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Biography
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Frank Wess
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American flutist and tenor and alto saxophonist who grew up in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and in Washington, DC.
He performed with
Billy Eckstine
,
Eddie Heywood
, and
Lucky Millinder
in the 1940s, and from June 1953 to August 1964 he was a member of
Count Basie
's big band, in which he played saxophone. He recorded music with Thad Jones,
Kenny Clarke
,
Milt Jackson
,
Kenny Burrell
,
Dorothy Ashby
, and
Etta Jones
. He performed in Broadway shows and studio bands for television. Later, in the 1980s and 1990s, he worked with
Kenny Barron
,
Rufus Reid
,
Buck Clayton
,
Benny Carter
,
Billy Taylor
,
Harry Edison
,
Mel Tormé
,
Ernestine Anderson
,
Toshiko Akiyoshi
,
Louie Bellson
,
John Pizzarelli
,
Howard Alden
,
Dick Hyman
,
Byron Stripling
,
Jane Jarvis
, and Frank Vignola.
Renowned for establishing the flute as a jazz instrument.
He was a member of
Clark Terry
's big band from 1967 into the 1970s.
Survivors included Sara Tsutsumi, his common law wife, two daughters, Francine, and Michelle, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
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