Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His work is characterized by nonconformity, improvisation sound experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation.
Zappa performing at Ekeberghallen in Oslo, Norway, in 1977
Zappa with the Mothers of Invention, Theatre de Clichy, Paris, 1971
Frank Zappa, 1970
Frank Zappa in Paris, early 1970s
Jazz fusion is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyboards that were popular in rock and roll started to be used by jazz musicians, particularly those who had grown up listening to rock and roll.
Trumpet player Miles Davis was a key figure in the development of fusion
Guitarist Larry Coryell
John McLaughlin performs during his Mahavishnu Orchestra period
Spyro Gyra combines jazz with R&B, funk and pop.
