Results for "Frank Wess"

Frank Wess

Born: January 4, 1922

Frank Wess (born January 4, 1922 in Kansas City) is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone (both alto and tenor) and flute.

He began with classical music and played in Oklahoma. He later switched to jazz on moving to Washington, D. C. and by nineteen was working in the Big Bands. His career would be interrupted during World War II although he did play with a military band in the period. On returning from service he joined Billy Eckstine's orchestra.

He returned to DC a few years after this and received a degree in flute at the city's Modern School Of Music. From 1953 he joined Count Basie's band, playing flute and tenor sax. He reverted to alto sax in the late '50s, and left Basie's band in 1964. From 1959 to 1964 he won Down Beat's critic poll for flute. Since then he has done a variety of TV shows and telethons. He was a member of Clark Terry's big band from 1967 into the '70s and played in the New York Quartet (with Roland Hanna). In the '80s and '90s, he worked with Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid, Buck Clayton, Benny Carter, Billy Taylor, Harry Edison, Mel Tormé, Ernestine Anderson, Louie Bellson, John Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Dick Hyman, Byron Stripling, Jane Jarvis, Frank Vignola and was a featured member of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra.

Craft Mines the Vaults: New Moodsville Titles from Red Garland, Frank Wess, and Coleman Hawkins

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 27, 2026

When it comes to independent record labels of the past that ventured across such a broad musical landscape, few could rival the efforts of Bob Weinstock and his Prestige imprint. Recognizing the advantages of appealing to multiple markets, Weinstock expanded well beyond his core jazz catalog, issuing rare blues titles through the Bluesville subsidiary and turning ...

New Reissue Series Offers A First-Class Ticket To Moodsville

by Joshua Weiner
September 22, 2026

With the rise of consumer culture in the 1950s and 1960s, hi-fi systems on which to play newly available stereo records became de rigueur for those who aspired to sophisticated leisure time. A wide variety of “mood music" albums, from classical to exotica to jazz, promised the perfect soundtrack for any emotional state or social gathering. ...

Haruna Fukazawa

Born: April 14

Haruna Fukazawa is a New York-based flutist, improviser, composer and a voting member of the Recording Academy, originally from Tokyo, Japan, Haruna blends classical training with a bold, joyful improvisational style deeply inspired by her mentor, Frank Wess.
Haruna is a 2026 GRAMMY® Nominee in Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for “SHAYAN” by Charu Suri.

​Haruna studied classical music at Musashino Academia Musicae before setting her sights on New York City, where she began studying with Frank Wess

Neal Miner: Invisibility

by Jack Bowers
April 27, 2026

Here is a jazz trio with a twist: instead of the usual piano, bass and drums--or guitar, bass and drums--Neal Miner's threesome on Invisibility consists of tenor saxophone, bass and drums. While bassist Miner is the nominal leader, the New York City-based trio is a true co-op in which Miner, drummer Jason Tiemann and saxophonist Chris ...

Hannah Horton: Stories On The Wind

by Jack Bowers
March 27, 2026

Saxophonist Hannah Horton is a rising star on the U.K. jazz scene, for many good reasons. For Stories on the Wind, her third studio recording, Horton has written a series of eloquent and picturesque narratives, all of which she plays with an abundance of warmth and charm on tenor or baritone sax. Much of ...

In the Land of Giants: OJCs from Thad Jones and Red Garland

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 6, 2026

The late 1950s marked a particularly fertile period in jazz. Big bands still commanded audiences, while smaller combos often blended veterans of the swing era with the rising architects of modern bop. Musicians such as Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Illinois Jacquet, and Coleman Hawkins moved fluidly among ensembles, thriving in a moment before the stylistic fault ...

Improvising the Russian Classical Composers: Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin

by Larry Slater
February 6, 2026

Russia's contribution to the arts over the past couple of centuries has been extraordinary and unparalleled. Russian authors are among the greatest writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Russia is synonymous with classical ballet and Russian composers transformed classical music. In the 19th century, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin and Pyotr Ilyich ...

A post generic mix-Rin Seo Collective, Catalyst, Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis, and Shostakovich

by Hobart Taylor
January 14, 2026

Crossroads: Askew nuanced arrangements from composer Rin Seo, a jazz master class from Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Kenny Burrell, and Mal Waldron, Third Stream explorations from Kris Davis with the Lutoslawski Quartet, and some Shostakovich for context. Playlist Host Speaks 00:00 The Messthetics/James Brandon Lewis “Gestations" from Deface The Currency (Impulse) 00:15 Aubrey Johnson ...

Ignasi Terraza: With Respect To Oscar And Niels

by Artur Moral
October 8, 2025

Exceptionalism is often presented with a spectacular surface. However, it also hides itself behind multiple layers of deep discretion. This is true with pianist, composer, educator and record producer Ignasi Terraza. His uniqueness is based on several facts: being the first blind person in Spain to earn--a mid-1980s achievement, without today's technology--a degree in Computer Engineering; ...