Hilo might be the only place on Earth a Frank Zappa tribute concert would be considered a return to normalcy.
But the novel coronavirus pandemic put the anxiously awaited, often sold-out tribute concerts by the Hilo Jazz Orchestra to the iconoclastic late musician and composer on hiatus for four-plus years.
The last Zappa show at the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center was Dec. 12, 2019, with an encore performance at Volcano Art Center on Jan. 5, 2020.
The silence will be broken on Saturday at the Palace Theater in downtown Hilo. Opening will be HAAStile, a band of student musicians from Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science, a Pahoa charter school.
It will be the second concert partnership between the college and high school bands — both directed by Trever “Professor T” Veilleux, a Big Island musician, composer and teacher — at the historic theater on Haili Street. Both bands made their successful Palace debuts on Dec. 14, 2023, with a Beatles tribute show featuring the music of their 1969 album “Abbey Road.”
“I love the Palace. You know, to be in a 100-year-old theater in downtown Hilo is a special thing,” Veilleux said. “I’ve performed at the Palace a lot over the years. So, the Palace is fun just like the UH theater is fun.
“I think it’s kind of special for the kids to get off the campus and to make that trip downtown.”
The Hilo Jazz Orchestra has earned a fair measure of notoriety since Veilleux instituted the Zappa tribute shows in 2013.
In 2017, Frank Zappa’s son and Grammy award-winning guitarist Dweezil Zappa came to Hilo to perform with the band, as did former Zappa lead singer Ike Willis. And the Hilo Jazz Orchestra is the subject of the documentary film, “Zappa U,” which follows the band in the months leading up to their 2016 Frank Zappa tribute concert.
The current band, composed of five vocalists and about 20 instrumentalists, on April 12 played a dress rehearsal, of sorts — a free show on the UH-Hilo Library Lanai.
“The band is great. I think people will be surprised at the caliber of musicianship,” said Veilleux.
According to Veilleux, the set will “pretty much span” Zappa’s three-decade career.
“We’re doing a song from the ‘Uncle Meat’ album. So, that would be Mothers of Invention, 1960s,” he said. “We’re doing some stuff from his most popular album sales period, the mid-70s. We’re doing some stuff from the ‘Overnight Sensation’ and the ‘One Size Fits All’ albums.
“One song from ‘One Size Fits All’ called ‘Florentine Pogen’ is so much fun to play. It’s got all those little tiny changes and all these motifs that come in and out. It’s very difficult but just a blast when we get it right.”
Most of the musicians are relatively new to the band, but there will be some notable alumni onstage.
One is vocalist Ka‘ikena Scanlan, now a well-known local recording artist with songs including “He Kanaka” and “Smoke All Day.” Also returning are Josh Timmons on vocals and trumpet, Payton Meyer on tenor sax and Heather Sexton on EWI — which is an acronym for “electronic wind instrument.”
“Basically, it’s synthesizer you play like a saxophone,” Veilleux said. “The dynamics are controlled with breath. It’s got keys like a saxophone. So, some of the marimba parts and some of the more exotic instruments in Zappa’s music, we’ll have Heather doing on the EWI.”
Notable players of the instrument include saxophonists Dave Koz, Candy Dulfer and the late Michael Brecker.
Veilleux described the current edition of the Hilo Jazz Orchestra as “a super talented bunch.”
“In fact, the drummer in the UH band is the same drummer that’s in the HAAS band,” he said, referring to Tom Yoes. “He is insanely good and he is only a sophomore in high school. I think he’s going to be on the cover of ‘Modern Drummer’ magazine someday.”
Anyone who saw Yoes behind the kit in December’s “Abbey Road” tribute will probably not be surprised by Veilleux’s assessment.
“We’re playing the Zappa music, a whole bunch of strange time signatures like 7/8, songs that switch time signatures from bar to bar. And he’s got it down. He’s learning some of the hardest stuff in Zappa’s repertoire — even stuff we’re not playing.
“In fact, he’s working on ‘The Black Page,’ which is notorious among musicians as one of the most difficult pieces of drum music, ever.”
Terry Bozzio, the original drummer for “The Black Page,” said Zappa wrote it after hearing Los Angeles studio musicians voice their fear of being asked to sight-read a piece of music with so many notes it turns the page black.
As for HAAStile, the proficiency as a live band they displayed in December is reminiscent of the 2003 hit film “School of Rock.”
“They are learning one Zappa song for this show,” Veilleux said. “The set they’re playing won’t include any of the songs they did in December. They’re also doing an original song written by the kids. It’s a really killer song.”
Showtime is 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. Admission is $20 general, $10 for students with ID, and $30 for priority orchestra seating. All but student tickets are $5 more the day of the show.
Tickets are available 24/7 at hilopalace.com and at the Palace during box office hours. Call (808) 934-7010 for reservations or more information.
“Zappa’s music, I think, people know it’s unique. But experiencing it live is a special treat,” Veilleux said. “Because of the variety in the arrangements, you’re going to see musicians play parts you’ll never experience in any other form of music. There are really intricate composed parts juxtaposed with fun, free-form group improvisations.
“It should definitely be experienced live.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.