• Zappa and Zin - A Wine and Music Pairing
• 8:00pm

It's been a while since we did one of our music and wine pairings but we are determined to get started again.  In the past we've produced pairings of wine and music with diverse musical inspiration coming from Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, Led Zepplin, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and many more. 

Now the legendary Frank Zappa gets the City Winery Music and Wine Treatment: ZAPPA AND ZIN will be a live musical performance featuring songs from the full cannon of Zappa's extraordinary legacy of music. From his early days at Studio Z, to the breakout '66 debut album "Freak Out", to Mothers of Invention and finally through his long and storied solo career, Frank Zappa was a truly unique and inspirational force in modern music.

We will pay tribute with a night of tunes performed by the renown The Ed Palermo Big Band. This 16 piece big band led by the charismatic Ed Palermo has won huge acclaim from fans young and old, for the skilled and passionate sonic exploration of Zappa' s work from the instantly recognizable  to the obscure and strange. As the night progresses we will find opportunities to pair Zappa tunes with a selection of world-class wines that pair with the different period and themes of Frank's career.

The wine focus of this educational and entertaining night will be Zinfandel, a truly original American wine with its roots in the Old World, but a product of the hard work of immigrants, just as Zappa created a truly unique and original sound from his humble beginnings. We will also choose some wines that share similar characteristics with Zinfandel.

Your ticket will include the live musical entertainment, the specially curated wines flights and seating for the night. We will be choosing 9-10 wines that will offer you a host of opportunities to experience the magic of  ZAPPA AND ZIN.

ABOUT THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND

Ed Palermo is not a “business as usual” musician. After all, when most people think of “big bands” they think of Duke and Dorsey. But go to see Ed Palermo’s Big Band and you might hear Zappa, Hendrix, the blues of Paul Butterfield & Mike Bloomfield or one of Ed’s own compositions, loaded with lush turns and unexpected twists. Gil Evans wonderfully articulated Palermo’s unusual approach to traditional instrumentation:

“I first heard Ed Palermo’s music in a small club in the SoHo section of Manhattan. He was using the instrumentation of a traditional big band yet his arrangements and songs were anything but that. When I thought the music was going a certain direction, it would suddenly turn a corner. Ed has the ability to keep that important balance between cohesiveness and unpredictability. Ed Palermo’s music is alive and represents now.”

Ed’s interpretation of the music of iconoclastic composer Frank Zappa has brought him wide recognition. His first CD of this material, “the ed palermo big band plays the music of frank zappa”, garnered rave reviews. Downbeat magazine gave the CD a 4-star review. Palermo’s second CD of Zappa material, entitled “Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance”, has been received with equal enthusiasm from publications all over the world, including another rave from Downbeat.

Ed recently brought his band to the National Public radio (NPR) studios in Washington, DC to record a segment that aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition show. The show featured performances mixed with interviews.

Before forming his own band, Ed toured and recorded with many different artists including Aretha Franklin, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Celia Cruz, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Lou Rawls, Melba Moore, Debbie Gibson, The Spinners and countless others. He has written and arranged for the Tonight Show, Maurice Hines and Eddy Fischer. He also arranged the music for a recent James Brown concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

Check out Ed's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/edpalermo

Interview with Ed On Mediocre Music Blog

A sneak preview.