The Present Day Composer
By WPLJ
6/12/2009 02:43:39
Frank Zappa was rock and roll’s sharpest musical mind and most astute
social critic. He was the most prolific composer of his age, and he
bridged genres – rock, jazz, classical, avant-garde and even novelty
music - with masterful ease. Under his own name and with the Mothers of
Invention, Zappa recorded 60 albums’ worth of material in his 52 years.
Many were double albums or CDs, making his output even more
impressively huge. Not surprisingly, he was occupied nearly every
waking hour by the composing, recording, editing and performing of
music. He also found time to produce and collaborate with acts as
widely varied as Captain Beefheart, Jean-Luc Ponty, Grand Funk
Railroad, Wild Man Fischer, the London Symphony Orchestra and Berlin’s
Ensemble Modern.
social critic. He was the most prolific composer of his age, and he
bridged genres – rock, jazz, classical, avant-garde and even novelty
music - with masterful ease. Under his own name and with the Mothers of
Invention, Zappa recorded 60 albums’ worth of material in his 52 years.
Many were double albums or CDs, making his output even more
impressively huge. Not surprisingly, he was occupied nearly every
waking hour by the composing, recording, editing and performing of
music. He also found time to produce and collaborate with acts as
widely varied as Captain Beefheart, Jean-Luc Ponty, Grand Funk
Railroad, Wild Man Fischer, the London Symphony Orchestra and Berlin’s
Ensemble Modern.
