ensemble 10:10

February 2001, british Ensemble 10:10 collaborated with the Muffin Men to play Frank Zappa's music, performing "When Worlds Collide" in Liverpool, UK.

They repeated the concert in November 2003. Around the same time, they released the material on album.
The concert was performed again, twice, in June 2004.

discography

concerts

• 2001/02/25 concert liverpool, uk
  • "When Worlds Collide", by The Muffin Men + Ensemble 10:10
    
• 2003/11/05 concert 'the ocean', london, uk
  • "When Worlds Collide", by The Muffin Men + Ensemble 10:10
    
• 2003/11/06 concert 'the guild hall', preston, uk
  • "When Worlds Collide", by The Muffin Men + Ensemble 10:10
    
• 2004/06/18 concert 'philharmonic hall', liverpool, uk
  • "When Worlds Collide", by The Muffin Men + Ensemble 10:10
    
• 2004/07/27 concert at the "glastonbury festival", in the afternoon on the jazz world stage
  • "When Worlds Collide", by The Muffin Men + Ensemble 10:10

 a special evening of frank zappa music, with works by edgard varèse & igor stravinsky... recorded live in the paul mccartney auditorium, liverpool institute for performing arts, england.

the muffin men

• peaches en regalia

• blessed relief

• marqueson's chicken

ensemble 10:10

• alien orifice

the muffin men & ensemble 10:10

• little house i used to live in

• the big medley - part 1

• the big medley - part 2

• sleeping in a jar/holiday in berlin

• igor's boogie/exercise #4/uncle meat

• king kong - part 1

• king kong - part 2

part of the 2001 concert was broadcast on dutch 4fm radio show by charles pater and co de kloet.

• 2001/06/16    4fm-radio special, the netherlands

random notes

Muffin Men and Ensemble 10:10 play tremendous concert in The Ocean, London
The Muffin Men and Ensemble 10:10, which feature some members of The Liverpool Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, played an excellent concert on Wednesday November 5th in London. In the marvellous auditorium ‘The Ocean’ in Hackney, London, which really looks something like a submarine, both bands got together again and got the audience go out of their minds. At the end half of the audience was jumping and dancing or at least tried to. The concert started off with the Muffin Men warming up with some unexpected, more jazzy Zappa-tunes like ‘Eat that question’, ‘Peaches en regalia’, ‘Marqueson’s chicken’ and finally a more rocking ‘Let’s move to Cleveland’. Nice, but nobody got hurt, especially since the Muffin Men, as Zappa did, usually like to blow up the audience with their first few numbers, mostly played furiously while meddling zappa-tunes . Roddie Gillard then proudly announced ‘more serious people’ and Ensemble 10:10 played pieces of Igor Stavinsky, Charles Ives, Conlon Nancarrow and Edgard Varèse. All neatly introduced by Ian Gardiner who was (or played) something of a schoolmaster. Some pieces (e.g. Stravinsky clarinetsolo 3, third ‘postcard’ of Ives) really showed Frank Zappa’s origins. A short piece featuring ‘Igor’s boogie/Exercise#4/Uncle Meat’ showed what was to be expected after the break: sheer beauty and fun.
As if the game was won, both bands showed up with funny heads and indeed all hell broke loose with a piece called ‘Studio Z medley’, anyway that’s what was written on  the first ever program brochure on a muffin concert. It featured ‘Run home slow’/’Take your clothes off when you dance’/’Duke of Prunes’. Carl Bowry, in great shape all night, really showed off on that last one! Then followed ‘Little house I used to live in’ with a marvellous introduction by the ensemble, ‘Little umbrellas’, ‘Big swifty’ (mixed with ‘T’mershi duween’ and ‘Dupree’s paradise) and ‘Alien orifice’. The last two pieces were maybe carefully chosen as ‘Sleeping in a jar/Holiday in Berlin’ and ‘King Kong’ were really outstandig. By then all solists had had their fun, with Andy Frizell and of course Carl Bowry on the front row but even members of the ensemble did their thing! It left the band free to play the all excepted ‘Let’s turn the water black’/ Harry you’re a beast’/’The orange county lumber truck’/’Oh no’ and (!) ‘Lumpy gravy’ tunes in a roaring medley as an encore.  Muffins technically and most moving ‘serious’ gig ever? Fans who couldn’t make the concert can buy the new CD with all the Zappa music that the Muffin Men play together with the Ensemble 10:10.  -- Jos Peeters (with a little help from his friends: Reinier, Beverly and Zjakki)