Frank Strozier
Frank Strozier | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frank R. Strozier, Jr. June 13, 1937 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Alto saxophone, flute, piano |
| Years active | 1958-1990 |
| Labels | |
Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937)[1] is a jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, pianist and composer.
Life and career
[edit]Strozier was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play piano.[1][2] In 1954, after high school, he moved to Chicago, where he studied clarinet at the Chicago Conservatory of Music[3] and performed with Harold Mabern, George Coleman, and Booker Little (like Strozier, they were from Memphis).[1] He recorded with the MJT + 3 from 1959 to 1960, and led sessions for Vee-Jay Records.
After moving to New York, Strozier was briefly with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1963[2] (between the tenures of Hank Mobley and George Coleman). Along with Coleman and Harold Mabern, he was recommended for Davis' 1963 gig at the Black Hawk by John Coltrane.[3] He also gigged and recorded with Roy Haynes during this time. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked with Chet Baker, Shelly Manne, and the Don Ellis big band.[2] Returning to New York in 1971, he worked with Keno Duke's Jazz Contemporaries,[1] the New York Jazz Repertory Company, Horace Parlan, and Woody Shaw.
Strozier dropped out of the music scene by the mid-1980s. He then became a teacher in the New York public school system.[3] He made a return to music in 1990 in a trio setting as a pianist, but has since been mostly inactive.[4]
Discography
[edit]As leader
[edit]- Fantastic Frank Strozier (Vee-Jay, 1960)
- Long Night (Jazzland, 1961)
- March of the Siamese Children (Jazzland, 1962)
- Here's Frank Strozier (Vee-Jay, 1977, recorded 1960)
- Remember Me (SteepleChase, 1977)
- What's Goin' On (SteepleChase, 1978)
As sideman
[edit]With Roy Haynes
- Cymbalism (New Jazz, 1963)
- People (Pacific Jazz, 1964)
With Shelly Manne
- Manne–That's Gershwin! (Capitol, 1965)
- Boss Sounds! (Atlantic, 1966)
- Daktari (Atlantic, 1967)
- Jazz Gunn (Atlantic, 1967)
- Perk Up (Concord Jazz, 1976)
With MJT+3
- Make Everybody Happy (Vee Jay, 1959)
- MJT + 3 (Vee Jay, 1961)
With Oliver Nelson
- Live from Los Angeles (Impulse!, 1967)
- Black, Brown and Beautiful (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
With others
- Booker Little, Booker Little 4 and Max Roach (1958)
- Walter Perkins, Walter Perkins' MJT+3 (Vee Jay, 1959)
- Johnny Griffin, The Big Soul-Band (Riverside, 1960)
- The Young Lions, The Young Lions (Vee Jay, 1960)
- Sam Jones, Down Home (Riverside, 1962)
- Booker Ervin, Exultation! (Prestige, 1963)
- McCoy Tyner, Today and Tomorrow (Impulse!, 1964)
- Chet Baker, Baby Breeze (Limelight, 1965)
- Don Ellis, Autumn (Columbia, 1968)
- The Three Sounds and the Oliver Nelson Orchestra, Coldwater Flat (Blue Note, 1968)
- Steve Allen, Soulful Brass (Flying Dutchman, 1969)
- Sonny Stitt, Dumpy Mama (Flying Dutchman, 1975)
- Horace Parlan, Frank-ly Speaking (SteepleChase, 1977)
- Woody Shaw, Little Red's Fantasy (Muse, 1978)
- Louis Hayes, Variety Is the Spice (Gryphon, 1979)
- Stafford James, Stafford James Ensemble (Red, 1979)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Wynn, Ron (1994), All Music Guide to Jazz, M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, ISBN 0-87930-308-5
- ^ a b c Yanow, Scott. "Frank Strozier". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ a b c Moskowitz, A.G., Frank Strozier Cool, Calm and Collected (liner notes), New York NY: Koch Records, KOC-CD-8552
- ^ Cohen, Noal. "Frank Strozier". Noal Cohen's Jazz History Website. Noal Cohen. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1937 births
- American jazz alto saxophonists
- American jazz flautists
- Living people
- Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee
- African-American jazz musicians
- American male jazz composers
- American jazz saxophonists
- American male saxophonists
- SteepleChase Records artists
- Vee-Jay Records artists
- 20th-century American jazz composers
- 20th-century American male composers
- 20th-century American saxophonists
- 21st-century American saxophonists
- Jazz musicians from Tennessee
- 21st-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians
- 20th-century African-American musicians
- 21st-century African-American musicians