Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937) is a jazz alto saxophonist. Strozier was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where he learned to play piano. In 1954, he moved to Chicago, where he performed with

Harold Mabern Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 42 ...

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

, and

Booker Little Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010 was an American

(like Strozier, they were from Memphis). He recorded with the MJT + 3 from 1959 to 1960 and led sessions for

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

. After moving to New York, Strozier was briefly with the

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Quintet in 1963 (between the tenures of

Hank Mobley Henry "Hank" Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to descr ...

and

) and also gigged with

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...

, and the

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his lif ...

big band. Returning to New York in 1971, he worked with Keno Duke's Jazz Contemporaries, the

New York Jazz Repertory Company The New York Jazz Repertory Company was a jazz big band ensemble founded in 1974 by George Wein. Wein organized the group to play at the Newport Jazz Festival, which they did for several years. The group had a shifting lineup and had several music ...

, Horace Parlan, and

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...

Discography

As leader

* ''

Fantastic Frank Strozier ''Fantastic Frank Strozier'' is the debut album by American saxophonist Frank Strozier, recorded in 1959 and 1960 for Vee-Jay Records. The personnel includes the rhythm section from part of Miles Davis's ''Kind of Blue'', recorded earlier in 195 ...

'' (Vee-Jay, 1960) * '' Long Night'' ( Jazzland, 1961) * ''

March of the Siamese Children ''March of the Siamese Children'' is an album by jazz musician Frank Strozier, recorded in 1962 for Jazzland. Track listing #"March of the Siamese Children" ( Rodgers, Hammerstein II)5:10 #"Extension 27" (Strozier)4:57 #"Something I Dreamed ...

'' (Jazzland, 1962) * '' Remember Me'' ( SteepleChase, 1977) * '' What's Goin' On'' (SteepleChase, 1978) * ''Cool, Calm and Collected'' (Vee Jay, 1993)

As sideman

With

* ''

Cymbalism ''Cymbalism'' is an album recorded by American drummer Roy Haynes in 1963 for the New Jazz label.Roy Hayne ...

'' (New Jazz, 1963) * ''People'' (Pacific Jazz, 1964) With

* ''

Manne–That's Gershwin! ''Manne–That's Gershwin!'' is an album by drummer Shelly Manne featuring music by George Gershwin, recorded in 1965 and released on the Capitol label.

'' (Capitol, 1965) * ''

Boss Sounds! ''Boss Sounds!'' (subtitled ''Shelly Manne & His Men at Shelly's Manne-Hole'') is a live album by drummer Shelly Manne recorded in 1966 and released on the Atlantic label.

'' (Atlantic, 1966) * ''

Daktari ''Daktari'' ( Swahili for "doctor") is an American family drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series is an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television starring Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a vete ...

'' (Atlantic, 1967) * ''

Jazz Gunn ''Jazz Gunn'' (subtitled ''Shelly Manne & His Men Play Henry Mancini's music for the Film "Gunn"'') is an album by drummer Shelly Manne recorded in 1967, featuring music by Henry Mancini written for the motion picture '' Gunn'', and released on ...

'' (Atlantic, 1967) * ''

Perk Up ''Perk Up'' is an album by the drummer Shelly Manne recorded in 1967, but not released until an issue on the Concord Jazz label in 1976.MJT + 3 ''MJT + 3'' is an album by MJT + 3, recorded in 1960 for Vee-Jay Records. Track listing #"Branching Out" (Mabern) - 6:57 #"Lil' Abner" (Willie Thomas) - 4:10 #"Don't Ever Throw My Love Away" (Strozier) - 9:08 #"Raggity Man" (Thomas) - 6:29 # ...

'' (Vee Jay, 1961) With

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...

* ''

Live from Los Angeles ''Live from Los Angeles'' is an album by American jazz composer/arranger Oliver Nelson featuring performances recorded in 1967 for the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1967) * ''

Black, Brown and Beautiful ''Black, Brown and Beautiful'' is an album by American jazz composer/arranger Oliver Nelson featuring performances by a big band recorded in 1969 and first released on the Flying Dutchman label. Selections from the album were released on Nelson's ...

'' (Flying Dutchman, 1970) With others *

Booker Little Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010 was an American

, '' Booker Little 4 and Max Roach'' (1958) * Walter Perkins, ''Walter Perkins' MJT+3'' (Vee Jay, 1959) *

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, ''

The Big Soul-Band ''The Big Soul-Band'' (also released as ''Wade in the Water'') is an album by the Johnny Griffin Orchestra, led by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin, featuring arrangements by Norman Simmons (musician), Norman Simmons. It was released on the River ...

'' (Riverside, 1960) *

The Young Lions ''The Young Lions'' (1948) is a novel by Irwin Shaw about three soldiers in World War II. Plot Christian Diestl is at first a sympathetic Austrian drawn to Nazism by despair for his future but willing to sacrifice Jews if necessary. Noah Acke ...

, ''

'' (Vee Jay, 1960) * Sam Jones, '' Down Home'' (Riverside, 1962) * Booker Ervin, ''

Exultation! ''Exultation!'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1963 for the Prestige label.

'' (Prestige, 1963) *

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

, '' Today and Tomorrow'' (Impulse!, 1964) *

, '' Baby Breeze'' (Limelight, 1965) *

, ''

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

'' (Columbia, 1968) *

The Three Sounds The Three Sounds (also known as The 3 Sounds) were an American jazz piano trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973. The band formed in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, as the Four Sounds. The original line-up consisted of Gene Harri ...

and the

Orchestra, '' Coldwater Flat'' (Blue Note, 1968) *

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

, '' Soulful Brass'' (Flying Dutchman, 1969) *

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...

, '' Dumpy Mama'' (Flying Dutchman, 1975) * Horace Parlan, ''

Frank-ly Speaking ''Frank-ly Speaking'' is an album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in the U.S. in 1977 and released on the Danish-based SteepleChase label.

'' ( SteepleChase, 1977) *

, ''

Little Red's Fantasy ''Little Red's Fantasy'' is an album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded in 1976 and released on the Muse label.Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He ...

, ''

Variety Is the Spice ''Variety Is the Spice'' is an album by the Louis Hayes Group recorded in 1978 and released on the Gryphon label. Stafford James, ''Stafford James Ensemble'' (Red, 1979)

References

External links

Comprehensive and regularly updated Frank Strozier Discography

Compositions of Frank Strozier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strozier, Frank 1937 births Jazz alto saxophonists Living people Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee African-American jazz musicians American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists SteepleChase Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Tennessee 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people