A Token Of His Extreme. Frank Zappa: Tom Fowler (1951 - 2024) RIP

Yesterday evening I was watching an old DVD I had bought cheap in the 00s of a TV show Frank Zappa recorded in 1975 with what may be my favourite backing band: Napoleon Murphy Brock, George Duke, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler, Chester Thompson. They mostly played songs from 1973 - 1975, including the mighty 'Inca Roads', my absolute favourite FZ song.

Compared to later bands, they may not be the best band music-technically, as a younger generation became better musicians. Not where the music itself is concerned though. If you just look at what Ruth Underwood was capable of. Standing in her leopard bra, she is pounding all her percussive instruments into any direction Zappa ordered her. From complex and ultra fast melodies on vibraphones, to deep and dark percussion, supporting Thompson and everything in between. Chester Thompson himself plays all these endlessly long and fast drum rolls over his differently sized toms and floor toms, besides the (complex) rhythms he had to play. Compared to Zappa's later drummers, the wildly crazy Terry Bozzio and the clockwork-tight rhythm of Chad Wackerman, he is best described as a functional drummer, even if he gets a gorilla on his back. And then mind that Ruth Underwood are playing in total unison during these drum rolls. Most like George Duke as well.

Duke plays a host of keyboards, including one of the first synthesizers and may even have some programming machine beside him as well. Besides that he is one of best singers FZ ever had at his disposal. His supportive playing and solos are inventive and lent an authenticity to his work that others later missed. They were good singers foremost, not fantastic musicians as well.

In front is Brock. He is the lead singer, flautist and saxophone player and clown with his moves. He is a good singer Something that can be heard in a song like 'Florentine Pogen'. Besides he can get the party started as well.

FZ himself is FZ. He is riding the waves his band created under his direction. Singing a little, playing a solo here and there and not doing more than a song calls for. His ciggies are constantly lit, so he has time in abundance to do so, enjoying his band, playing his music.

Where everyone in the band is moving, laughing, doing crazy things when called upon there's one guy standing a little in front of the drums, as still as possible, just doing his thing, playing the bass. By far the youngest in the band, only in his early mid-twenties. The only moment in the movie he comes alive, is in a mock hardrock sequence where FZ and he are pretending to be Kiss or something. His name is Tom Fowler. His trumpet and horn playing brothers has played with Zappa already for a while in earlier incarnations of the Mothers of Invention.

I know nothing of Tom Fowler, let alone what he did after leaving Zappa's band soon after this show. When I looked at the movie, in a mildly bad video tape transferred to dvd quality and irritating clay figure sequences, no matter how well made, I wondered what happened to the players. I knew George Duke died some years ago and Zappa already over thirty of course. In 2024 Brock is 81, Underwood, 76, just like Thompson, The latter has been active in music for decades, as drummer for Santana, Genesis and Phil Collins, for instance.

Then I looked up Tom Fowler and found that he had died on 2 July at the age of 73. 50 Years ago a young man with mildly long hair, forever caught on tape with fantastic songs, where he is just playing his bass and underscores all the great but sometimes totally zany music going on around him. Enough to merit some words on this blog in commemoration, as he was part of one of my favourite bands, the last incarnation of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght