''The Yellow Shark'' is an album of orchestral music by American musician

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 ...

. Released in November 1993, it was the last Zappa album released in his lifetime, almost exactly a month before he died of the

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

from which he had suffered for several years. It features live recordings from the

Ensemble Modern Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries. Hi ...

's 1992 performances of Zappa's compositions. In the album's notes, Zappa describes ''The Yellow Shark'' as one of the most fulfilling projects of his career, and as the best representation of his orchestral works. Singer

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

has listed it as one of his favourite albums, commenting: "The ensemble is awe-inspiring. It is a rich pageant of texture in colour. It's the clarity of his perfect madness, and mastery. Frank governs with

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

on his left and

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

on his right. Frank reigns and rules with the strangest tools."

History

In 1991, Zappa was chosen to be one of four featured composers at the Frankfurt Festival in 1992 (the others were

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

and

Alexander Knaifel Alexander Aronovich Knaifel (russian: Алекса́ндр Аро́нович Кна́йфель; also ''Knayfel'', ''Knayfel'', or ''Kneifel''; born 28 November 1943 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan) is a Russian composer known for his operas ''The Gho ...

). Zappa was approached by the German chamber ensemble,

, which was interested in playing his music for the event. Although ill, Zappa invited them to Los Angeles for rehearsals of new compositions and new arrangements of older material. In addition to being satisfied with the ensemble's performances of his music, Zappa also got along with the musicians, and the concerts in Germany and Austria were set up for the fall. The Canadian choreographer

Édouard Lock Édouard Lock (born March 3, 1954 in Morocco) is a Canadian dance choreographer and the founder of the Canadian dance group, La La La Human Steps. Career La La La Human Steps Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer Édouard Lock began hi ...

, the Canadian dancer

Louise Lecavalier Louise Lecavalier Order of Canada, OC (born October 3, 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian dancer known as one of the icons of Canadian contemporary dance. Biography Lecavalier was born and raised in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She began her p ...

, and his company

La La La Human Steps La La La Human Steps was a Québécois contemporary dance group in Canada, active between 1980 and 2015, known for its energetic, acrobatic style involving fast-paced and athletic physical contact. Its signature move was the barrel jump – a grav ...

were part of the show. In September 1992, the concerts went ahead as scheduled, but Zappa could only appear at two in Frankfurt due to illness. At the first concert, he conducted the opening "Overture", and the final "

G-Spot Tornado "G-Spot Tornado" is a piece of programmed Synclavier DMS music written by American musician Frank Zappa, released in 1986 on his instrumental album ''Jazz from Hell''. History "G-Spot Tornado" was written by Frank Zappa. He thought that the compos ...

" as well as the theatrical "Food Gathering in Post-Industrial America, 1992" and "Welcome to the United States" (the remainder of the program was conducted by the ensemble's regular conductor

Peter Rundel Peter Rundel (born 1958 in Friedrichshafen), is a German violinist and conductor. A recipient of the Grand Prix du Disque in 1998 for his recording of Jean Barraqué's complete works, he became conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flan ...

). The first concert was aired live by German pay TV channel

Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

, presented by the station's "Special" host Christian Eckert. Zappa received a 20-minute ovation. It would become his last professional public appearance, as the cancer was spreading to such an extent that he was in too much pain to enjoy an event that he otherwise found "exhilarating". Recordings from the concerts appeared on ''The Yellow Shark'', Zappa's last release during his lifetime. The posthumous album ''

Everything Is Healing Nicely ''EIHN (Everything Is Healing Nicely)'' is an album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released through the Zappa Family Trust in December 1999. It features recordings made with the Ensemble Modern in preparation for ''The Yellow Shark'' (1993). The r ...

'', released in 1999, contains recordings from around the same time, made in preparation for the performances documented on ''The Yellow Shark''.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians * Frank Zappa – conductor, producer, performer * Peter Rundel – conductor,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

* Dietmar Wiesner –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

* Catherine Milliken –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

english horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

bass oboe The bass oboe or baritone oboe is a double reed instrument in the woodwind family. It is essentially twice the size of a regular (soprano) oboe so it sounds an octave lower; it has a deep, full tone somewhat akin to that of its higher-pitched cou ...

didjeridu The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

* Roland Diry –

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 ...

Wolfgang Stryi Wolfgang Stryi (4 March 1957 – 22 February 2005) was a German composer, bass and double bass clarinetist, tenor saxophone player and a permanent member of the Ensemble Modern. Life and career Stryi was born in Rottweil. For twenty-four years, ...

–

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 ...

tenor saxophone 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 ...

contrabass clarinet The contrabass clarinet (also pedal clarinet, after the pedals of pipe organs) and contra-alto clarinet are the two largest members of the clarinet family that are in common usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are transposing instruments pitched ...

* Veit Scholz –

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 ...

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...

* Franck Ollu, Stefan Dohr –

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

* William Formann, Michael Gross –

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

piccolo trumpet The piccolo trumpet is the smallest member of the trumpet family, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B piccol ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Uwe Dierksen –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

soprano trombone The soprano trombone (sometimes called a slide trumpet, especially in jazz) is the soprano instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. It is usually pitched in B an octave above the tenor trombone, and has a bore, bell and mouthpiec ...

* Michael Svoboda –

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" ...

alphorn The alphorn or alpenhorn or alpine horn is a labrophone, consisting of a straight several-meter-long wooden natural horn of conical bore, with a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece. Traditionally the Alphorn was made of one single piece, or two parts ...

* Daryl Smith –

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

* Hermann Kretzschmar –

celeste Celeste may refer to: Geography * Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada * Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas ** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

, voices,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Ueli Wiget –

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

* Rumi Ogawa-Helferich –

cymbalom The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Andreas Böttger –

* Detlef Tewes –

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

* Jürgen Ruck –

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Ellen Wegner –

* Mathias Tacke, Claudia Sack –

* Hilary Sturt –

, voices * Friedemann Dähn –

violoncello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

* Thomas Fichter –

contrabass Contrabass (from it, contrabbasso) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchest ...

, Fichter

electric upright bass The electric upright bass (EUB) is an instrument that can perform the musical function of a double bass. It requires only a minimal or 'skeleton' body to produce sound because it uses a pickup and electronic amplifier and loudspeaker. Therefore, ...

– main performer Technical staff * Todd Yvega –

synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1 ...

assistance * Spencer Chrislu – engineer, mixing * Harry Andronis – engineer * Brian Johnson – art direction, design * Hans Jörg Michel – photography * Henning Lobner – photography * Dave Dondorf – engineer, coordination * Jesse Di Franco – art direction, design * Mark Beam – Yellow Shark Sculpture * Ali N. Askin – arranger * Fritz Brinckmann – photography * Rip Rense – liner notes booklet

Charts

:''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' (United States)

Notes

References

External links

The Yellow Shark

The Yellow Shark press conference
with Frank Zappa and Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1992-07-21 5:23
The Yellow Shark rehearsals
Alte Oper, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1992-09-16 7:28
The Yellow Shark premiere concert
Alte Oper, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1992-09-17 :29:21 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Shark 1993 live albums Frank Zappa live albums Barking Pumpkin Records albums Live classical albums 1993 classical albums