Frank Wright (jazz musician)
Frank Wright (July 9, 1935 – May 17, 1990) was an American free jazz musician, known for his frantic style of playing the tenor saxophone. Critics often compare his music to that of Albert Ayler, although Wright "offers his honks and squawks with a phraseology derived from the slower, earthier funk of R&B and gospel music." According to AllMusic biographer Chris Kelsey, Wright "never recorded even a single record under his own name for a major label; he was 'underground' his entire career." In addition to tenor saxophone, Wright also played the soprano saxophone and bass clarinet. Biography Wright was born in Grenada, Mississippi, United States, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and Cleveland, Ohio, where he began his musical career playing bass guitar, backing artists such as Rosco Gordon, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and B.B. King. He switched to tenor saxophone after meeting Albert Ayler in Cleveland, Ayler's hometown. In 1964, Wright moved to New York City, where he played with Larry Young, Noah Howard, and Sunny Murray. He also sat in with John Coltrane and, in early 1965, was invited to participate in the recording of Ascension, but reportedly felt that his skills were not up to the demands of the music. (Later, however, Wright stated "what I do is countersigned by master John Coltrane who accepted me at this side by calling me 'little brother'.") In late 1965, Wright recorded Frank Wright Trio, his first album as a leader, for ESP-Disk with Henry Grimes on bass and Tom Price on drums. (According to Bernard Stollman, founder of ESP-Disk, the record came about when he approached Wright after hearing him sit in with Coltrane. When Wright stated that he was not associated with a record label, Stollman declared "Well, you are now.") In 1966, while in Cleveland, he recorded with Albert Ayler's group, which at the time included Donald Ayler, Michael Samson, Muntawef Shaheed, and Ronald Shannon Jackson. The tracks remained unreleased until 2004, when they appeared on Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70). Wright's second album, Your Prayer, was recorded in 1967 and was also released by ESP-Disk. In 1968, Wright briefly joined Cecil Taylor's group, which also included Eddie Gale, Jimmy Lyons, Alan Silva, and Andrew Cyrille, for a tour of the west coast of the United States, where the group had a residency at Stanford University, performed at the Berkeley Jazz Festival, and opened for The Yardbirds at the Fillmore West. In 1969, Wright moved to Europe and settled in Paris, where he formed and recorded with The Frank Wright Quartet, featuring Noah Howard, Bobby Few, and Muhammad Ali. In the early 1970s, Howard left and was replaced by Alan Silva, at which time the group changed its name to The Center of the World Quartet at Silva's suggestion. The group also established a label called Center of the World Records as well as a distribution company called Sun Records. In 1971, Wright briefly moved back to the United States, but then returned to France,