Frank Colón (born October 13, 1951) is an American musician and martial artist of Puerto Rican descent.

Early life and education

Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Colón moved from there to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

at the age of five. His musical instruction began at age eleven, beginning with classical piano lessons, under the guidance of Angelina Figueroa and Rafael Figueroa. He also studied Brazilian percussion, guitar, electric bass, and trap drums. He was active in municipal and collegiate sports, martial arts, and amateur theater, and worked with various local pop music groups. In 1970, he moved back to Washington, D.C. to attend college at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

, where he majored in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. During this time, his musical orientation changed from

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

instruments to percussion. Finishing his university requirements, he turned full-time to music.

Music career

In 1976, Colón moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to work with the drummer Julito Collazo. There he became proficient at playing the Batá drums.

Martial arts

Colón is a practitioner of

Tai chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...

, and an American pioneer black belt Senior Instructor in the Israeli

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

system

Krav-Maga Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli martial art. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situation ...

, certified by the Wingate Institute of Israel and Krav-Maga International, Inc. He was the first elected Vice-President of the American Association of Krav maga Instructors (AAKMI), nowadays known as The Krav maga Federation. He currently holds the rank of Professor Black Belt Dan 2.

Discography

As leader

*''Live at Vartanjazz'' *''Latin Wonder'' *''Latin Lounge''

As sideman

With Ray Anderson *'' Don't Mow Your Lawn'' (Enja, 1994) With

Gato Barbieri Leandro "Gato" Barbieri (November 28, 1932 – April 2, 2016) was an Argentine jazz tenor saxophonist who rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and is known for his Latin jazz recordings of the 1970s. His nickname, Gato, is Spa ...

*''Bahia'' (Fania, 1982) With

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

*''

My Life My Life may refer to: Autobiographies * ''Mein Leben'' (Wagner) (''My Life''), by Richard Wagner, 1870 * ''My Life'' (Clinton autobiography), by Bill Clinton, 2004 * ''My Life'' (Meir autobiography), by Golda Meir, 1973 * ''My Life'' (Mosley a ...

'' (Verve, 1994) With George Clinton *'' By Way of the Drum'' (Hip-O Select, 2007) With

David Bennett Cohen David Bennett Cohen (born August 4, 1942) is an American musician best known as the original keyboardist and one of the guitar players for the late-1960s psychedelic rock and blues band Country Joe and the Fish. Early life and influences ...

*''Cookin' With Cohen'' (Core, 2008) With

Barbara Dennerlein Barbara Dennerlein (born 25 September 1964 in Munich) is a German jazz organist. She has achieved particular critical acclaim for using the bass pedalboard on a Hammond organ and for integrating synthesizer sounds onto the instrument, and was de ...

*''

Junkanoo Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance, and costumes with origin in many islands across the English speaking Caribbean every Boxing Day (26 December) and New Year's Day (1 January). These cultural parades are predominantly showcased in t ...

'' (Verve, 1997) With

Charles Earland Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz organist. Biography Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 form ...

*''Front Burner'' (Milestone, 1988) With

Michael Galasso Michael John Galasso (1949, Hammond, Louisiana - September 9, 2009, Paris, France) was an American composer, violinist, and music director. Film scores Galasso wrote music for films, including Wong Kar-wai's '' In the Mood for Love'', Babak P ...

*''

High Lines ''High Lines'' is an album by American composer and violinist Michael Galasso recorded in November 2002 and April 2004 and released on ECM the following year.

'' (ECM, 2005) With Diem Jones *''Equanimity'' (Dr. Woo, 2007) With

Babatunde Lea Babatunde Lea ( ) is an American percussionist who plays Afro-Cuban jazz and worldbeat. He took his name from Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji. Biography Michael Lea was raised in Englewood, New Jersey, while regularly commuting to 116th an ...

*''Level of Intent'' (Motema Music, 1991) With Tom Lellis *''Southern Exposure'' (Adventure, 2003) With Andrea Marcelli *''Oneness'' (Lipstick, 1994) With

Tania Maria Tania Maria (born May 9, 1948) is a Brazilian artist, singer, composer, bandleader and piano player, singing mostly in Portuguese or English. Her Brazilian-style music is mostly vocal, sometimes pop, often jazzy, and includes samba, bossa, Afro- ...

*''The Real Tania Maria: WILD!'' (Concord, 1985) *''Outrageously Wild!'' (Concord, 1993) *''Heads and Tales'' (Enja, 1995) With

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the ...

*''Aquí Se Puede'' (Montuno, 1986) *''Samba De Flora'' (Montuno, 1988) *''The Other Side of This'' (Rykodisc, 1992) With

Milton Nascimento Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has toured across the world. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...

*''Missa Dos Quilombos'' (Ariola, 1982) With

Ivo Perelman Ivo Perelman (born January 12, 1961) is a Brazilian free jazz saxophonist born in São Paulo. Career In his youth, Perelman learned to play guitar, cello, clarinet, trombone, and piano, concentrating on tenor sax since age 19. He attended the Be ...

*''Children of Ibeji'' (Enja, 1991) With

Michel Petrucciani Michel Petrucciani (; ; 28 December 1962 – 6 January 1999) was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. He became one of the most accomplish ...

*''

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

'' (Blue Note, 1989) *''The Blue Note Years'' (Blue Note, 1994) With John R. Pollard *''Passion, Poison, and Politik'' (PPP, 2002) With Jennifer Richman *''Flowers of Gold'' (MarcusW, 2006) With Steve Sacks *''Primeiro Sonho'' (AMJ, 1999) With

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

*''

Joy Ryder ''Joy Ryder'' is the eighteenth album by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, released on Columbia in 1988. Reception The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "Wayne Shorter's occasional Columbia records of the 1980's are all disappointments. His compo ...

'' (Columbia, 1988) *''Anima'' (Ariola, 1983) *''Canta Brasil'' (Ariola, 1993) *''Ao Vivo em Montreux'' (Ariola, 1983) With

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is an American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation on Red Bird Records. A ...

*''The Tender Trap'' (Medici, 1999) *''I Wish You Love'' (Telarc, 2002) With Bob Stewart *'' Goin' Home'' (Verve, 2003) With

Robertinho Silva Robertinho Silva (born 1941)allmusic Biography/ref> is a Brazilian drummer known for jazz. His first album was ''Música Popular Brasileira'' in 1981. He began his career with the band Som Imaginário with Zé Rodrix, Wagner Tiso and Luiz Alve ...

*''Speak No Evil'' (Ariola, 1995) *''Bodas De Prata'' (Gismonti, 1989) With Tana/Reid *''Blue Motion'' (Evidence, 1994) With

Towa Tei is a Japanese artist, record producer, and DJ. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa debuted as a member of Deee-Lite, from the US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart". He made his s ...

*''

Future Listening! ''Future Listening!'' is the debut studio album by Japanese music producer Towa Tei, released on October 21, 1994 by For Life Music. It is Tei's first release after his departure from Deee-Lite. The album was released in the United States on Apr ...

'' (Elektra, 1995) With Cecilia Tenconi *''Tiger Lily'' (Cecitenco, 2007) With

Wagner Tiso Wagner Tiso Veiga (born 12 December 1945) is a musician, arranger, conductor, pianist and composer from Brazil. Born in Três Pontas, Tiso learned music theory with Paulo Moura and specialised in keyboards. In 1970, he joined Som Imaginário, wo ...

*''Ao Vivo em Montreux'' (Ariola, 1983) With

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

*''

Brasil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

'' (Atlantic, 1987) *''

The Offbeat of Avenues ''The Offbeat Of Avenues'' was the thirteenth album released by The Manhattan Transfer on August 13, 1991 by Columbia Records. This album is the first of two albums for Columbia Records. This album is also the first Manhattan Transfer album whe ...

'' (Atlantic, 1991) *''

Vibrate Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The word comes from Latin ''vibrationem'' ("shaking, brandishing"). The oscillations may be periodic function, periodic, such as the motion of a pendulum ...

'' (Telarc, 2004) With

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's ...

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...

*''Afoxé'' (CTI, 1991) With Michael Wolff *''Intoxicate'' (Indianola, 2001) *''Impure Thoughts'' (Razor & Tie, 2000) *''Sexual Healing'' (Roving Spirits, 2002)

Filmography

Colón appeared on an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

television special with

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

, titled "Don't Stop the Music", taped in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada; a

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

Special with

, titled, "Going Home"; a TV special with

for the "

Ohne Filter ''Ohne Filter'' was a 45-minute live television program by German public TV station SWF featuring international pop and rock groups. In contrast to ''Rockpalast'' ( WDR), which was broadcast from larger venues such as the Grugahalle, ''Ohne Fi ...

" show, out of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, Germany; a

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

TVE special with

Live in Montreux ''Live in Montreux'' is a bossa nova album by João Gilberto, recorded live in the 1985 Montreux Jazz Festival and released in 1987. This is a single-disc edition of the double album ''Live at the 19th Montreux Jazz Festival'', released in 1986. ...

"; two appearances on

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

with The Manhattan Transfer – one with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

and the other with

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

; a special on

WIPR-TV WIPR-TV (channel 6) is a non-commercial educational public television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, owned by the '' Corporación de Puerto Rico para la Difusión Pública'' (English: Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation). While WIPR- ...

in Puerto Rico, featured with Tania Maria, performing in the Heineken Jazz Festival; an HBO broadcast of the 40th Anniversary of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

; an appearance on the Good Morning America show (ABC TV) with The Manhattan Transfer, and various other appearances performing with his own band throughout Russia,

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

, Georgia and Moldova. He also appeared in the film ''

Calle 54 ''Calle 54'' is a 2000 documentary film about Latin jazz by Spanish director Fernando Trueba. With only minimal introductory voiceovers, the film consists of studio performances by a wide array of Latin Jazz musicians. Artists featured include Chuc ...

'' by director Fernando Trueba.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Frank 1951 births Living people American University School of Public Affairs alumni Musicians from Washington, D.C. Planet Drum members