Remembering Frank Zappa: His Final Concerts In 1991

Baltimore-born musician, composer and producer Frank Zappa sadly passed away on this date in 1993. Though only 52 years old when he lost his battle with cancer, Zappa’s massive body of work stands among the most eclectic and important in rock music in the past half century.

Wildly prolific during his career, his discography continues to grow from his 1966 debut LP Freak Out! through the several new releases issued by Zappa Records this year alone. Zappa’s impressive studio output was matched by his equally standout career on stage that saw him assemble some of the most talented groups of fellow musicians within the various iterations of his supporting bands.

This edition of Sunday Cinema travels back to 1991 and the final two live concert performances played by Frank Zappa before his untimely death on December 4, 1993. Footage comes from his June 24, 1991 appearance at Sports Hall in Prague, Czechoslovakia and his June 30, 1991 set at the Búcsú Fesztivál in Budapest, Hungary.

The first clip below starts with Frank addressing the audience in Prague about their newly established country followed by his leading an ensemble through a reggae improvisation dubbed “Improvizace V A Dur S Frank Zappa.” For this performance Zappa played guitar backed by the local band The Pražský výběr featuring Michael Kocab (keyboards, trumpet), Michal Pavlicek and Stanislav Jelinek (guitar), Vilem Cok (bass), David Koller (drums), Franta Honig and Milo Vacik (percussion), Ladislav Faktor (keyboards) and The Roucek Brass Band. Watch the jam here:

Following an introduction that was part of a television broadcast, Zappa is shown in the next video addressing the crowd (at 3:12) in Budapest prior to performing on guitar with what were known as The Gypsy Friends. The collective made up of local jazz musicians Gyula Babos (guitar), János Egri (bass), Béla “Szakcsi” Lakatos (keyboards) and Imre Kőszegi (drums) played “One Of A Kind” and “Glare Gypsys.” The clip ends with an interview with Zappa by the local press. Watch the performance and chat below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U2FrNVjzwU