Don Frye (pianist)
Donald Q. "Don" Frye (born 1903 in Springfield (Ohio) , † February 9, 1981 ) was an American jazz pianist and singer.
Life
Frye came from the Midwestern United States and began his musical career in the orchestra of the brothers Lloyd and Cecil Scott (1926-29), with whom in 1927 the first recordings were made. He then moved to New York City and worked a. a. with Frankie Newton , briefly in the John Kirby Sextet (1937), Lucky Millinder (1938/39) and Zutty Singleton (1940/41); in Los Angeles in 1943 he worked with Slim Gaillard . After initially playing in the Village Vanguard , he appeared in 1944 as a soloist in Jimmy Ryan's , one of the jazz clubs on 52nd Street . In December 1945 he recorded three records under his own name; he has also recorded with Buster Bailey , Clarence Williams (1934), Red Allen , Frankie Newton (1939), Edmond Hall (1944), King Oliver and Cecil Scott (1959). After Ryan's closure in 1962, Frye worked as a freelance solo pianist in Manhattan.
Discographic notes
- Willie The Lion Smith , Cliff Jackson & Don Frye: Midnight Piano (1944-49)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Jon Milan: Detroit: Ragtime and the Jazz Age
- ^ Billboard, February 19, 1944
- ^ Charles Delaunay : Hot Discographie Encyclopedique 1952. Volume 3 (El-He) . Paris, Éditions Jazz Disques, 1952.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Frye, Don |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Frye, Donald Q. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist and singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Springfield (Ohio) |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 9, 1981 |