THE DRUMBO CLUB : John French and Art Tripp III

 John French posted this link on his Facebook Page (The Drumbo Club) about the drummers associated with Frank Zappa after talking to fellow percussionist extraordinaire Art Trip III so glad the guys are speaking regularly and they are together/apart two of my very favourites, I could listen to both play separately or together 

John says :

"Had a great talk with Art Tripp yesterday and he mentioned this article that includes info on Ruth Underwood, Ed Mann, and Art."

 

"The first percussionist Zappa hired to tour with the Mothers of Invention was Arthur Dyer Tripp III (b. 1944), who brought an extensive background in classical and jazz percussion to the ensemble. Tripp grew up in Pittsburgh, where he received early percussion training from Stanley Leonard, timpanist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Tripp majored in percussion at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra percussionist Edward Weubold, and his experience included six months working with Composer-in-Residence John Cage.8 Tripp played with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Cincinnati Opera, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Dayton Philharmonic before moving to New York to study with Fred Hinger at the Manhattan School of Music.9 

While in New York, he became the timpanist with the MSM orchestra, played in Paul Price’s percussion ensemble, taught percussion at Brooklyn Community College, and tutored private students at his residence. Tripp came to Zappa’s attention in early 1968 while the Mothers of Invention were in the process of recording Cruisin’ with Ruben and the Jets (1968) and Uncle Meat (1969) at Apostolic Studios in New York City, with Tripp ultimately sharing drumset credits on those albums with Jimmy Carl Black. When the Mothers relocated back to Los Angeles later in 1968, Tripp joined them, remaining with the band until late 1969 when Zappa disbanded the original Mothers of Invention in favor of a short-lived “power quartet” that included Zappa, Tripp, Ian Underwood, and Jeff Simmons.10 

Example 1: Art Tripp’s live setup, 1968–69.12

 

During Tripp’s time in the Mothers of Invention, Zappa showed a desire to further integrate percussive sounds and textures into his compositions. Tripp’s background both in classical music and jazz made him an ideal performer for bringing Zappa’s ideas to fruition. Selected tracks from Uncle Meat such as “The Dog Breath Variations,” “The Uncle Meat Variations,” the first section of “Project X,” and “Sakuji’s March” showcase dense layers of tightly-woven mallet lines with Tripp recording on vibraphone in tandem with Ruth Komanoff on marimba.11 “The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue” from Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970) and Zappa’s arrangements of “Wedding Dress Song” and “Handsome Cabin Boy” utilize layered mallet percussion overdubs performed by Tripp alone. Tripp’s live setup is shown in Example 1. 

Tripp also spent many hours in the studio recording improvisations using a circular setup that included five brake drums, boo-bams, marimba, temple blocks, and several other instruments. The setup was inspired by Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Zyklus” (1959), which Tripp had played as part of his undergraduate degree recital in 1966.13 These improvisations appear on several tracks from the Uncle Meat sessions such as “Nine Types of Industrial Pollution,” “Shoot You Percussion Item,” and “Enigmas 1 Thru 5.”14 "

The Mallets of Invention: A listening guide to Frank Zappa’s percussionists

by Dr. Kyle Forsthoff and Dr. Michael Yonchak 

here . . .

so cool . . . . .