Frank Minion (born January 3, 1929, in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

) is an American jazz and bop singer, with some

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

influences. In 1954 he covered "

How High the Moon "How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue '' Two for the Show'', where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock. In ''Two for th ...

" and "

Sweet Lorraine "Sweet Lorraine" is a popular song with music by Cliff Burwell and words by Mitchell Parish that was published in 1928 and has become a jazz standard. It is written in F major and has an AABA structure. A version by Teddy Wilson charted in Octo ...

". He later worked with

Roland Alexander Roland Alexander (September 25, 1935 – June 14, 2006) was an American post-bop jazz musician. Early life Born in Boston, Alexander grew up with his parents and sister, Gloria, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor's degree in mus ...

. In 1960 he released the album '' The Soft Land of Make Believe'' on the

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

label, accompanied by

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

. Some of his best known recordings include "Introduction to Black Opium Street", "How Much Land (Does A Man Need)", and "Watermelon" (1960). He also did a notable cover of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

's " Night and Day".

References

External links

* * * 1929 births Living people Bebop singers American jazz singers American reggae musicians Singers from Baltimore Jazz musicians from Maryland {{jazz-singer-stub