Across Frank Zappa’s monumental body of work, he injected rock-based music with compositional techniques straight out of the modern classical handbook, as well as groundbreaking studio trickery and a teenager’s wit. To match his untamable creativity, he famously demanded an unmatched level of musical dedication from his players, and his own guitar playing balanced that discipline with off-the-rails experimentation.

When considering Zappa’s legacy as a guitarist, we can’t separate it from his work as a composer, songwriter, producer, and all-around big personality. As a listener, you can love Zappa’s chamber music and simultaneously not be able to handle his lyrics; you can adore his guitar playing but prefer he keep his opinions to himself. Our list of favorite Zappa guitar-centric recordings covers a lot of musical ground but keeps it all about his playing.

Is Frank Zappa to blame for the sound of jam bands? When was Zappa’s best decade? And we’re looking at the connection between Zappa and Phish (who one of us calls “Zappa lite”). In a bonus segment, we’re playing “Did They Get It Right?” and examining the Grammys’ former category for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

This episode is brought to you by the Dunlop Cry Baby Wah. Visit http://jimdunlop.com for more info.

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Here at 100 Guitarists, we thought we knew a lot about Allan Holdsworth. But after we did our deepest of dives, we only emerged with more questions: Was Holdsworth the John Coltrane of the guitar? Was he the quintessential fusion guitarist? Why isn’t there a Holdsworth signature Synthaxe? And how do you read his weird chord charts?

We might not have all the answers—and when it comes to his chord charts, we definitely do not—but we’re taking some big swings. We also share our top picks, which includes Tony Williams rippers, slick Ted Templeman-production, and a Beatles cover.

In our current listening segment, we’re talking about a Wayne Horvitz/Bill Frisell archival release and Jersey Boys.

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Before they hit it big, Heart found themselves ripping club gigs, where they earned the nickname “Little Led Zeppelin.” It’s a moniker that stuck as the band carried the torch first lit by their heroes for decades to come. If you’ve ever seen the Kennedy Center video of Heart covering “Stairway to Heaven” for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, you know how bright that fire burns.

After covering Nancy Wilson on an earlier episode of 100 Guitarists, we knew we had to invite her to join us on our Jimmy Page episode! She tells us about discovering Led Zeppelin—from walking out on their opening set for Fifth Dimension to eventually hearing them at the right place at the right time—and shares her favorite songs, what it was like meeting Jimmy for the first time, and then what it was like to play for him at the Kennedy Center.

On our current listening segment, we’re talking about releases from guitarists Niwel Tsumbu and drummer Nate Smith.

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Call/Text: 319-423-9734

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