Frank Lacy

Last updated
Frank Lacy
Also known asKu-umba Frank Lacy
Born (1958-08-09) August 9, 1958 (age 64)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, vocalist
Instrument(s)Trombone, trumpet, tuba, euphonium
Years active1970–present
LabelsTutu
Website www.franklacy.com

Frank Lacy (born August 9, 1958, Houston, Texas) is an American jazz trombonist who has spent many years as a member of the Mingus Big Band.

Contents

Career

Lacy's father was a teacher who played guitar with Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, and Eddie Cleanhead Vinson. His mother was a gospel singer. [1] When Lacy was eight, he started learning piano. In his teens, he played trumpet, tuba, and euphonium before switching to trombone. [2] He got a degree in physics from Texas Southern University. In 1979, he went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, studying trombone and composition. His classmates included Branford Marsalis, Greg Osby, and Marvin Smith. [1] [3]

Lacy moved to New York City in 1981. In 1986, he played with Illinois Jacquet's big band, and a couple years later he was musical director for Art Blakey. He released his first album as a band leader in 1991 with his father on guitar. [3] He has also worked with Lester Bowie, Marty Ehrlich, Michael Formanek, Slide Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Rufus Reid, Henry Threadgill, Steve Turre, McCoy Tyner, and Bobby Watson. He has spent over twenty years as a member of the Mingus Big Band. [4]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Mingus Big Band

With Lester Bowie

With Roy Hargrove

With David Murray

With Henry Threadgill

With Steve Turre

With McCoy Tyner

With others

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Hargrove</span> American jazz trumpeter (1969–2018)

Roy Anthony Hargrove was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles of jazz in 1998 and 2002. Hargrove primarily played in the hard bop style for the majority of his albums, but also had a penchant for genre-crossing exploration and collaboration with a variety of hip hop, soul, R&B and alternative rock artists. As Hargrove told one reporter, "I've been around all kinds of musicians, and if a cat can play, a cat can play. If it's gospel, funk, R&B, jazz or hip-hop, if it's something that gets in your ear and it's good, that’s what matters."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff "Tain" Watts</span> American jazz drummer

Jeff "Tain" Watts is a jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Carter (musician)</span> American jazz musician

James Carter is an American jazz musician widely recognized for his technical virtuosity on saxophones and a variety of woodwinds. He is the cousin of noted jazz violinist Regina Carter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Eubanks</span> American jazz trombonist

Robin Eubanks is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. His uncles are jazz pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant. His mother, Vera Eubanks, was famed pianist Kenny Barron's first piano teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent Herring</span> American jazz musician, composer, and educator (born 1964)

Vincent Dwayne Herring is an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, and educator. Known for his fiery and soulful playing in the bands of Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, and Nat Adderley in the earlier stages of his career, he now frequently performs around the world with his own groups and is heavily involved in jazz education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Ehrlich</span> Musical artist

Marty Ehrlich is a multi-instrumentalist and is considered one of the leading figures in avant-garde jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Sánchez (musician)</span> Puerto Rican jazz saxophonist

David Sánchez is a Grammy-winning jazz tenor saxophonist from Puerto Rico.

Fred Hopkins was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and Steve McCall, and for his numerous performances and extensive recordings with major jazz musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Arthur Blythe, Oliver Lake, and David Murray. He was a member of the AACM, and a frequent participant in the loft jazz scene of the 1970s. He also co-led a number of albums with the composer and cellist Diedre Murray. Gary Giddins wrote that Hopkins' playing "fused audacious power with mercuric reflexes." Howard Reich, writing in the Chicago Tribune, stated that "many connoisseurs considered [Hopkins] the most accomplished jazz bassist of his generation" and praised him for "the extraordinarily fluid technique, sumptuous tone and innovative methods he brought to his instrument."

Ronald Mathews was an American jazz pianist who worked with Max Roach from 1963 to 1968 and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978–79. His most recent work was in 2008, as both a mentor and musician with Generations, a group of jazz musicians headed by veteran drummer Jimmy Cobb. He contributed two new compositions for the album that was released by San Francisco State University's International Center for the Arts on September 15, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Ford</span> American jazz musician

Ricky Ford is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Betsch</span> American jazz drummer

John Betsch is an American jazz drummer.

Ronnie Burrage is an American jazz drummer. His style draws from jazz, funk, and soul.

Victor Lewis is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator.

Ralph Peterson Jr. was an American jazz drummer and bandleader.

Tony Reedus was an American jazz drummer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Basil Jazz Club</span>

Sweet Basil was a jazz club in New York City's Greenwich Village, located at 88 Seventh Avenue South. Founded in 1974 by Sharif Esmat, it was considered among the most prominent New York City jazz clubs of its day. Many jazz albums were recorded live at Sweet Basil, including Cecil Taylor's Iwontunwonsi, McCoy Tyner's Live at Sweet Basil (1989) and Solar: Live at Sweet Basil, and the Jean-Michel Pilc Trio's Together: Live at Sweet Basil. From 1981 to 1992, the club was owned by Phyllis Litoff and her husband Mel Litoff.

In the 1990s in jazz, jazz rap continued progressing from the late 1980s and early 1990s, and incorporated jazz influence into hip hop. In 1988, Gang Starr released the debut single "Words I Manifest", sampling Dizzy Gillespie's 1962 "A Night in Tunisia", and Stetsasonic released "Talkin' All That Jazz", sampling Lonnie Liston Smith. Gang Starr's debut LP, No More Mr. Nice Guy, and their track "Jazz Thing" for the soundtrack of Mo' Better Blues, sampling Charlie Parker and Ramsey Lewis. Gang Starr also collaborated with Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard. Groups making up the collective known as the Native Tongues Posse tended towards jazzy releases; these include the Jungle Brothers' debut Straight Out the Jungle and A Tribe Called Quest's People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm and The Low End Theory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seamus Blake</span> Tenor saxophonist and composer

Seamus Blake is a British-born Canadian tenor saxophonist.

Alex Sipiagin is a Russian jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald L. Cannon</span> Musical artist

Gerald Leon Cannon is an American jazz double bassist and visual artist.

References

  1. 1 2 Kelsey, Chris. "Frank Lacy | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  2. Jung, Fred. "A Fireside Chat with Ku-umba Frank Lacy". Jazz Weekly. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 Corbett, John (April 1998). "The Baddest Sideman in Jazz". Down Beat. Elmhurst, IL.
  4. West, Michael J. (9 November 2014). "Overdue Ovation: Frank Lacy - JazzTimes". JazzTimes. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  5. "Frank Lacy | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 May 2017.