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Frank Tusa

Bassist, composer, educator Frank Tusa has had a wide variety of recording, and performing experiences with such diverse artists as Art Blakey, Buddy Montgomery, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Tommy Flanagan,Pepper Adams, Shelly Manne, Bobby Hutcherson, Johnny Griffin, Herb Ellis, Art Farmer, Richie Beirach,Randy Brecker, Freddie Hubbard, John Abercrumbie, George Cables and many other great jazz artists. Tusa’s early recordings are with jazz legends Paul Bley, Don Cherry and Dave Liebman. Frank was one of the original members of Dave Liebman’s critically acclaimed group “Lookout Farm”. In 1980 Frank relocated to San Francisco after spending many years learning and working through the ranks of his native New York City scene. After arriving in San Francisco he very quickly became known as one of the finest musicians in the bay area and has been in constant demand for his solid rhythmic anchoring and eloquent melodic lines. He has also been very active in music education teaching at San Jose State and Stanford University.

Awards

National Endowment of the Jazz Performance Fellowship Grant

Frank Tusa Quartet at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society

by Bill Leikam
September 1, 2013

Frank Tusa QuartetBach Dancing & Dynamite SocietyRemembering Chet BakerHalf Moon Bay, CAAugust 11, 2013To honor the memory of the great vocalist and trumpet master Chet Baker, bassist Frank Tusa was inspired to create a concert based on the man and his music. Since Tusa had toured and recorded with Baker, it was natural that he be so inspired. As the tribute took shape, the only drummer right for this concert was San Francisco's ...

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Album Review

Dom Um Romao: The Complete Muse Recordings

Read "The Complete Muse Recordings" reviewed by Derrick A. Smith

by Derrick A. Smith
October 1, 1999

32 Records maintain their unique level of quality, and responsiveness, with this single-disc reissue of percussionist/composer Dom Um Romao’s complete Muse recordings, two albums from 1973 that determined the locus of bossa -tinged jazz, the nuyorican Latin movement, the Brazilian “corner club” sound, and Brazilian roots music, namely batucada.

Gene Paul’s customary naturalistic remastering allows full expression of the electronic and acoustic layered textures. Both albums, particularly the eponymous debut, move like a dream. The scant vocals provoke humorously from ...

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Album Review

Dom Um Romao: The Complete Muse Recordings

Read "The Complete Muse Recordings" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan

by C. Andrew Hovan
October 1, 1999

According to producer Joel Dorn, customer requests have been staggering for the reissue of Brazilian percussionist Dom Um Romao’s two Muse titles which were both culled from sessions in June and November of 1973. Now available on one compact disc, The Complete Muse Recordings contains the sum total of the original albums Dom Um Romao and Spirit of the Times and as documents of a particularly fruitful period for Brazilian music they are invaluable. Way before the term “world music" ...

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Recording

Mosaic Select: Pendulum Featuring Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Richie Beirach, Frank Tusa and al Foster

Source: All About Jazz
July 25, 2008

Explosive Post-Bop Jazz By Five Master Musicians In February 1978, saxophonist Dave Liebman assembled Pendulum, a formidable quintet with trumpeter Randy Brecker, pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Frank Tusa and drummer Al Foster. The group was assembled for a one-week engagement at the Village Vanguard in New York City. Sadly, its lifespan was that one gig, but fortunately John Snyder of Artists House Records and engineer David Baker were on hand to record the last two nights of the run. The ...
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Dave Liebman Quintet's classic Pendulum date: "Frank Tusa is the perfect bassist for this material. You can't rely on the standard bag of tricks when you're playing behind Richie Beirach. You have to be on your toes. Tusa responds to the challenge with the some of the most lucid bass playing I've ever heard. He's constantly responding to what Beirach does rhythmically, sometimes strumming the accoustic bass almost like a percussion instrument. His walking is always tasteful, always original and never a cliche. His tone is gutsy and beautiful. I tend not to notice bass players, but Frank Tusa doesn't disappear into the background, even in this band of consummate professionals".