Frank Wright (July 9, 1935 – May 17, 1990) was an American

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

musician, known for his frantic style of playing the tenor

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

. Critics often compare his music to that of

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. After early experience playing rhythm and blues and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Ho ...

, although Wright "offers his honks and squawks with a phraseology derived from the slower, earthier funk of R&B and gospel music." According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

biographer

Chris Kelsey Chris Kelsey (born June 5, 1961) is an American-born jazz saxophonist, composer, music critic, and novelist. His music draws on bebop, free jazz, free improvisation, funk, and fusion, and is augmented by elements of non-tonal, contemporary classi ...

, Wright "never recorded even a single record under his own name for a major label; he was 'underground' his entire career." In addition to tenor saxophone, Wright also played the soprano saxophone and bass clarinet.

Biography

Wright was born in

Grenada, Mississippi Grenada () is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1836, the population was 13,092 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi, Gre ...

, United States, and grew up in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

and

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, where he began his musical career playing bass guitar, backing artists such as

Rosco Gordon Rosco N. Gordon III (April 10, 1928 – July 11, 2002), sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted," (1952), " No More Doggin'" (1952), and " Just a Littl ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

, and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

. He switched to tenor saxophone after meeting

in Cleveland, Ayler's hometown. In 1964, Wright moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he played with Larry Young,

Noah Howard Noah Howard (April 6, 1943 – September 3, 2010) was an American free jazz alto saxophonist. Biography Born in New Orleans, Howard played music from childhood in his church. He first learned trumpet and later switched to alto, tenor and sopran ...

, and

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

. He also sat in with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

and, in early 1965, was invited to participate in the recording of ''

Ascension Ascension or ascending may refer to: Religion * "Ascension", the belief in some religions that some individuals have ascended into Heaven without dying first. The Catholic concept of the Assumption of Mary leaves open the question of her deat ...

'', but reportedly felt that his skills were not up to the demands of the music. (Later, however, Wright stated "what I do is countersigned by master John Coltrane who accepted me at this side by calling me 'little brother'.") In late 1965, Wright recorded ''

Frank Wright Trio ''Frank Wright Trio'' is the debut album by saxophonist Frank Wright. It was recorded in November 1965 in New York City, released by ESP-Disk in 1966, and reissued on CD in 1992. On the album, Wright is joined by bassist Henry Grimes and drummer ...

'', his first album as a leader, for

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York–based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), E ...

with

Henry Grimes Henry Grimes (November 3, 1935 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist and violinist. After more than a decade of activity and performance, notably as a leading bassist in free jazz, Grimes completely disappeared from the music sc ...

on bass and Tom Price on drums. (According to

Bernard Stollman Bernard Stollman (July 19, 1929 – April 19, 2015) was an American lawyer and the founder of the ESP-Disk record label. Biography He was born to a Jewish family in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Plattsburgh, upstate New York, where ...

, founder of

, the record came about when he approached Wright after hearing him sit in with Coltrane. When Wright stated that he was not associated with a record label, Stollman declared "Well, you are now.") In 1966, while in Cleveland, he recorded with

's group, which at the time included

Donald Ayler Donald Ayler (October 5, 1942 – October 21, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was best known for his participation in concerts and recordings by groups led by his older brother, saxophonist Albert Ayler. An obituary in The Wire praised his ...

, Michael Samson, Muntawef Shaheed, and

Ronald Shannon Jackson Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...

. The tracks remained unreleased until 2004, when they appeared on '' Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)''. Wright's second album, ''

Your Prayer ''Your Prayer'' is the second album by saxophonist Frank Wright. It was recorded in May 1967 in New York City and was released by ESP-Disk later that year. On the album, Wright is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, ba ...

'', was recorded in 1967 and was also released by

. In 1968, Wright briefly joined

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

's group, which also included

Eddie Gale Edward Gale Stevens Jr. (August 15, 1941 – July 10, 2020), known professionally as Eddie Gale, was an American trumpeter known for his work in free jazz, especially with the Sun Ra Arkestra. Life and career Born in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York o ...

Jimmy Lyons Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never ...

Alan Silva Alan Lee da Silva (born 22 January 1939, in Bermuda) is an American free jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known as a double bassist. He has recorded on keyboards, violin, cello and trumpet among other instruments. Biography Silva was born a ...

, and

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographer ...

, for a tour of the west coast of the United States, where the group had a residency at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, performed at the

Berkeley Jazz Festival The Berkeley Jazz Festival is held once a year at the outdoors Hearst Greek Theatre on the University of California, Berkeley campus. The theatre overlooks the San Francisco Bay at Hearst & Gayley Road. The festival was started in 1967 by Darlene ...

, and opened for

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

at the

Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore ...

. In 1969, Wright moved to Europe and settled in Paris, where he formed and recorded with The Frank Wright Quartet, featuring

Bobby Few Bobby Few (October 21, 1935 – January 6, 2021) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Early life Born Robert Lee Few Junior on October 21, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, "he was the son of Robert Senior, a maître d'hôtel at a white country ...

, and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

. In the early 1970s, Howard left and was replaced by

, at which time the group changed its name to ''The Center of the World Quartet'' at Silva's suggestion. The group also established a label called ''Center of the World Records'' as well as a distribution company called

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

. In 1971, Wright briefly moved back to the United States, but then returned to France, where he continued to record and tour with a variety of musicians. In 1984, he joined

's ''Orchestra of Two Continents'', touring Europe and recording ''

Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants) ''Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)'' is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Milan, Italy on October 22–24, 1984, and released on the Black Saint/Soul Note, Soul Note label. The album features performances by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, Enrico R ...

''. He also recorded '' Olu Iwa'' with Taylor in 1986. During this time he also performed and recorded with German visual artist and drummer

A. R. Penck Ralf Winkler, alias A. R. Penck, who also used the pseudonyms ''Mike Hammer'', ''T. M.'', ''Mickey Spilane'', ''Theodor Marx'', "''a. Y.''" or just "''Y''" (5 October 1939 – 2 May 2017) was a German painter, printmaker, sculptor ...

. In 1988, he joined the

Art Ensemble of Chicago The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jaz ...

for a concert at the Petrillo Bandshell in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Wright died in Germany in 1990. Wright was an ordained minister, and was known as "Reverend" Frank Wright, "a title of veneration universally bestowed upon the saxophonist by his peers in recognition of his spiritual approach to music, as well as his fervent style of improvisation."

Style and influence

wrote that "Ayler's scalding abstract expressionism was the prime influence on Wright, who transformed it with his own personality and passed it on." Kelsey also noted that "Echoes of Wright's playing can be heard in the work of such younger saxophonists as

Glenn Spearman Glenn Spearman (February 14, 1947 – October 8, 1998) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was associated with free jazz and experimental music. Spearman was active in Oakland, California, in the late 1960s but moved to Paris in 1972 and f ...

Sabir Mateen Sabir Mateen (born April 16, 1951) is an American musician and composer from Philadelphia. His musical style is primarily avant-garde jazz. He plays tenor and alto saxophone, B♭ and alto clarinet, and flute. As a young man, Mateen was origi ...

Charles Gayle Charles Gayle (February 28, 1939 – September 7, 2023) was an American free jazz musician. Initially known as a saxophonist who came to prominence in the 1990s after decades of obscurity, Gayle also performed as pianist, bass clarinetist, bassi ...

, and

Thomas Borgmann Thomas Borgmann, born in 1955 in Münster, is a German musician (tenor, soprano, and Sopranino saxophone) and composer of Jazz, free Jazz, and free improvisation music. Biography Borgmann began his career in the early 1980s, working mainly wit ...

." Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', reviewer

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

wrote that Wright's music "was sometimes referred to as 'energy music' during the 1960s, and although the term is vague... it is appropriate in Mr. Wright's case. The saxophonist sometimes seems to get so caught up in the physicality of his playing that he breaks into little dance steps in the middle of a solo." Palmer continued: "Mr. Wright has remained faithful to the rowdy, celebratory essence of what might be called the Cleveland style... the combination of maturity and power in his playing comes as something of a shock."

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (6 March 1941 – 22 June 2023) was a German jazz saxophonist and clarinetist regarded as a central and pioneering figure in European free jazz. Throughout his career, he released over fifty albums as a bandleader. Amongst his m ...

recalled that Wright "was a wild man, in a good sense: made music and lived life in his own way. He was one of the first black Americans we got to know really well, and we all learned a lot from that."

Discography

As leader

* ''

'' (

, 1966) with

(bass) and Tom Price (drums) * ''

'' (

, 1967) with Arthur Jones (alto sax),

Jacques Coursil Jacques Coursil (March 31, 1938 – June 26, 2020) was a composer, jazz trumpeter, scholar, and professor of literature, linguistics, and philosophy. Early life Coursil was born in Paris, France, of Martinican parents. At age nine, he began study ...

(trumpet), Steve Tintweiss (bass), and

(drums) * ''

Uhuru na Umoja ''Uhuru na Umoja'' (in Swahili "Freedom and Unity") is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Frank Wright recorded in 1970 in Paris, originally released on the French America label and reissued on CD in 2004 by Universal France. Wright lea ...

'' (

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 1970) with

(alto sax),

(piano), and Arthur Taylor (drums) * '' One for John'' ( BYG, 1970) with

(alto sax),

(piano), and

(drums) * '' Church Number Nine'' ( Odeon, 1971) with

(alto sax),

(piano), and

(drums) * '' Center of the World'' ( Center of the World, 1972) with

(piano),

(bass), and

(drums) * '' Last Polka in Nancy?'' ( Center of the World, 1973) with

(piano),

(bass), and

(drums) * ''Adieu Little Man'' ( Center of the World, 1974) with

(percussion) * ''Solos Duets'' ( Center of the World, 1975) with

(piano, voice) and

(bass, violin, piano, voice) * ''Shouting the Blues'' (

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

, 1977) with Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (bass), and Charles Saudrais (drums) * ''Kevin, My Dear Son'' (

, 1979) with Kamal Abdul Alim (trumpet),

Eddie Jefferson Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims ...

(voice), Georges Arvanitas (piano),

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 ...

(bass),

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American Jazz drumming, jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio stat ...

(drums), and Khalil Abdullah (percussion) * ''Stove Man, Love Is the Word'' (Sandra Music, 1979) with Ka Kamal Abdul Alm (trumpet), Tony Smith (piano), Richard Williams (bass), Gerry Griffin (drums), and Khalil Abdullah (percussion) * ''Eddie's Back in Town'' (Krona, 1982) with Tony Smith (piano), Richard Williams (bass), and Gregory Bufford (drums) * ''

The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings ''The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings'' is a two-CD compilation album by saxophonist Frank Wright. Issued by ESP-Disk in 2005, it contains two studio albums released by the label during the 1960s: ''Frank Wright Trio'', recorded in 1965 and issued i ...

'' (

, 2005) * ''

Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...

'' (

, 2006) with

(piano),

(bass), and

(drums) * ''

Blues for Albert Ayler ''Blues for Albert Ayler'' is a live album by saxophonist Frank Wright (jazz musician), Frank Wright. It was recorded at Ali's Alley in New York City on July 17, 1974, and was released in 2012 by ESP-Disk. On the album, Wright is joined by guitar ...

'' (

, 2012) with

James Blood Ulmer James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American jazz, free funk and blues music, blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been ...

(guitar), Benny Wilson (bass), and

Rashied Ali Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson (July 1, 1933 – August 12, 2009), was an American free jazz and Avant-garde jazz, avant-garde drummer who was best known for performing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life. Biography Earl ...

(drums)

As sideman

, '' Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)'' (

Revenant In folklore, a revenant is a spirit or animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living. The word ''revenant'' is derived from the Old French word (see also the related French verb ). Revenants are part o ...

, 2004) * Albert Ayler, '' La Cave Live, Cleveland 1966 Revisited'' (ezz-thetics, 2022) *

Peter Brotzmann Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, ''

Alarm ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile) is a British anti-radiation missile designed primarily to destroy enemy radars for the purpose of Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). It was used by the Royal Air Force, RAF and is still used by ...

'' (FMP, 1983) * Hans Dulfer, ''El Saxofon'' (Catfish, 1971) *

, ''

Space Dimension ''Space Dimension'' is an album by alto saxophonist Noah Howard. It was recorded during 1970 in Paris, and was released on vinyl in 1971 by America Records. In 2019, it was reissued by Eating Standing, an Italian label. On the album, Howard is jo ...

'' (America, 1971) *

Hannibal Lokumbe Hannibal Lokumbe (born Marvin Peterson on November 11, 1948) is an American composer and jazz trumpeter. Career A native of Smithville, Texas, United States, he is sometimes known by the name "Hannibal". He attended high school in Texas City, T ...

, ''The Light'' (Baystate, 1978) *

Raphe Malik Raphe Malik, born Laurence Mazel (November 1, 1948 in Cambridge, Massachusetts – March 8, 2006 in Guilford, Vermont) was an American jazz trumpeter. Career Malik studied at the University of Massachusetts (1966–70), then moved to Paris, whe ...

, '' Last Set: Live at the 1369 Jazz Club'' (Boxholder, 2004) *

Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (10 March 1940 – 13 June 2025) was a South African jazz drummer. He was a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The ...

, ''

Spiritual Knowledge and Grace ''Spiritual Knowledge and Grace'' is a live album by drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, bassist and pianist Johnny Dyani, and saxophonist Frank Wright. It was recorded on June 22, 1979, at Jazzclub De Markt in Eindhoven, Holla ...

'' (Ogun, 2011) *

A.R. Penck Ralf Winkler, alias A. R. Penck, who also used the pseudonyms ''Mike Hammer'', ''T. M.'', ''Mickey Spilane'', ''Theodor Marx'', "''a. Y.''" or just "''Y''" (5 October 1939 – 2 May 2017) was a German Painting, painter, printmaker ...

, ''Through the Black Hole & Berlin Berlin'' (Music Corp., 1984) *

Saheb Sarbib Saheb Sarbib (born 1944) is an American jazz double-bassist and bandleader. Career Sarbib, born Jean Henri Sarbib, was raised in Europe. His father was Roger Sarbib, a French pianist and innovator of the big band style in Portugal in the 1940s an ...

, ''Aisha'' (Cadence, 1981) *

, ''

'' (Soul Note, 1985) * Cecil Taylor, '' Olu Iwa'' (Soul Note, 1994)

References

External links

Center of the world discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Frank American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Avant-garde jazz musicians People from Grenada, Mississippi 1935 births 1990 deaths BYG Actuel artists ESP-Disk artists 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Mississippi 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians