Frank Socolow in the 1940s

Despite enjoying a lengthy career, Frank Socolow recorded only two leadership sessions—one in 1945 and another in 1956. The paucity of recordings under his own name was likely due to his workload playing on other artists' recordings. Socolow had mastered bebop early in 1945, which made him a sought-after player by bands that embraced the new jazz style and needed players who could navigate the intricacies of bop arrangements.

Born in New York in 1923, Socolow began his playing career in the early 1940s in the swing bands of Ted Fio Rito, Van Alexander and Georgie Auld. At the start of his recording career in 1944, Socolow on tenor saxophone emulated Flip Phillips, only his tone was more powdery and seductive and less bossy.

In 1945, he recorded as the leader for Duke Records with trumpeter Freddie Webster and a young Bud Powell on piano. Over the next four years, Socolow switched to alto and recorded in some of the most amazing big bands of the era with the toughest books. A look at the personnel in these groups should tell you what kind of killers were assembled to read these charts.

After his leadership date, Socolow joined Boyd Raeburn's band, one of the most sophisticated orchestras of the period. For example, Dizzy Gillespie turned to Raeburn's band in 1944 to play his composition and arrangement of A Night in Tunisia.

Then Socolow joined Chubby Jackson's Fifth Dimensional Jazz Group that toured Sweden in early 1948. Socolow returned to Raeburn mid-year before recording with Jackson's astonishing big band in early 1949, followed by Jerry Wald, Jackson's working band, Buddy DeFranco and then Artie Shaw's tremendous Thesaurus Transcription band in December, which specialized in bop. He ended the decade with Charlie Ventura, who was fronting a spectacular group loaded with sterling players.

Socolow had a robust playing and recording career, but today, let's just listen to eight examples of his work in some remarkable bands of the 1940s:

Here's September in the Rain, with Freddie Webster (tp), Frank Socolow (ts), Bud Powell (p), Leonard Gaskin (b) and Irv Kluger (d) in May 1945...



Here's Boyd Raeburn's Out of Nowhere, arranged by Johnny Mandel with a tenor solo by Socolow. The band: Tommy Allison, Carl Berg, Alan Jeffreys and Dale Pierce (tp); Jack Carman, Johnny Mandel and Trummy Young (tb); Johnny Bothwell and Leonard Green (as) Stuart Anderson and Frank Socolow (ts); Hy Mandel (bar); Boyd Raeburn (bassax); Ike Carpenter (p); Steve Jordan (g); Joe Berisce (b) and Irv Kluger (d) in May 1945...



Here's Chubby Jackson & His Fifth Dimensional Jazz Group's recording of Crown Pilots in Sweden in December 1947. The band: Conte Candoli (tp); Frank Socolow (ts); Terry Gibbs (vib); Lou Levy (p); Chubby Jackson (b) and Denzil Best (d)...



Here's Chubby Jackson with the same band on the same date...



Here's Jerry Wald's Afracubalibra in March 1949. The band: Al Porcino, Dick Paul, Dick Sherman and Danny Vanelli (tp); Bob Ascher, Frank D'Annolfo, Mario Doane and Rob Swope (tb); Jerry Wald (cl); Sam Zittman and Frank Socolow (as); Don Lanphere (ts); Walter Bettman and Harvey Lavine (bar); Sam Krupit (p); Rudy Sanfilipo (b); Irv Kluger (d); Milo Curibella and Charles Meijir (cga,bgo) and Manny Albam (arr). Click “Watch on YouTube." Socolow takes an alto solo...



Here's Buddy DeFranco's This Time the Dream's on Me in April 1949. The band: Bernie Glow, Paul Cohen, Jimmy Pupa and Jack Eagle (tp); Ollie Wilson and Earl Swope (tb); Bart Varsalona (b-tb); Buddy DeFranco (cl); Lee Konitz and Frank Socolow (as); Al Cohn and Jerry Sanfino (ts); Serge Chaloff (bar); Gene Di Novi (p); Oscar Pettiford (b), with an arrangement by Gerald Valentine...



Here's Artie Shaw's Krazy Kat, composed and with one hell of an arrangement by Johnny Mandel, in December 1949. The band: Don Fagerquist, Don Paladino, Dale Pierce and Victor Ford (tp); Ange Callea, Porky Cohen, Sonny Russo and Fred Zito (tb); Artie Shaw (cl,arr); Herbie Steward and Frank Socolow (as); Al Cohn (ts); Zoot Sims (ts); Danny Bank (bar); Gil Barrios (p); Jimmy Raney (g); Dick Nivison (b); and Irv Kluger (d)...



Here's Charlie Ventura's take on Duke Ellington's Take the A Train, in December 1949. The band: Stan Fishelson, Johnny Mandel, Dale Pierce and Red Rodney (tp); Mort Bullman and Bennie Green (tb); Bart Varsalona (b-tb); Bill Barber (tu); Charlie Ventura (ts,bar,sop); Ray Beckenstein and Frank Socolow (as); Al Epstein (ts); Al Cohn (ts); Manny Albam (bar); Lou Stein (p); Barry Galbraith (g); Curly Russell (b); Ed Shaughnessy (d); George Russell (arr,tamb) and George Williams (arr)...



Bonus: Here's 46 minutes of Chubby Jackson in 1949, with Socolow taking all the alto solos...



Frank Sokolow died of cancer in 1981 at age 57.