LITTLE DOTS

The crux of the biscuit #1 Little dots is the fellow released to Imaginary Diseases (released in 2005) and presents live recordings by the famous Petit Wazoo group recorded live in November and December 1972. The musicians have been part of the short lived Grand Wazoo orchestra, that did only a couple of shows in September 1972, The only newcomer being Gary Barone who replaced Sal Marquez on trumpet. Contrary to the Grand Wazoo this 10 piece band had never recorded any studio material and a bigger part of the tracks are extended jams with various solos, the major exception is the complete 3 part version of Rollo, which Zappa never played live again, an interesting composition that would partly reappear later in Greggery Peccary.

The early version of Cosmic Debris is interesting for historical reasons but there are a couple of far more interesting versions. Little dots, even so the sheet is printed on the inside cover, is merely a composition but a lead sheet for improvisation. The version here contains a long slide solo by Tony Duran followed by a shorter solo by Zappa himself, both not really breathtaking. The Kansas City Shuffle appeared in another form already on Imaginary Diseases and is quite funny with Zappa asking the audience in the middle of the song in which style they wanted the track to end , the audience choosing a boogie. Now the major part of the CD is taken by the last track recorded in Columbia SC and the story of the concert is told by Malcom Mc Nabb in the liner notes: drummer Jim Gordon and trumpet player Gary Barone were arrested backstage by the police shortly before the concert for drug possession leaving the band to play without these two musicians.

The support act having been Tim Buckley, Zappa asked his drummer Maury Baker to sit in with the band, which for obvious reasons reduced the material to non written impros. Zappa announced the situation to, the audience (not mentioning drugs so) in the beginning and I must say the result is rather good , surely linked to the drumming skills of Maury Baker. Especially the second longer part, an extended jam does not get boring and contains a good solo by Zappa and some dynamic riffing by the brass section.

All in all thanks to Rollo and the second part of Columbia SC, I find this release superior to Imaginary Diseases but IMO the interesting material from this band would have fit on one CD.

3,5 Stars

This is the companion piece to Imaginary Diseases, and like that release offers a selection of recordings from the so-called "Petit Wazoo" tour of late 1972. Following the earlier "Grand Wazoo" concerts with a band of 20 musicians conducted by Zappa (who also contributed guitar), the Petit Wazoo segment of the 1972 tour trimmed the numbers back to a leaner but still fairly expansive 10, but the tighter lineup is still able to convey a big, impressive sound.

The opening number is an early pass on Cosmik Debris, which would later get a studio release on Apostrophe, and perhaps this is the hidden key to what was going on with the Petit Wazoo - Zappa was using it to find a means of attaining something like the polished, ornate sound of The Grand Wazoo (and Hot Rats, which via Waka/Jawaka was the immediate inspiration for the Grand Wazoo era) within the confines of a manageable band lineup. From there on out we get into stranger territory, but it's never less than compelling.

Within a few months after these gigs, not only would Zappa feel able to do full rock band-style tours (the Grand and Petit Wazoo tours were constructed in part to allow Zappa to sit down when he needed to, since he wasn't yet fully steady on his feet after his injuries of December 1971) but he'd also have put together a new incarnation of the Mothers and begin the run of albums which, starting with Over-Nite Sensation, really updated his sound for the mid-1970s and added a level of precision and technicality that prior backing bands had struggled to attain. The road there leads through here, and Little Dots illustrates this nicely, as well as being a fine listen in its own right.