Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa was a genius composer. He blended orchestral sounds with R&B, Blues and Rock & Roll. After spending hours writing each part, he gathered musicians to rehearse and perform his music. They ran through devations of various parts based on hand signals Zappa would later call during a live performance. All parts were memorized by each member. If not, Frank would find a way to call them out on stage.

He had a way of attracting high caliber musicians with successful careers of their own. Ansley Dunbar (Rock drummer) left his own television show in England to join the second rendition of The Mothers of Invention. George Duke (Jazz keyboardist) joined Frank for 2 years, then fulfilled his dream gig with Cannonball Adderley for 2 years, then returned to The Mothers of Invention. On a documentary, George said playing with Frank was "some of the best years" he had on stage.

Frank shaped many of the alumni lead successful music careers after working for him. Vinnie Colaiuta Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio, Adrian Belew, and Mike Keneally just to a few. There were also the incredible musicians who were key that brought Frank's music to life such as Ruth Underwood, Bruce & Tom Fowler, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ray White, Tommy Mars and Ed Mann.

The journalist hyperfocused on Frank's Rock & Roll attitude, but behind the scenes he was a composer with hired musicians. He spent thousands of dollars on union musicians in orchestras and was disatisfied with the results. Having a medium sized group of versatile, dedicated, and hard working musicians enabled him to produce a high volume of content.

Frank Zappa was a great 20th century composer. His unique sonic imprint was an accumulation of his life's experience. He drew inspiration from Edgard Varese, Johnny Guitar Watson, Igor Stravinsky, Spike Jones, cheap monster movies and anything that made him raise a brow. Sadly, he died at the age of 52 from prostate cancer.