Frank Strazzeri

Frank John Strazzeri (born April 24, 1930 in Rochester , New York , † May 9, 2014 ) was an American pianist of modern jazz .

Live and act

Strazzeri had initially played the tenor saxophone and clarinet since he was twelve. He switched to piano while studying at the Eastman School of Music . From 1952 he accompanied traveling guest soloists such as Roy Eldridge , Billie Holiday and JJ Johnson in his hometown as the house pianist of the local jazz club . In 1954 he moved to New Orleans , where he worked with Sharkey Bonano and Al Hirt . From 1957 he toured with Charlie Ventura . In 1959 he played with Woody Herman before moving to Los Angeles to work as a studio musician. He recorded with Herb Ellis , Red Mitchell , Terry Gibbs , Elvis Presley and Carmell Jones and arranged for Cal Tjader , Louie Bellson and Les Brown , in whose orchestras he worked from 1971 to 1973. He went on tour with Joe Williams and Maynard Ferguson ; He also played with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars and founded his own groups. In the 1970s he expanded the sound spectrum through the use of an electric piano and Moog synthesizer . He has also worked with Art Pepper , Lennie Niehaus , Curtis Amy , Chet Baker , Tal Farlow , Don Menza , Vic Lewis , Conte Candoli , Bill Perkins and Dianne Reeves . In the field of jazz, he was involved in 113 recording sessions between 1955 and 2006, according to Tom Lord .

Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 2: M – Z (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16513). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16513-9 .

personal data
SURNAME	Strazzeri, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Strazzeri, Frank John (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American modern jazz pianist
DATE OF BIRTH	April 24, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rochester , New York , USA
DATE OF DEATH	May 9, 2014
Place of death	Rochester , New York , USA