The Black Page

 ( 1978 Songs ) 

" The Black Page #1" is a piece by American composer Frank Zappa known for being extraordinarily difficult to play. Originally written for the drum kit and melodic percussion (as " The Black Page Drum Solo"), the piece was later rearranged in several versions, including the "easy teenage New York version" (commonly referred to as " The Black Page #2") and a so-called "New-age music version", among others.

Drummer Terry Bozzio said of the piece:

On the double live album Zappa in New York (recorded 12/1976, released 3/1978), Zappa noted the "statistical density" of the piece. It is written in common time with extensive use of , including tuplets inside tuplets (nested tuplets). At several points there is a quarter note tuplet () in which each beat is counted with its own tuplet of 5, 5 and 6; at another is a half note triplet () in which the second beat septuplet, and the third beat is divided into tuplets of 4 and 5. The song ends with a quarter note triplet composed of tuplets of 5, 5, and 6, followed by two tuplets of 11 in the space of one.

Zappa would re-arrange the song into "The Black Page #2" shortly after his band's mastery of the piece. This second version has a disco beat, but nevertheless retains nearly every metric complexity from #1. One notable difference in this version is that the final set of tuplets feature a rhythmic change and are repeated three times to conclude the song. The 1991 live album Make a Jazz Noise Here includes a so-called "new age version", which incorporates Lounge music and reggae music. The 1991 album You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 featured a performance from 1984 that had a ska motif. Both of these versions included guitar solos from Zappa.

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Performances In 2001, Terry Bozzio and Chad Wackerman released the video "Solos and Duets" which features "The Black Page" played as a duet between the two ex-Zappa drummers with a transcription of the piece scrolling along the bottom of the screen as it is being played. In 2006, "The Black Page" was featured on Zappa Plays Zappa - Tour de Frank, an ambitious effort by Dweezil Zappa to bring Zappa music to the stage again, played by himself and a new band. The 2006 tour also included, as special guests, Zappa alumni; singer & woodwind player Napoleon Murphy Brock, drummer Bozzio, and guitarist Steve Vai. In the 2006 shows, "The Black Page" was played first as a drum solo by Bozzio and then a second time as a guitar duet with Steve Vai.

In 2014 "The Black Page" was immortalized by Terry Bozzio in the form of art he calls Rhythm & Sketch. On canvas Terry's sketch of Zappa with "The Black Page" is layered with a rhythmic pattern of light traces from Terry's drumsticks. This was a limited run of 25 canvases and sold out quickly.

Drummer Morgan Ågren and guitarist Mike Keneally played the piece as an encore during Devin Townsend's "Empath Vol. 1" - Tour in 2019/2020.

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External links

• Analysis of Zappa's unusual rhythms, including some transcriptions and MIDI recordings of "The Black Page"
• Interview by Vinnie Colaiuta for Modern Drummer, including a description of Vinnie's audition for Zappa
• Black Page Drum Solo & #2, from the 'Zappa Plays Zappa' tour

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