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Frank Strozier


BFrank

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There was a thread on the "old" BBS about Frank. I only just started listening to him and he rips some monster riffs, from what I've heard so far. Too bad he's so under-recorded.

So far, I've got "Fantastic Frank Strozier", Roy Haynes "Cymbalism", Sam Jones "Down Home", Louis Hayes "Variety is the Spice" and "The Young Lions".

Other suggestions?

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Check out "Cool, Calm and Collected" -I almost typed "Clam" there. ;) 10/13/60. Quartet date w/ Billy Wallace , Bill Lee, and Vernel Fournier. He switched to piano, apparently...from dissatisfaction w/ his alto sound. Or so read the liner notes of this Koch cd. It might be found at Half. I don't work there.

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There is a Strozier discography in the works. I wanted to do it, but Noal Cohen sent me an e-mail that he considered it too, so I sent him my material - this guys shares my tastes, he did discos on Elmo Hope and Carl Perkins that I wanted to do - he needs encouragement, so go to his site and praise him for his good work!

Noal Cohen's Jazz History Homepage

Edited by mikeweil
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You might want to check two later dates by Frank on Steeplechase. Remember Me from 1976 with Harold Mabern,Danny Moore,Howard Johnson,Leslie Atkinson and Michael Carvin. The second is What's Goin' On from 1977 with Moore,Mabern,Stafford James and Louis Hayes. I think they are both still in print. Of the two, i lean a lttle more toward Remember Me.

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I got Haynes' "Cymbalism" and the Milestone twofer by Strozier "A Long Night" (which also includes on a single CD "March of the Siamese Children" - what title!) and gave them a spin. Quite like what I heard! Nice sound. (And Spike Lee's pop playing)

ubu

Ubu --

Not sure if by "what a title" you meant that "March of the Siamese Children" was an excellent track (it sure is) or an odd title for a piece, but at the risk of explaining something that you already know, if you meant that it was an odd title, "March of the Siamese Children" is from Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical "The King and I," where it accompanies the entry of the King of Siam's children, therefore it's not an odd title at all.

Lawrence Kart

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  • 4 years later...

Ha, I almost wanted to start a thread about Frank Strozier... good thing I didn't rely on my lousy memory and did search before....

I was playing discs 1 & 2 of the Chambers/Kelly Vee Jay Mosaic and then decided (rather than continuing with the Morgan/Shorter, after the great "Kelly Great" album was finished) to take the turn via Strozier... dug out the few discs I have and decided to play them again. Right now I'm halfway through the two sessions on the Mosaic ("Fantastic Frank Strozier") - fantastic playing by Booker Little! And of course there's hardly another rhythm section swinging so hardly and yet effortlessly than the Kelly-Chambers-Cobb unit!

The discs I have are:

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f18126fh4da.jpgf43254hxe89.jpg

the first is part of the Mosaic but also available on a shorter, single-disc version, the third is a twofer, combining two very fine albums, "Long Night" and "March of the Siamese Children", both originally on Jazzland. (This is definitely a Fantasy CD to look for before it's too late!)

I'll get around playing the "Young Lions" album (from the Morgan/Shorter Vee Jay Mosaic) later, too, hopefully! That and Roy Haynes' "Cymbalism" (another OJC to look for, also the Haynes one with Booker Ervin!) completes what I have of Strozier's, so far.

How about the other MJT discs, are they still around?

Also I guess I ought to look for the Booker Ervin OJC with Strozier ("Exultation"), right?

Then what about the 1964 Roy Haynes Pacific Jazz album "People"? I never even heard of of this one, just saw it in the discography now!

And the "Boss Sounds" by Shelly Manne? Wow, so many things and that was one of those other short-lived Koch CDs, too... (at least a - presumably crappy-looking as usual - Collectables version was also released, I assume that one's much easier to find)

I have the "Navy Swings" by Shelly Manne, by the way, but that's the only one of Strozier with Manne I have, so far... not a great but, but some fine moments there, still.

Man, these discographies are pure evil! At least it reminded me also of Strozier being present on Woody Shaw's fine "Little Red's Fantasy" - another one to dig up and listen!

The discography mentioned above by Mike is here:

http://www.attictoys.com/jazz/FS_intro.html

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I got Haynes' "Cymbalism" and the Milestone twofer by Strozier "A Long Night" (which also includes on a single CD "March of the Siamese Children" - what title!) and gave them a spin. Quite like what I heard! Nice sound. (And Spike Lee's pop playing)

ubu

Ubu --

Not sure if by "what a title" you meant that "March of the Siamese Children" was an excellent track (it sure is) or an odd title for a piece, but at the risk of explaining something that you already know, if you meant that it was an odd title, "March of the Siamese Children" is from Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical "The King and I," where it accompanies the entry of the King of Siam's children, therefore it's not an odd title at all.

Lawrence Kart

Larry, I missed this post of yours back then (or ignored to answer) - anyway, better late than never: thanks for the explanation! (I indeed thought the tune had an odd title - didn't check on the composers and background then... but hey, I was more than four years younger than!)

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Guest donald petersen

i was curious about those steeplechase albums too.

are they boring? lively? rote? just ok? interesting lineups on them...

i think i asked about them specifically in a thread months ago and it seemed like people were mostly indifferent.

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just had one of the steeplechases, "what's goin on" in the mail today, very first impression, it is fine, but somehow, one factor is mssing, which i really liked about the siamese children (and still find in the VeeJay stuff to a lesser extent), can't really put it in words, some sort of introvertedness which i found pretty unique is not so much here, instead there is something what i would naively call "post bop feel" (and a clear Coltrane influence) (not surprisingly it is much more similar to Little Red's Fantasy but I like that one better...) don't know, just a very first impression i have not yet heard all of it..., the cd reissue which seems to be available cheaply right now has alternate takes of all tunes (67 minutes)...

how is the Chet Baker with Strozier?

Edited by Niko
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Then what about the 1964 Roy Haynes Pacific Jazz album "People"? I never even heard of of this one, just saw it in the discography now!

The discography mentioned above by Mike is here:

http://www.attictoys.com/jazz/FS_intro.html

That's a beautiful album, and deserves to be reissued.

=====

Re the Chet Baker ("Baby Breeze"), I like that one also, although as I recall it's less of a chance for Strozier to shine. Haven't spun it in a long while, though...

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I heard Strozier and Mabern in the early sixties and they knocked me out. For years I gave their performance as an example of how a little known jazz group could have an amazing night. From what I heard from other jazz fans these guys had amazing nights all the time. I wished they'd recorded with Miles during the brief time they were with him.

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When I go back to Strozier, I like what I hear, but am never fully knocked out ... until I play Fantastic Frank Strozier. That one always floors me. Something very special about that date; Strozier seems to push himself to the edge of his comfort zone.

Right before Hank Mobley joined Miles' band, Strozier was the second horn for a brief stint. Too bad there's not recorded evidence of that group (to my knowledge).

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Strozier appears also on Louis Hayes' "Variety Is the Spice" on Gryphon (a very good record which should be reissued, imho, w/Mabern, McBee, Portinho and Titos Sompa) and on "Stafford James Ensemble" on Red Records (w/Mabern, James and Hayes). The Red session has been scheduled for CD release for a long time (I have a pre-release copy), but Red's owner, Sergio Veschi, is such a peculiar character... :beee:

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  • 9 years later...
On June 22, 2007 at 9:00 AM, king ubu said:

And the "Boss Sounds" by Shelly Manne? Wow, so many things and that was one of those other short-lived Koch CDs, too... (at least a - presumably crappy-looking as usual - Collectables version was also released, I assume that one's much easier to find)

I just picked up this album.  Wow is right, it doesn't sound anything like the 1950s Shelly Manne dates that I've accumulated.  I don't think I know anything about Frank Strozier.  I must have some other albums with him.  I will check out the discography. 

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Just found a video of the 1968 Don Ellis Orchestra performance at Tanglewood with Strozier: https://archive.org/details/calauem_000152

The Ellis part starts at about 26.30 .... Strozier plays the opeing solo on K.C. Blues, probably the only piece in 4/4 the band ever played, including Ellis' transcription of Charlie Parker's solo for the horns. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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