Frank London (born 1958 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) is an American

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

who also plays

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

Early life

London was born to a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous rev ...

family and grew up in

Plainview, New York Plainview is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Oyster Bay (town), New York, Oyster Bay in east central Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 27,100. The Plainv ...

and Connecticut. He started playing the trumpet in fourth grade.

Career

London received a B.A. in Afro-American music from the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

in 1980. He is on the music faculty of the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

. He is a member of

The Klezmatics The Klezmatics are an American klezmer music group based in New York City, who have achieved fame singing in several languages, most notably mixing older Yiddish language, Yiddish tunes with other types of more contemporary music of differing or ...

, Hasidic New Wave, and leads Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars. He was a co-founder of Les Misérables Brass Band and original member of the

Klezmer Conservatory Band The Klezmer Conservatory Band is a Boston-based group which performs traditional klezmer music; it was formed by Hankus Netsky of the New England Conservatory, New England Conservatory of Music in 1980. Originally formed for a single concert, they ...

. He served as conductor and music director for

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

and Robert Wilson's ''The Knee Plays'' and has collaborated with the Palestinian American violinist

Simon Shaheen Simon Shaheen (; born in Ma'alot-Tarshiha, Israel) is an American oud and violin player, and composer. At the age of 2, Shaheen moved with his family to Haifa, but spent most of the weekends in Tarshiha, an Arab village in Upper Galilee. The ...

. He has worked with

Chava Alberstein Chava Alberstein ( , born 8 December 1946 in Poland) is an Israeli musician, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger. She moved to Israel in 1950 and started her music career in 1964. Alberstein has released over sixty albums in Hebrew, Englis ...

Lester Bowie Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999) was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography Born in th ...

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

Gal Costa Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of Música popular brasileira, popular music. Twelve-times Bra ...

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five was an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprised Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). Th ...

Avraham Fried Avraham Shabsi Hakohen Friedman (; born March 22, 1959) better known by his stage name, Avraham Fried, is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish American singer. Career Fried was encouraged towards a music career by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneers ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

Anne LeBaron Alice Anne LeBaron (born May 30, 1953) is an American composer, harpist, academic, and writer. Frequently combining tonal and atonal techniques with an experimental approach, LeBaron's compositions utilize elements of blues, jazz, pop, rock ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

Maurice El Mediouni Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first seven albums before ...

, David Murray,

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

Jerome Rothenberg Jerome Rothenberg (December 11, 1931 – April 21, 2024) was an American poet, translator and anthologist, noted for his work in the fields of ethnopoetics and performance poetry. Rothenberg co-founded the method of ethnopoetics with Dennis T ...

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, Rock music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels (Jane Siberry song), Calling All Angels". She performed the theme so ...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spen ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey, in addition to Alice Coltrane, Mal Waldron, Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Tri ...

La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best k ...

, Lev Zhurbin, and

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

Discography

As leader

*Glass House Orchestra – Astro-Hungarian Jewish Music *''Invocations'' (cantorial music) *''Hazonos'' (cantorial music) *"Scientist at Work" (produced by John Zorn) Frank London with Lorin Sklamberg (Klezmatics singer): *''Nigunim'' (Jewish mystical songs) *''The Zmiros Project'' (Shabbes songs) *''tsuker-zis'' (holiday songs, featuring Knox Chandler, Ara Dinkjian & Deep Singh) Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars: *''Di Shikere Kapelye'' *''Brotherhood of Brass'' *''Carnival Conspiracy'' *''Chronika'' The Shekhina Big Band: *''The Shekhina Big Band'' Film and theater music: *''The Debt'' (film and theater music) Soundtracks: *''The Shvitz'' *''Divan'' (film by Pearl Gluck) Hasidic New Wave: *"Jews & The Abstract Truth" *"Psycho-Semitic" *"Kabalogy" *"Live In Krakow" (on Not Two records) *"From The Belly of Abraham" With

Jon Madof Jon Madof (born May 28, 1974) is an American guitarist, composer, and leader of the bands Rashanim and Zion80, who has performed extensively with other artists including John Zorn, Matisyahu, Marc Ribot, and Frank London. PopMatters' Sean Murph ...

's Zion80 *'' Zion80'' (Tzadik, 2013) *'' Adramelech: Book of Angels Volume 22'' (Tzadik, 2014) With

Auktyon Auktyon (, . Auktsyon) is a Russian alternative rock band from Saint Petersburg. The band was founded by at the Polytechnic Institute of Leningrad. Though they originally played post-punk and new wave, the group came to be influenced by Euro ...

*'' Devushki payut'' (2007)

Compositions

London has composed numerous works for theater, dance, and film, and is the recipient of several Meet the Composer grants. Some of his major works include the folk opera ''A Night in the Old Marketplace'' (based on

Y. L. Peretz Isaac Leib Peretz (May 18, 1852 – April 3, 1915), also sometimes written Yitskhok Leybush Peretz (; ), was a Polish Jewish writer and playwright writing in Yiddish. Payson R. Stevens, Charles M. Levine, and Sol Steinmetz count him with Mendele ...

's ''Bay nakht oyfn altn mark''); ''Davenen'', a dance for the

Pilobolus Dance Theatre Pilobolus is an American modern dance company that began performing in October 1971. Pilobolus has performed over 100 choreographic works in more than 64 countries around the world, and has been featured on the 79th Annual Academy Awards, ''The ...

and the Klezmatics; 48 Great Small Works' ''The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln'', and

Min Tanaka is a Japanese dancer and actor. Biography Tanaka was trained in ballet and modern dance, but in 1974, turned his back on these forms. He began his solo career with a series of nearly-naked primarily outdoor improvisational dances that took place ...

's ''Romance''. In 2011, A Night in the Old Marketplace was workshopped and premiered at MassMOCA. He has also composed music for films, including

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' Matewan'' (1987), ...

' ''

The Brother from Another Planet ''The Brother from Another Planet'' is a 1984 low-budget American science fiction film, with a legacy as a cult classic, written and directed by John Sayles. The film stars Joe Morton as an escaped extraterrestrial slave trying to find a new li ...

'' (1984) and ''

Men With Guns ''Men with Guns'' () is a 1997 American political drama film edited, written and directed by John Sayles, inspired by the 1992 novel ''The Long Night of White Chickens'' by Francisco Goldman. It stars Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado, Damián Alc ...

'' (1997),

Yvonne Rainer Yvonne Rainer (born November 24, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is regarded as challenging and experimental.

's ''Murder and Murder'', the Czech-American Marionette Theater's ''Golem'', and Tamar Rogoff's '' Ivye Project''.

Other activities

He has been featured on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' soundtrack, at the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is a festival held annually on the second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. The festival moved to Rotterdam in 2006 after the demolition of the Statenhal in The Hague where it was originally held. ...

, and at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

Summer Festival. He attends various workshops throughout the year, including

KlezKanada KlezKanada () is a Canadian organization for the promotion of klezmer music and Yiddish culture. Its principal program is a week-long Jewish music festival founded in 1996 that takes place annually in August at Camp B'nai B'rith in Lantier, Queb ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, where he teaches aspiring musicians the art of klezmer music. He has taught Jewish music in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, and the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

and is Artistic Director of KlezFest London in London, England.

Awards

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Contemporary World Music Album (2007)

External links

*
Interview from ''Montreal Mirror''

Short Biography and Interviews With Frank London

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:London, Frank American male composers 21st-century American composers American male trumpeters New England Conservatory alumni Jewish American composers Klezmer musicians Jewish American musicians Tzadik Records artists Living people 21st-century American trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians The Klezmatics members Hasidic New Wave members 1958 births