biot, beginning on August 5th.
However, around mid July it all went wrong : all three festivals were
banned by the authorities, who used the risk of forest fires as an excuse. In
the event, they did go ahead, but in this pre-Internet age lack of reliable
information ensured that attendance was well below expectations, and that the
promoters lost a lot of money. Many bands weren't paid or refused to play, and
in the case of Biot the event ended prematurely, degenerating into a riot.
The Zappa/Ponty jam was expected to be the highlight of Valbonne. However
it didn't turn out quite as planned either. According to Ponty, Zappa was
supposed to come with the new incarnation of the Mothers of Invention, but
turned up on his own, Amougies-style ! A pick-up band had to be assembled at
short notice, and the duo ended up sharing the stage with two noted French
jazz players, drummer Aldo Romano and bassist Alby Cullaz.
As far as I know, this is the first time this performance has been heard
since the event. Once again, we have the intrepid JJB to thank for preserving
the moment for posterity. Amougies was the beginning of his taping exploits;
Valbonne was the end - and what an end it was !
(Technical note: the sound quality on this is significantly better than
the Amougies recording - JJB had upgraded his recording equipment in the
meantime)
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Frank Zappa
Mothers of Invention
7-Aug 1971,
Pauley Pavilion,
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Thought to be sides 3 & 4 (not necessarily in that order) of
Just Another Band From L.A.
1. "An Easy Substitute For Eternity Itself"
Don's Solo
Ian's Solo
Aynsley's
Solo
Frank's Solo
2. Billy The Mountain (cont.)
Studebacher Hoch
The Conclusion
3. The Subcutaneous
Peril