Frank Wright (jazz musician)
Encyclopedia
Frank Wright was a free jazz
musician known for his frantic style of tenor saxophone.
Wright was born in Grenada, Mississippi
. He was originally a bass player, working with B. B. King
and Bobby "Blue" Bland
among others.
His style is often compared to Albert Ayler
, who was one of his major influences. In addition to tenor saxophone, he also played the soprano saxophone and bass clarinet.
with Albert Ayler
with Sunny Murray
with Noah Howard
with Hans Dulfer
with Muhammad Ali
with Alan Silva
and Bobby Few
with Georges Arvanitas
with Marvin Peterson
with Saheb Sarbib
with Peter Brotzmann
with Sebastian Harrison
with A. R. Penck
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
musician known for his frantic style of tenor saxophone.
Wright was born in Grenada, Mississippi
Grenada, Mississippi
Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County.-History:...
. He was originally a bass player, working with B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
and Bobby "Blue" Bland
Bobby Bland
Robert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
among others.
His style is often compared to Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
, who was one of his major influences. In addition to tenor saxophone, he also played the soprano saxophone and bass clarinet.
As leader
- Frank Wright Trio (ESP Disk)
- Your Prayer ((ESP Disk)
- One For John (BYG ActuelBYG ActuelBYG Actuel was a French record label specializing in free jazz. The label also released a small number of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong.-History:...
) - Uhuru Na Umoja (America Records)
- Church Number Nine (Calumet)
- Center of the World (Center of the WorldSun Records (jazz)Sun Records was a jazz record label begun by saxophonist Frank Wright. Center of the World Records was also set up by Wright around the same time.-Sun:-Center of the World:-See also:* List of record labels...
) - Last Polka in Nancy? (Center of the World)
- Kevin, My Dear Son (Sun Records (jazz)Sun Records (jazz)Sun Records was a jazz record label begun by saxophonist Frank Wright. Center of the World Records was also set up by Wright around the same time.-Sun:-Center of the World:-See also:* List of record labels...
) - Stove Man, Love Is The Word' (Sandra)
- Eddie's Back In Town' (Krona)
- Shouting the blues (Sun)
As sideman
with Cecil TaylorCecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
- Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)Winged Serpent is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Milan, Italy on October 22–24, 1984 and released on the Soul Note label...
(Soul Note) - Olu IwaOlu IwaOlu Iwa is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Berlin, Germany on April 12, 1986 and released on the Soul Note label. The album features a concert performance by Taylor with Thurman Barker, William Parker and Steve McCall with Earl McIntyre, Peter Brotzmann and Frank Wright added on one...
(Soul Note)
with Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
- Holy Ghost (RevenantRevenant RecordsRevenant Records is a record label based in Austin, Texas, which concentrates on folk and blues. Revenant was formed in 1996 by John Fahey and Dean Blackwood...
)
with Sunny Murray
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray is one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.-Biography:...
- Spiritual Infinity (unreleased) (ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
)
with Noah Howard
Noah Howard
Noah Howard was an American free jazz alto saxophonist.-Biography:An American born in New Orleans, Howard played music from childhood in his church. He first learned trumpet and later switching to alto, tenor and soprano saxophone. He was an innovator influenced by John Coltrane and Albert Ayler...
- Space Dimension (America Records)
with Hans Dulfer
Hans Dulfer
Hans Dulfer is a Dutch jazz musician who plays tenor saxophone.Hans Dulfer was born on 28 May 1940 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He began at age 17 and has been referred to as "Big boy" because of his album of the same name. At the end of the sixties he and Herbert Noord founded a quartet that...
- El Saxofón (Catfish)
with Muhammad Ali
- Adieu Little Man (Center of the World)
with Alan Silva
Alan Silva
Alan Silva is an American free jazz double bassist and keyboard player.-Biography:...
and Bobby Few
Bobby Few
Bobby Few is an American jazz pianist.Few was raised in Shaker Heights, a neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, and studied classical piano. He knew Albert Ayler as a youth, and the pair studied jazz and played together in high school...
- Solos & Duets w/ Bobby Few (Sun RecordsSun RecordsSun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
)
with Georges Arvanitas
Georges Arvanitas
Georges Arvanitas was a jazz pianist and organist.- Life and career :He began life as a child of Greek immigrants from Constantinople. At the age of four he began studying piano and initially trained as a classical. However he switched to jazz some time in his teens and would be known for jazz in...
- Shouting The Blues (Sun RecordsSun RecordsSun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
)
with Marvin Peterson
- The Light (Baystate)
with Saheb Sarbib
Saheb Sarbib
Saheb Sarbib is an American jazz double-bassist and bandleader.Sarbib, born Jean Henri Sarbib, was raised in Europe. His father was Roger Sarbib a well-respected French pianist and innovator of the Big Band style in Portugal in the 40's and 50's also pianist of icons of French song such as: Edith...
- Aisha (CJR)
with Peter Brotzmann
Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann is a German artist and free jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.Brötzmann is among the most important European free jazz musicians. His rough, lyrical timbre is easily recognized on his many recordings.-Early life:...
- Alarm (FMP Records)
with Sebastian Harrison
Sebastian Harrison
Sebastian Harrison was a French art déco architect, and artist, dividing his time between city planning and painting pictures, both centering on the art déco style. Throughout his career he worked in the shadows of other canonised artists, focusing his attention on perfecting his style...
- Live at 1369 Club (Boxholder)
with A. R. Penck
- Prayer for Ingo (Mara)
- Concert in Ulm (Mara)
External links
- [ Allmusic's Frank Wright page]
- Center of the world discography
- Another discography