Roger Frampton (20 May 1948 – 4 January 2000) was an Australian

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

, saxophonist, composer, and educator. Based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, he played a major role in shaping the evolution of

Australian jazz Jazz music has a long history in Australia. Over the years jazz has held a high-profile at local clubs, festivals and other music venues and a vast number of recordings have been produced by Australian jazz musicians, many of whom have gone on t ...

. He taught at the Jazz Studies course at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

, and also became Head of Jazz Studies during the late 1970s.

Biography

Born in

Portsmouth, England Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1948, Frampton began learning piano and saxophone at an early age and by the age of 15 he had formed his own modern jazz group which played in local clubs, also performing with top English jazz musicians such as Don Rendel,

Bill Le Sage William A. Le Sage (20 January 1927 – 31 October 2001) was a British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader. Early life Le Sage was born in London on 20 January 1927. His father, William (1899-1951) was a drummer and his tw ...

and

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriot ...

. He migrated to Australia with his family in December 1966 and in the following year joined the experimental electronic music group Teletopa and also AZ Music, which performed the works of

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, ...

and others. Frampton toured overseas with Teletopa in 1972, playing in London at the International Carnival of Experimental Sound, at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, and in Munich, Manila, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Cambridge.The Biographical Directory of Australian Composers (Australian Music Centre, 1996)
/ref> On returning to Australia, he formed a trio, the Jazz Co/op, along with Sydney drummer

Phil Treloar Phillip Maurice Treloar (born 7 December 1946, Sydney) is an Australian jazz drummer, percussionist and composer. In an extensive career devoted to creative pursuit Treloar has addressed himself to the problems of relationship found at the intersec ...

and bassist

Jack Thorncraft Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name ...

. In 1974 this trio was expanded to a quartet when joined by US saxophonist

Howie Smith Howie Smith (born February 25, 1943), is a saxophonist, composer, jazz musician and educator Howie Smith was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1943. He was an instructor for the University of Illinois Division of Music Extension from 1970 to ...

who was in Sydney for three years, setting up Australia’s first formal jazz course at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The Jazz Co/op was in demand in Sydney over the following two years. It played over thirty engagements at Sydney’s major jazz club of that time, The Basement, as well as many other performances including the Musician’s Club, Sydney Town Hall, the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

, and the Conservatorium of Music. The band also recorded two albums for Horst Liepolt’s “44” record label. Howie Smith returned to the USA in 1976 and the Jazz Co/op soon disbanded. Frampton continued to play jazz in Sydney in a variety of situations, both as a sideman and as leader of his own groups. He formed the quartet “Intersection” in the early 1980s. This group included

on drums, Peter Boothman or Guy Strazzullo on guitar and

Lloyd Swanton Lloyd Stuart Swanton (born 14 August 1960) is an Australian jazz double bassist, bass guitarist, and composer. Swanton was a member of Dynamic Hepnotics in 1986McFarlan'Dynamic Hepnotics'entry. Retrieved 21 February 2010. and co-founded jazz ...

or Steve Elphick on bass. Intersection performed regularly at Jenny’s Wine Bar, appeared at concerts at the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

and the Manly Jazz Festival, and undertook a Musica Viva sponsored tour of India. In 1980 he performed with the Bruce Cale Quartet with

Dale Barlow Dale Barlow (born Sydney, Australia, 25 December 1959) is a jazz saxophonist, flute player and composer. He has a Masters of Music degree begun at City College New York under Ron Carter and completed at ANU Canberra. He has received ARIA Awards, ...

(saxes) Bruce Cale (bass) and

(drums). Two live concerts by this group have been recorded, The Bruce Cale Quartet Live (Adelaide concert) and On Fire - The Sydney Concert. These recordings feature some of the best examples of Frampton's work as a pianist, saxophonist and composer. In the late 1980s and during the 1990s, Frampton performed to critical acclaim with

Ten Part Invention Ten Part Invention is an Australian jazz ensemble formed in 1986 by drummer John Pochée. They were nominated for the 1992 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album for their selftitled album. Members * John Pochée *Roger Frampton *Bernie McGann *Ken J ...

(touring Russia with that band), the trio The Engine Room with

John Pochée John Kenneth Pochée, OAM (21 September 1940 – 10 November 2022) was an Australian jazz drummer and bandleader. As drummer, bandleader and organizer he played a major role in the history of Australian jazz. His career as a professional musicia ...

and Steve Elphick, and with renowned US jazz musicians such as Don Rader, Steve Lacy and

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool j ...

. His work during this period, as a pianist, saxophonist and composer, has been extensively recorded, with a number of releases available on the Tall Poppies and ABC Classics labels. In 1991 he was awarded an

APRA Award The APRA Music Awards in Australia are annual awards to celebrate excellence in contemporary music, which honour the skills of member composers, songwriters, and publishers who have achieved outstanding success in sales and airplay performan ...

for jazz composition. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1999, but nevertheless continued to perform with various ensembles, and was awarded a Doctorate of Creative Arts from Wollongong University in 1999 for his thesis exploring co-relations between his own composition and

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. He participated in the 1999

Wangaratta Festival of Jazz The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz is an annual Australian festival of jazz and blues, founded in 1990 by the City of Wangaratta with Adrian Jackson as its first director. It is held at various venues in the town of Wangaratta, north east of the ...

, performing a concert of his own music with Ten Part Invention. Frampton died at home in January 2000 and was survived by his daughter Emily and partner Sherylene Robinson.

Selected discography

* ''Jazz Co/op'' (44 Records) * ''Jazz Co/op - Live at The Basement'' (44 Records) * ''On Fire - The Sydney Concert (Bruce Cale Quartet)'' (Tall Poppies Records) * ''Bruce Cale Quartet Live'' (Tall Poppies Records) * ''Tall Stories'' – Ten Part Invention (Rufus Records) * ''Jim McLeod's Jazz Tracks'' - Ten Part Invention (ABC Jazz) * ''Full Steam Ahead'' – The Engine Room (ABC Jazz) * ''Live at Wangaratta: The Music of Roger Frampton'' (ABC Jazz) * ''Totally Prepared'' (Tall Poppies Records) * ''Pure Piano'' (Tall Poppies Records) * ''Off the Beaten Track'' (with Don Rader) (Tall Poppies Records)

References

* Bisset, Andrew (1979). ''Black Roots White Flowers - A History of Jazz in Australia''. Golden Press Pty Ltd .

External links

Music Australia
an online service developed by the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "maint ...

, has information about recordings and scores by Roger Frampton
''A Story of Jazz in Sydney'' by Peter Boothman

''Tall Poppies Records''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frampton, Roger 1948 births Australian jazz composers Male jazz composers Australian jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists Australian jazz pianists 2000 deaths Musicians from Portsmouth 20th-century Australian pianists 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century saxophonists Male pianists 20th-century Australian male musicians 20th-century jazz composers