When
Frank Zappa found himself stuck in a wheelchair for most of the year 1972 (after a "fan" pushed him off the stage in December of the previous year), he relieved his band (including singers
Flo & Eddie) of its duties and turned to studio work. One of the first things he tried was to write
jazz fusion music scored for wider instrumentation than an average
rock band.
Waka/Jawaka was conceived in parallel to
The Grand Wazoo, but with fewer players. The album, released in July 1972, is comprised of two extended instrumental pieces and two shorter songs.
"Big Swifty," a theme-and-solos showcase, would become a live favorite, but the highlight came in the form of the orgiastic title track, recorded with ex-
Mothers of Invention keyboardist
Don Preston, trumpeter
Sal Marquez, trombonists
Bill Byers and
Ken Shroyer, saxophonist
Mike Altschul, bassist
Erroneous, and drummer
Aynsley Dunbar. The songs, never performed live, feel like filler material.
Waka/Jawaka was
Zappa's second solo album and is occasionally referred to as "Hot Rats II" (the handles of the faucets on the cover artwork show the words "hot" and "rats" instead of "hot" and "cold"). His writing and recording technique had matured a lot in very little time. The dirty
blues jamming of the 1969 LP was replaced by clean, crisp
jazz improvisations -- no need to say this was also an abrupt change in style from
the Mothers' 1969-1971 incarnation. But this album was only transitional:
Zappa's
big-band stylings would really flourish in
The Grand Wazoo a few months later. ~ Francois Couture