Bunk Gardner (born John Leon Guarnera; May 2, 1933 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

) is an American musician who most notably played for the original version of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band c ...

until the group disbanded in 1969. He plays woodwinds and

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

Career

Gardner started playing music at the age of seven by taking piano lessons. When he was a teenager he started playing the tenor sax. In 1959 he played with Bud Wattles & his Orchestra's album ''Themes from the Hip''. Later he played with Joanna & the Playboys in 1962. By late 1966 Gardner had joined

the Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

, playing

and other

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

. The Mothers found success, with '' Absolutely Free'' and ''

We're Only in It for the Money ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left- and righ ...

'' entering the charts. In late 1968 his brother

Buzz Gardner Charles "Buzz" Guarnera (March 23, 1930 – February 1, 2004) was an American trumpet and flugelhorn player. Early life and education Born March 23, 1930 in Cleveland, Ohio, Guarnera started playing music at a very young age. He was influenced in ...

joined the Mothers, staying until the group disbanded a year later. Gardner played with Menage A Trois with Buzz and John Balkin. Later he recorded with

Geronimo Black Geronimo Black was a short-lived hard rock band founded in 1972 by drummer Jimmy Carl Black. He named the group for his youngest son Geronimo. The performers included members of other bands, principally from Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention: * ...

and the Grandmothers. In 1980 Gardner and other members from the Mothers of Invention reunited to form the Grandmothers, recording a few albums and reuniting again in 2002. Gardner has done a few projects with

Don Preston Donald Ward Preston (born September 21, 1932) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist. He is known for working with Frank Zappa from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Biography Preston was born into a family of musicians in Detroit and began st ...

, a member of the Mothers, making a few albums and touring with him. Gardner also plays flute,

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

, and bass and soprano saxes. Don Preston remains Gardner's close friend. In 2010 he recorded Gardner's autobiography (audiobook) "The Bunk Gardner Story" (featuring

), in

Arthur Barrow Arthur Barrow (born February 28, 1952) is a multi-instrumental musician, best known for his stint as a bass guitar player for Frank Zappa in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Early life Barrow was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1952 and grew up in ...

's lotek studio, produced by

Jon Larsen Jon Larsen (born 7 January 1959) is a gypsy jazz guitarist, record producer, painter, and amateur scientific researcher. He is the founder of the group Hot Club de Norvège. In 2007 he received the Buddy Award for his lifelong contribution to ...

for Zonic Entertainment.

Personal life

Gardner married his wife Bonnie in 1977; the couple have two daughters.

Discography

With Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention

* Absolutely Free *

Lumpy Gravy ''Lumpy Gravy'' is the debut solo album by Frank Zappa, written by Zappa and performed by a group of session players he dubbed the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. Zappa conducted the orchestra but did not perform on the album. It ...

* Cruising With Ruben & The Jets *

Uncle Meat ''Uncle Meat'' is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released as a double album in 1969. ''Uncle Meat'' was originally developed as a part of ''No Commercial Potential'', a project which spawned three other albums sharing a con ...

* Burnt Weeny Sandwich *

Weasels Ripped My Flesh ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock group the Mothers of Invention, and the tenth overall by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. It is the second album released after the Mothers disbanded in 1969, preceded by ...

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1'' is a double disc live album by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1988 (see 1988 in music) under the label Rykodisc. It was the beginning of a six-volume, 12-CD set Zappa assembled of live performances ...

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4'' is a two-CD set of live recordings by Frank Zappa, recorded between 1969 and 1988, and released in 1991. Track listing All tracks written by Frank Zappa, except where noted. Personnel Musici ...

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5'' is a double compact disc collection of live recordings (except for "German Lunch" and "My Guitar" which are studio recordings) by Frank Zappa. Disc one comprises performances by The Mothers of Invent ...

Ahead of Their Time ''Ahead of Their Time'' is a live album by The Mothers of Invention. It was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England, on October 25, 1968, and released in 1993 on CD by Barking Pumpkin. It was reissued on Rykodisc in 1995. Performanc ...

Mystery Disc ''Mystery Disc'' is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was released on CD in 1998, compiling tracks that were originally released on two separate vinyl records and included in the mail order ''Old Masters'' box sets, which were released in th ...

Finer Moments ''Finer Moments'' is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was compiled and mastered by Zappa in 1972 and released posthumously in 2012. Overview Some of the tracks from this album have appeared (most of them under another title) on various ot ...

* Road Tapes Venue#1 * The Ark (BTB) * Electric Aunt Jemima (BTB) * Our Man in Nirvana (BTB).

With The Grandmothers

* The Grandmothers (1981) * Fan Club Talk (1981) * Lookin Up Granny's Dress (1983) * A Mother of Anthology (1993) * Who Could Imagine? (1994) * Eating The Astoria (2000)

With Geronimo Black

–

Uni Uni or UNI may refer to: Entertainment *Uni Records, a division of MCA, formally called Universal City Records *"U.N.I.", a song by Ed Sheeran from ''+'' (''Plus'') *Uni, a species in the Neopets Trading Card Game *Uni, a character in the anim ...

– 1972 *

Welcome Back Geronimo Black A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. In some context ...

–

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...

– 1980.

Bunk Gardner solo releases

* It's All Bunk –

Crossfire Productions A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. Si ...

2007 * The Bunk Gardner Story – part one. Zonic Entertainment 2011 * The Bunk Gardner Story – part two. Zonic Entertainment 2011

References

*http://www.united-mutations.com/g/bunk_gardner.htm *http://www.avantmusicnews.com/2010/03/10/don-preston-and-bunk-gardner-on-tour/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Bunk 1933 births Living people Musicians from Cleveland American saxophonists American male saxophonists American rock saxophonists Musicians from Los Angeles American flautists American bassoonists American clarinetists The Mothers of Invention members 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century clarinetists 21st-century flautists