Zappa, Waits Manager Cohen Dies

Herb Cohen, the legendary manager and label exec who introduced Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and Tom Waits to the masses, died of unknown causes March 16 in Napa, Calif., according to Variety.

Cohen, 77, started his career as a club booker and operator in L.A., then went into artist management in the mid-’60s and began working with Zappa and Waits in the ’60s and ’70s.

He and Zappa later co-owned the Straight, Bizarre and DisCreet labels but parted ways in 1976.

Cohen was also involved in producing the Montreux Jazz Festival tours of the U.S. and Japan and the U.S. portion of the Nelson Mandela concert in Wembley Stadium following Mandela’s release from prison.