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Frank Wess
Born:
Frank Wess (born January 4, 1922 in Kansas City) is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone (both alto and tenor) and flute.
He began with classical music and played in Oklahoma. He later switched to jazz on moving to Washington, D. C. and by nineteen was working in the Big Bands. His career would be interrupted during World War II although he did play with a military band in the period. On returning from service he joined Billy Eckstine's orchestra.
He returned to DC a few years after this and received a degree in flute at the city's Modern School Of Music. From 1953 he joined Count Basie's band, playing flute and tenor sax. He reverted to alto sax in the late '50s, and left Basie's band in 1964. From 1959 to 1964 he won Down Beat's critic poll for flute. Since then he has done a variety of TV shows and telethons. He was a member of Clark Terry's big band from 1967 into the '70s and played in the New York Quartet (with Roland Hanna). In the '80s and '90s, he worked with Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid, Buck Clayton, Benny Carter, Billy Taylor, Harry Edison, Mel Tormé, Ernestine Anderson, Louie Bellson, John Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Dick Hyman, Byron Stripling, Jane Jarvis, Frank Vignola and was a featured member of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra.
Neal Miner: Invisibility
by Jack Bowers
Here is a jazz trio with a twist: instead of the usual piano, bass and drums--or guitar, bass and drums--Neal Miner's threesome on Invisibility consists of tenor saxophone, bass and drums. While bassist Miner is the nominal leader, the New York City-based trio is a true co-op in which Miner, drummer Jason Tiemann and saxophonist Chris ...
Hannah Horton: Stories On The Wind
by Jack Bowers
Saxophonist Hannah Horton is a rising star on the U.K. jazz scene, for many good reasons. For Stories on the Wind, her third studio recording, Horton has written a series of eloquent and picturesque narratives, all of which she plays with an abundance of warmth and charm on tenor or baritone sax. Much of ...
In the Land of Giants: OJCs from Thad Jones and Red Garland
by C. Andrew Hovan
The late 1950s marked a particularly fertile period in jazz. Big bands still commanded audiences, while smaller combos often blended veterans of the swing era with the rising architects of modern bop. Musicians such as Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Illinois Jacquet, and Coleman Hawkins moved fluidly among ensembles, thriving in a moment before the stylistic fault ...
Improvising the Russian Classical Composers: Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin
by Larry Slater
Russia's contribution to the arts over the past couple of centuries has been extraordinary and unparalleled. Russian authors are among the greatest writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Russia is synonymous with classical ballet and Russian composers transformed classical music. In the 19th century, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin and Pyotr Ilyich ...
A post generic mix-Rin Seo Collective, Catalyst, Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis, and Shostakovich
by Hobart Taylor
Crossroads: Askew nuanced arrangements from composer Rin Seo, a jazz master class from Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Kenny Burrell, and Mal Waldron, Third Stream explorations from Kris Davis with the Lutoslawski Quartet, and some Shostakovich for context. Playlist Host Speaks 00:00 The Messthetics/James Brandon Lewis “Gestations" from Deface The Currency (Impulse) 00:15 Aubrey Johnson ...
Ignasi Terraza: With Respect To Oscar And Niels
by Artur Moral
Exceptionalism is often presented with a spectacular surface. However, it also hides itself behind multiple layers of deep discretion. This is true with pianist, composer, educator and record producer Ignasi Terraza. His uniqueness is based on several facts: being the first blind person in Spain to earn--a mid-1980s achievement, without today's technology--a degree in Computer Engineering; ...
Prestige Rara Avis: Kenny Burrell and Frank Wess
by C. Andrew Hovan
Over the past decade, music lovers and jazz collectors have enjoyed a wealth of opportunities thanks to the ongoing vinyl renaissance. Back in the 1980s and '90s, Fantasy Records became a favorite among enthusiasts with its Original Jazz Classics series, reissuing nearly a thousand titles from its vast catalog, which included Prestige, Riverside, and Contemporary. After ...
Resistance! Music for these times from Ivanna Cuesta with Kris Davis, Jason Kao Huang, Caroline Davis and Robert Glasper
by Hobart Taylor
Music that's brave and beautiful from Caroline Davis, Jason Kao Hwang, Robert Glasper and introducing Ivanna Cuesta!Playlist Jason Kao Hwang “Spin Fast and Burn" from Myths of Origin (True Sound Recordings) 00:00 Caroline Davis “synchronize my body where my mind has always been" from Alula Captivity (Ropeadope) 3:20 Caroline Davis Nicole Mitchell Nappy Nina ...
Backgrounder: Frank Wess - Trombones + Flute (1956)
In July 1956, during a brief summer break by the Count Basie band, the trombone section went into Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack, N.J., studio and, with the addition of trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, recorded five pieces. Two were composed by Basie tenor saxophonist Frank Foster, who arranged by all five. What made the session for Savoy special ...
