Frank Strazzeri

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

Frank Strazzeri
Born(1930-04-24)April 24, 1930
Rochester, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 9, 2014(2014-05-09) (aged 84)
Rochester, New York
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsPiano
Years active1950s–2010s
LabelsRevelation, Fresh Sound

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. He moved to New Orleans in 1954, playing with Sharkey Bonano and Al Hirt in a Dixieland jazz setting, but his focus since then was on bebop. He played with Charlie Ventura in 1957–58 and Woody Herman in 1959 before moving to Los Angeles in 1960. There he worked extensively as a studio musician on the West Coast jazz scene, and toured with Joe Williams, Maynard Ferguson, 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, Herb Ellis, the Lighthouse All-Stars, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Cal Tjader, Louie Bellson, and Chet Baker, in addition to recording as a leader. He died at the age of 84 on May 9, 2014.[1][2]

Discography

As leader
  • That's Him and This Is New (Revelation, 1969)
  • Taurus (Revelation, 1973)
  • View from Within with Don Menza (Creative World, 1973)
  • Frames with Don Menza (Glendale, 1975)
  • After the Rain with Sam Most and Bobby Shew (Catalyst, 1976)
  • Straz (Catalyst, 1977)
  • Relaxin' (Sea Breeze, 1980)
  • Kat Dancin' (Discovery, 1985)
  • Make Me Rainbows (Fresh Sound, 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

With Chet Baker

With the Red Mitchell-Harold Land Quintet

gollark: I could breed everything but it'd be more of a melange.
gollark: I don't really have enough of anything to create proper walls.
gollark: No sane person has that many nocturnes!
gollark: Ah, the nocturnepocalypse.
gollark: Anyone who wants me to breed something will have to slog through the three pages of my scroll, and since I have no `CB` or whatever tags in names, they can't even Ctrl-F for anything.

References
  1. "Frank Strazzeri". Jaxbarandgrill.com. 1930-04-24. Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  2. Ramsey, Doug (25 May 2014). "Jazz news: In Memoriam: Frank Strazzeri". All About Jazz News. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
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