Terry Kath vs Frank Zappa

TCat wrote: I agree with you about "Hot Rats", but it is just one of the many examples of FZ's improvisational and compositional skills.  If you haven't heard his jazz or classical compositions, then you are missing out on a lot of what Frank was all about.  His improv skills probably stand out the most in his work, but his compositional skills really shine in the London Symphony albums, in "Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger", in "Civilization Phaze III", "Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison", "Dance Me This", and so on.  Any one with ties to music history, theory or composition will be able to hear this, and anyone that really knows his music will also know this and his love of music by Varèse.

I can only wholeheartedly agree with this. For me FZ is maybe the Salvador Dali of music: not necessarily the best but definitely a genius in his art.

I disagree and here's why. Parker couldn't compose anything like Mozart, and similarly Mozart couldn't improvise anything like Parker.  To be a genius you don't have to be able to do everything, and certainly you shouldn't be expected to better the masters of the styles that preceded yours.  Parker could compose, yes, but he composed like himself.  Confirmation doesn't sound like anything Mozart would've written.  Also, Mozart could improvise, but I would be absolutely astonished if his improv sounded anything like Charlie Parker soloing on Now's The Time.  Yet history looks at both of them as geniuses, so clearly you don't have to be able to do everything every genius who came before or after you did to earn the title. I share the opinion that Zappa was a musical genius, and he proved it in the way many rock and roll geniuses proved it: masterfully pushing the boundaries of the music he played. He didn't have to improvise as well as John Coltrane (and honestly, who can?) because he was Frank Zappa and he had his own inimitable approach.

That's not what I'm disputing. He didn't play how Charlie Parker played. He played like himself.  If Mozart's improv sounded anything close to be bop or ever involved a blues lick or a swung feel I will be fully flabbergasted. 

This is an excellent description of Kath's playing. I also love his rhythm work, because it's just so forceful. He creates an amount of thrust just strumming chords that usually only drummers can provide.