Frank Gant
Frank Gant | |
|---|---|
 Jazz drummer Frank Gant in a 1976 DownBeat advertisement | |
| Background information | |
| Born | May 26, 1931 Detroit, Michigan |
| Died | July 19, 2021 (aged 90) |
| Occupation | Jazz musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
Frank Gant (born May 26, 1931- July 19, 2021) was an American jazz drummer.
Born in Detroit, Michigan,[1] Gant recorded with Donald Byrd, Sonny Stitt, and extensively with Yusef Lateef in the late 1950s and then Red Garland before becoming a member of Ahmad Jamal's trio (1966-1976).
His first gigs were with Billy Mitchell and Pepper Adams, and after working with Little John Wilson and his Merry Men at the Madison Ballroom, including four days backing Billie Holiday, he went on to join Alvin Jackson's house band at the Blue Bird.[2]
As the house drummer at Detroit's Club 12, with Jackson's band, he backed Thelonious Monk and Charlie Rouse in September 1959.[3]
In the 1970s, he accompanied Jamil Nasser and Harold Mabern as the rhythm section for workshops run by Cobi Narita.[4]
Discography
[edit]As sideman
[edit]- With Sonny Stitt
- 1958: Sonny Stitt
- 1960: Burnin' (recorded 1958)
- With Yusef Lateef
- 1958: Lateef at Cranbrook
- 1959: The Dreamer
- 1959: The Fabric of Jazz
- 1960: Cry! - Tender
- With Red Garland
- 1962: The Nearness of You
- 1962: Solar
- 1984: Misty Red
- With Ahmad Jamal
- 1966: Heat Wave
- 1968: Tranquility
- 1970: The Awakening
- 1971: Freeflight
- 1971: Outertimeinnerspace
- 1976: Recorded Live at Oil Can Harry's
With Al Haig
- 1977: Manhattan Memories (Sea Breeze, re. 1983)
With others
- 1955: Byrd Jazz – Donald Byrd
- 1958: Breakin' It Up – Barry Harris
- 1964: Proof Positive – J. J. Johnson (Impulse!)
- 1979: Monty Alexander in Tokyo – Monty Alexander with Gant and Andy Simpkins
- 1986: Moonray – Adam Makowicz with Gant, Jamil Nasser, Deborah Henson-Conant and Ed Saindon
References
[edit]- ^ "Frank Gant". discogs.com. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ Björn, Lars Olof (2001) Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit, 1920-60, p. 142. University of Michigan Press At Google Books. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ Kelley, Robin (2009) Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, p. 273. Simon and Schuster At Google Books. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Gourse, Leslie (1996) Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists, p. 62. Oxford University Press At Google Books. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
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