Frank Strazzeri (April 24, 1930 – May 9, 2014) was an American jazz pianist.

Career

Strazzeri began on tenor saxophone and clarinet at age 12, then switched to piano soon after. He attended the Eastman School of Music, then took a job as a house pianist in a nightclub in Rochester in 1952. While there he accompanied visiting musicians such as Roy Eldridge and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

. He moved to New Orleans in 1954, playing with

Sharkey Bonano Joseph Gustaf "Sharkey" Bonano (April 9, 1904 – March 27, 1972), also known as Sharkey Banana or Sharkey Bananas, was an American jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist. His musical abilities were sometimes overlooked because of his lo ...

and

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album '' Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the them ...

in a

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

setting, but his focus since then was on

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

. He played with

Charlie Ventura Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Career During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands o ...

in 1957–58 and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

in 1959 before moving to Los Angeles in 1960. There he worked extensively as a studio musician on the

West Coast jazz West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied re ...

scene, and toured with Joe Williams,

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

, Les Brown and Elvis Presley!(1971–74). He also played with Elvis Presley in the Aloha from Hawaii concert of 1973). He worked with

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

, Herb Ellis, the

Lighthouse All-Stars A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

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, Louie Bellson, and

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

, in addition to recording as a leader. He died at the age of 84 on May 9, 2014.

Discography

As leader

* ''That's Him and This Is New'' ( Revelation, 1969) * ''Taurus'' (Revelation, 1973) * ''View from Within'' with

Don Menza Don Menza (born April 22, 1936) is an American jazz saxophonist. Career Menza was born in Buffalo, New York. After serving in the U.S. Army, he was part of the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra from 1960 to 1962 and then briefly worked for Stan Kenton ...

(Creative World, 1973) * ''Frames'' with Don Menza (Glendale, 1975) * ''After the Rain'' with Sam Most and

Bobby Shew Bobby Shew (born March 4, 1941) is an American jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player. Biography He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet and toured ...

(

Catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the reaction rate, rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the ...

, 1976) * ''Straz'' (Catalyst, 1977) * ''Relaxin' '' (Sea Breeze, 1980) * ''Kat Dancin' '' (

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...

, 1985) * ''Make Me Rainbows'' (

Fresh Sound Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

, 1987) * ''I Remember You'' (Fresh Sound, 1989) * ''Little Giant'' (Fresh Sound, 1989) * ''The Very Thought of You'' (Discovery, 1990) * ''Wood Winds West'' (Jazz Mark, 1992) * ''Frank's Blues'' (Night Life, 1992) * ''Moon and Sand'' (Discovery, 1993) * ''Somebody Loves Me'' (Fresh Sound, 1994) * ''Nobody Else But Me'' (Fresh Sound, 1997) * ''Funk and Esoteric'' (Fresh Sound, 2004)

As sideman

With

Curtis Amy Curtis Amy (October 11, 1929 – June 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Amy was born in Houston, Texas, United States. He learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the teno ...

* ''

Groovin' Blue ''Groovin' Blue'' is an album by saxophonist Curtis Amy and drummer Frank Butler recorded in late 1960 and early 1961 for the Pacific Jazz label.Frank Butler With

* '' Let's Get Lost'' (RCA Novus, 1987) With the

Red Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927 – November 8, 1992) was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. Biography Mitchell was born in New York City. His younger brother, Whitey Mitchell, also became a jazz ...

- Harold Land Quintet * '' Hear Ye!'' (Atlantic, 1962)

References

* Scott Yanow,

Frank Strazzeri Frank Strazzeri (April 24, 1930 – May 9, 2014) was an American jazz pianist. Career Strazzeri began on tenor saxophone and clarinet at age 12, then switched to piano soon after. He attended the Eastman School of Music, then took a job as a hou ...

at Allmusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Strazzeri, Frank 1930 births 2014 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians