A buddy of mine was big time into Zappa and had maybe 3 or 4 of his early 70's works. It was good stuff, funny amusing or whatever but I was never crazy enough about it to get any myself. A bit too bizare and silly for me. Non the less I recognize the talent and did go to a concert around maybe '74 or 5 and it was a great concert. Excellent sound, big band, great talent.
Thats about all I know about Zappa, except he was also instrumental in the "fusion" world and gave Jean Luc Ponty his first gigs in America. Ponty was a classically trained French violinist who later would replace Jerry Goodman in The Mahavishnu Orchestra, then go on to fame in jazz/fusion as a solo artist and do many recording with other well known names in that circle of musicians.
Then of course there was Steve Vai.