Ruth Underwood

Last updated
Ruth Underwood
Ruth Underwood.jpg
Underwood playing at a Frank Zappa concert, c. 1975
Background information
Birth nameRuth Komanoff
Born (1946-05-23) 23 May 1946 (age 77)
Genres Jazz-rock/rock
Occupation(s) Musician, composer
Instrument(s) Xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, piano, synthesizer
Years active1967–1982
Labels Philips Records, Bell Records, DiscReet Records

Ruth Underwood (born Ruth Komanoff; May 23, 1946) is an American musician best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. She collaborated with the Mothers of Invention from 1968 to 1977.

Contents

Life and career

Underwood began her music training in the classical tradition, studying both at Ithaca College under Warren Benson [1] and at Juilliard under Saul Goodman (timpani) and Morris Goldenberg (percussion). [2] Throughout 1967, she kept a regular attendance at the Garrick Theater in New York City when Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention were the resident band. This resulted in her association with Zappa, beginning in December 1967.[ citation needed ]

Oh, I was probably one of those rather stiff people from the suburbs – I think some of us did understand, and we kept coming back for more, and more, and more. I remember being very upset when they finally finished their stint at the Garrick Theatre and went back to L.A. I felt as if the real heart had gone out of New York City, and I had to get back on with my conservatory music training life, which seemed very dull after this. [3]

In May 1969 she married keyboardist/saxophonist Ian Underwood, a fellow Zappa musician. They divorced in 1986. Professionally she used both her birth name, Ruth Komanoff, and her married name.

Underwood performed in more than 30 recordings with Zappa or Mothers. Examples of her virtuosity can be heard on tracks including the "Rollo Interior interlude" from "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast" on the Apostrophe (') album (1974). Other work is documented on Roxy & Elsewhere (1974) and on "Inca Roads", the opening track on One Size Fits All (1975). Underwood can be heard (though not seen) in the soundtrack of the Zappa movie 200 Motels (1971), [4] and the Dub Room Special DVD (1982), [5] which includes performances from the KCET Special A Token Of His Extreme. She also features in the film of the Roxy performances (2015). [6]

During the 1970s, Underwood collaborated in recording sessions for a small number of other performers, most notably with the band Ambrosia, composer Jasun Martz, and jazz keyboardist George Duke, the last also a veteran of Zappa's bands. [7] Underwood was the drummer with a rock group named the Hamilton Face Band during 1969, [8] appearing on their recordings released by Philips Records [9] and Bell Records. [ citation needed ]

By some accounts, she retired from performing by 1982, concentrating instead on her family.[ citation needed ]

In a 1993 interview she revealed that she played on one final session for Zappa shortly before his death from cancer in December of that year.

A couple of years ago, when I heard that Frank was ill, I called him up. For 14 years we had no contact at all. He invited me to the house and we enjoyed some really nice visits with each other. Last June ('93) he called and asked if he could sample some of my stuff. I was shocked because I hadn't touched a pair of mallets since March of '77. I ended up practicing for 14 hours, which was all the time I could get together in the context of my life now. I spent four days at Frank's house sampling. This was really a miracle for me – that I could be reunited with him and still have something to offer.

In 2008, she commissioned Gordon Stout to write a work for the percussion ensemble Nexus. [10]

She also features in the DVD - DC Collection: Vol. 1 - The Drummers Of Frank Zappa (2009) with Terry Bozzio, Ralph Humphrey, Chester Thompson and Chad Wackerman.

She is the mother of two children, both musicians. [11] She resides in Los Angeles.

Selected discography

Frank Zappa

The Hamilton Face Band

Jasun Murtz and the Neoteric Orchestra

George Duke

Billy Cobham

Ambrosia

Alphonso Johnson

Eye to Eye

Jasun Martz/The Neoteric Orchestra

Malcolm McNab

Movie appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dweezil Zappa</span> American rock guitarist and actor

Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa developed a strong affinity for playing the guitar and producing music. Able to learn directly from guitarists such as Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen, Zappa released his first single at the age of 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mothers of Invention</span> American rock band

The Mothers of Invention was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aynsley Dunbar</span> British drummer (born 1946)

Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Whitesnake, Pat Travers, Sammy Hagar, Michael Schenker, UFO, Michael Chapman, Jake E. Lee, Leslie West, Kathi McDonald, Keith Emerson, Mike Onesko, Herbie Mann and Flo & Eddie. Dunbar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017.

<i>Roxy & Elsewhere</i> 1974 live album by Frank Zappa / The Mothers

Roxy & Elsewhere is a double live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, released on September 10, 1974. Most of the songs were recorded on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Ian Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player, known for his work with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

<i>You Cant Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1</i> 1988 live album by Frank Zappa

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 is a double disc live album by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1988 under the label Rykodisc. It was the beginning of a six-volume, 12-CD set Zappa assembled of live performances throughout his career.

<i>You Cant Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3</i> 1989 live album by Frank Zappa

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 is a double disc live album by Frank Zappa, spanning from December 10, 1971, to December 23, 1984. It was released in 1989.

<i>You Cant Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6</i> 1992 live album by Frank Zappa

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 is the last of six double-disc collection volumes of live performances by Frank Zappa recorded between 1970 and 1988. All of the material on Disc one has a sexual theme. Zappa used the monologue in "Is That Guy Kidding or What?", to ridicule Peter Frampton's album I'm in You with its double entendre title and pop pretensions. Disc two includes performances from Zappa's shows between 1976 and 1981 at the Palladium in New York City, as well as material like "The Illinois Enema Bandit" and "Strictly Genteel" that he frequently used as closing songs at concerts. It was released on October 23, 1992, under the label Rykodisc.

Bruce Lambourne Fowler is an American trombonist and composer. He played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart and in the Fowler Brothers Band. He composes and arranges music for movies, and has been the composer, orchestrator, or conductor for many popular films.

Thomas W. Fowler is an American bass guitarist and musician. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he has played with It's a Beautiful Day, Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ray Charles, Steve Hackett, and many others. His brother Bruce Fowler played trombone in The Mothers and his other brother Walt was also a horn player for Zappa.

Jeffrey Lael Simmons is an American rock musician, best known as a former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Tripp</span> American drummer

Arthur Dyer Tripp III is an American retired musician who is best known for his work as a percussionist with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band during the 1960s and 1970s. Thereafter, Tripp retired from music. He attended an accredited chiropractic college in Los Angeles from 1980 through 1983, graduating with his Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He currently practices in Gulfport, Mississippi.

"Montana" is a song composed by Frank Zappa for his 1973 LP Over-Nite Sensation. The last track on the album is one of Zappa's most famous and renowned compositions. It features backing vocals by Tina Turner and the Ikettes throughout the entire track, notably on the middle and ending sections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama</span>

"My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" is a song written by Frank Zappa and originally recorded by The Mothers of Invention in February 1969 at Criteria Studios (Miami), with overdubs recorded sometime between August and September 1969 at TTG Studios and Whitney Studios. This version was included on their 1970 album Weasels Ripped My Flesh, an LP that included various recordings by the band from 1967 to 1969. A second version was released as a single on the Bizarre and Reprise labels as "My Guitar." Despite the more conventional naming, "My Guitar" did not chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Mann</span> American drummer

Ed Mann is a musician who has been "a drummer and piano dabbler since childhood." He is best known for his mallet percussion performances onstage with Frank Zappa's ensemble from 1977 to 1988, and his appearances on over 30 of Zappa's albums, both studio recordings and with Zappa's band live. Mann also has released a number of CDs as a bandleader and composer.

Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood was an American rock musician notable for playing soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone, tambourine, vocals and vocal sound effects in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. He appeared on all the albums of the original Mothers line-up and the 'posthumous' releases Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh, as well as certain subsequent Zappa albums. He also appeared in the films 200 Motels, Video from Hell and Uncle Meat.

<i>Cheap Thrills</i> (Frank Zappa album) 1998 compilation album by Frank Zappa

Cheap Thrills is a compilation album by Frank Zappa, with material from previously released albums.

<i>You Cant Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2</i> 1988 live album by Frank Zappa

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 is a live album by Frank Zappa. Despite the subtitle 'The Helsinki Concert', the album is not one complete concert, but was, in fact, assembled from two different concerts performed in Helsinki in 1974. The working title for this album was The Helsinki Tapes, a title more accurately reflecting the fact that the album was composed of performances from more than one show. It is the only album of the series You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore that includes only one Frank Zappa Band, and only one location of concert. All other albums mix different bands and different time periods in the stage career of Frank Zappa.

<i>Finer Moments</i> 2012 posthumous album by Frank Zappa

Finer Moments is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was compiled and mastered by Zappa in 1972 and released posthumously in 2012.

<i>Zappa/Erie</i> 2022 box set by Frank Zappa

Zappa/Erie is a live album by Frank Zappa, released posthumously on June 17, 2022. The album is a six CD boxset consisting of several shows performed in the Erie, Pennsylvania area in 1974 and 1976. All the material is previously unreleased, except for roughly ten minutes of audio that appeared on Roxy & Elsewhere (1974) in an edited form.

References

  1. ↑ Wagner, Alan D. (2005). A bio-bibliography of composer Warren Benson. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. pp. 38, 41. ISBN   0-7734-6241-4. OCLC   56905356.
  2. ↑ Wagner, Alan D. (2005). A bio-bibliography of composer Warren Benson. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. p. 358. ISBN   0-7734-6241-4. OCLC   56905356.
  3. ↑ Frank Zappa. The Late Show. London: BBC. July 23, 1993. Event occurs at 19:08. OCLC   263565757.
  4. ↑ "200 Motels".
  5. ↑ "The Dubroom Special".
  6. ↑ "Roxy - The Movie".
  7. ↑ "Ruth Underwood Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More".
  8. ↑ "Hamilton 'Face' Is A Band". The Atlanta Constitution . June 14, 1969. pp.  68 . Retrieved October 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Philips New Releases". Cash Box . April 12, 1969. pp.  28 . Retrieved October 14, 2021– via Archive.org.
  10. ↑ "Gordon Stout: New work for NEXUS (2009)". 11 January 2009. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  11. ↑ Wagner, Alan D. (2005). A bio-bibliography of composer Warren Benson. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. pp. 358–59. ISBN   0-7734-6241-4. OCLC   56905356.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.