Longtime Frank Zappa percussionist Ed Mann dead at 70
Ed Mann, Frank Zappa‘s longtime percussionist, has died at the age of 70, as confirmed by session musician Chad Wackerman.
On social media, Wackerman, who played with Zappa from 1981 to 1988, shared with his followers, “Rest easy, my old friend Ed Mann.” He continued to describe his fellow musician as “a masterful and brilliant percussionist” and someone who “could read anything Frank Zappa threw at him, and I never once heard him make a mistake.”
He added, “He toured with Frank for 11 years and went on to record with many of the greats. Ed was a creative force and a great teacher and will be missed.”
Mann performed alongside Zappa for over a decade between 1977 and 1988. Additionally, the late percussionist appeared on over 30 of Zappa’s albums. Mann first grew interested in music during his childhood, his first loves were drumming and piano playing, which later became a fruitful long-lasting career.
In the early 1970s, the musician brushed paths with Zappa for the first time. “Nothing happened,” Mann said of the event in an interview in 1999. “John Bergamo was playing in an ensemble, and I was there with him, and I just kinda said hello. He walked past me in an alley. I was learning percussion and a little keyboard.” A few years later, John Bergamo, who Mann studied under at Cal Arts, officially introduced the two.
Just two months later, Mann auditioned for Zappa, which, like many others, would be an experience he never forgot. “He just put some stuff up and asked me to read it, which I did as well as I could,” he recalled, “and then we improvised and played by ear, then he asked me to join the band, and then I brought in Tommy Mars.”
In December last year, on what would have been Zappa’s 83rd birthday, Mann shared a touching tribute to his late friend with a picture from 1977 while he was “playing Frank’s huge orchestral bass drum.”
The musician wrote: “One night, I broke his mallet for that drum during ‘Disco Boy.’ After the show, I went to Frank apologetically, expecting him to be dismayed. But instead, he broke into a big smile, gave me a pat on the back and said ‘That’s what I’ve been talking about, and you finally got it.’”
The percussionist then remembered how “the next day, of course, Frank was back to business”. However, within himself, he sensed a shift in their relationship, adding, “But I could feel that for some reason, breaking that mallet had earned me seal of approval. He didn’t say this, but I know he was thinking: ‘I hired him to play, but NOW he’s passed the audition.’”
At this stage, no cause of death has been revealed.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.