Today in Jazz

Frank Rosolino, Trombone, 1926, Detroit, MI

Frank began playing the guitar at around the age of  twelve, and took up the trombone in his late teens.  He enlisted in the army when he was eighteen and performed with military bands in the States and in the Philippines.  After his discharge he worked in the big bands of  Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Gene Krupa, Tony Pastor, and Georgie Auld.  Around 1952 Frank led his own band in the Detroit area for several years, and then, in 1955 he joined Stan Kenton for an important association. Most of his later career was spent on the West Coast, with much time at Howard Rumsey's Light House working with most of the prominent musicians in the "West Coast Movement".   He was very active freelancing as a studio player and also made a successful tour of  Europe with Conte Candoli.  Frank did a wonderful job with Supersax, and recorded with frequently with Quincy Jones.  Rosolino was a talented singer as well, specializing in comic  material, but it is as one of the most  technically able trombonists of the bop era that he will be remembered.  Tragically, Frank Rosolino took his own life in 1978.

Frank Capp, Drums, 1931, Worcester, MA

In the early '50s Frank played, for a short time, with Stan Kenton's band and then with Neal Hefti.  Two years later he made his home in Los Angeles where he performed with the singers Peggy Lee,  Dorothy Dandridge, Betty Hutton and Ella Fitzgerald.  During this period he also worked with the big -bands of Billy May, Harry James, and Charlie Barnet.  Some of the small groups he played with led by Stan Getz, Red Mitchell, Marty Paich, Art Pepper, and Dave Pell with whom he also recorded.  He  recorded several times with the pianist Andre Previn, and through Previn he was able to find work in the film studios of Warner Bros.  During this time he also recorded with Benny Goodman, Terry Gibbs, Turk Murphy, and Barney Kessel.  He did a great deal of work in many television shows in the '60s, and in the '70s he worked with such musicians as Ernestine Anderson, Bill Berry, and Joe Williams.  He came to public prominence as the leader, with Nat Pierce, of a big band formed in 1975 known as the Capp-Pierce-Juggernaut.  The band played and recorded on the West Coast, and it's sidemen have included stars such as Marshal Royal, Blue Mitchell, Herb Ellis, Richie Kamuca, Britt Woodman, and Plas Johnson.  Capp remains one of the most active musicians in jazz today.

Terry Clarke, Drums, 1944,Vancouver, Canada

Terry studied music in Vancouver with the Canadian drummer Jim Blackley, while he also played in the bands of the pianist Chris Gage and the trombonist Dave Robbins.  He toured the U.S. with John Handy's quintet in the mid '60s, and also with the pop group The Fifth Dimention.   He finally settled in Toronto in 1970 where he worked in jazz clubs and recording studios.  He toured and recorded with, among others, Frank Rosolino, Jay McShann, Jim Hall, Emily Remler, and Ed Beckert.  He also played an important role in Rob McConnells's group, Boss Brass, and in 1981 held he down the drum chair in Oscar Peterson's trio.  From 1985 he  lived in New York while continuing to work with Canadian musicians.

August 2008

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