Frank Kimbrough (November 2, 1956 – December 30, 2020) was an American post-bop jazz pianist. He was born and raised in Roxboro, North Carolina. He did some work at Chapel Hill before moving to Washington, D. C. in 1980 and then New York City in 1981.[1]
His influences included Herbie Nichols, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, and Andrew Hill.[1][2][3] After signing with Mapleshade Records, he released his first album, Star-Crossed Lovers, on cassette tape in 1986 and his first CD in 1988. Kimbrough often shifted labels but is mostly affiliated with Palmetto.
In the 1990s he was a member of the Herbie Nichols Project, a repertoire ensemble dedicated to performing both known and undiscovered works by the pianist and composer Herbie Nichols. He also co-founded The Jazz Composers Collective with Allison.
Throughout his career Kimbrough recorded albums with a cast of illuminates in the field of jazz music including Paul Murphy, Joe Locke, Michael Blake Ron Horton and Ted Nash. He also played in the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra.
Kimbrough was also a music educator, teaching piano at New York University during the 1990s, and became a professor at the Juilliard School in 2008.[1]
Following Kimbrough's death, Newvelle Records produced a digital tribute album, Kimbrough, in 2021 that featured multiple ensembles covering 58 of his compositions. [4]
Discography
Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Star Crossed Lovers | Mapleshade | |
1987 | Double Visions | Mapleshade | Duo with Steve Williams. |
1988 | Lonely Woman | Mapleshade | Trio, with Ben Wolfe (bass), Jeff Williams (drums)[5] |
1996 | Love Is Proximity | Soul Note | With The Herbie Nichols Project |
1997? | Chant | Igmod | Trio, with Ben Allison (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums)[6] |
1997 | Saturn's Child | OmniTone | Duo, with Joe Locke (vibraphone)[7] |
1997 | Noumena | Soul Note | With Scott Robinson (tenor sax, baritone sax), Ben Monder (guitar), Tony Moreno (drums, percussion); in concert[7] |
1998 | Quickening | OmniTone | With Ben Allison (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums); in concert[7] |
1999 | Dr. Cyclops' Dream | Soul Note | With The Herbie Nichols Project |
2000 | The Willow | OmniTone | With Joe Locke (vibraphone)[7] |
2001 | Strange City | Palmetto | With The Herbie Nichols Project |
2002 | Autumn | LoNote | Duo with Ron Brendle[8] |
2003 | Lullabluebye | Palmetto | With Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)[7] |
2005 | Play | Palmetto | With Masa Kamaguchi (bass), Paul Motian (drums)[7] |
2007 | Air | Palmetto | [9] |
2008 | Verrazano Moon | OmniTone | Duo with Joe Locke[10] |
2010 | Rumors | Palmetto | [11] |
2012 | Live at Kitano | Palmetto | [12] |
2013 | Afar | ScienSonic | Duo with Scott Robinson[13] |
2014 | Quartet | Palmetto | With Steve Wilson, Lewis Nash, and Jay Anderson[14][15] |
2015 | Meantime | Newvelle | On vinyl[16] |
2016 | Solstice | Pirouet[17] | Trio with Jay Anderson, Jeff Hirshfield |
2018 | Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk | Sunnyside | Quartet with Rufus Reid, Billy Drummond, Scott Robinson |
2021 | Ancestors | Sunnyside | Trio with Kirk Knuffke, Masa Kamaguchi[18] |
With Ted Nash
- Rhyme & Reason (Arabesque, 1999)
With Maria Schneider
- Coming About (Enja, 1996)
- Allégresse (Enja, 2000)
- Days of Wine and Roses - Live at the Jazz Standard (ArtistShare, 2000)
- Concert in the Garden (ArtistShare, 2004)
- Sky Blue (ArtistShare, 2007)
- The Thompson Fields (ArtistShare, 2015)
- Data Lords (ArtistShare, 2020)
With Ben Allison
- Seven Arrows (Koch, 1996)
- Medicine Wheel (Palmetto Records, 1998)
- Third Eye (Palmetto Records, 1999)
- Riding the Nuclear Tiger (Palmetto Records, 2001)
- Peace Pipe (Palmetto Records, 2002)
- Buzz (Palmetto Records, 2004)
- Layers of the City (Sonic Camera, 2017)
With Michael Blake
- Drift (Intuition Music, 2000)
- Elevated (P&M Records, 2002)
- Tiddy Boom (P&M Records, 2014)
With Dawn Upshaw and Maria Schneider
- Winter Morning Walks (ArtistShare 2013)
With Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project
- Centennial (ArtistShare 2012)
- Lines of Color (ArtistShare 2015)
Literature
- Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford/New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-19-532000-8
References
- 1 2 3 Russonello, Giovanni (January 12, 2021). "Frank Kimbrough, Pianist With a Subtle Touch, Is Dead at 64". New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ↑ Freitas, Filipe (September 17, 2019). "Frank Kimbrough Interview, NYC". Jazz Trail. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Marriner, Douglas (January 4, 2021). "Tribute: Frank Kimbrough (1956-2020)". London Jazz News. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Kaplan, Fred (December 15, 2021). "The Best Jazz Albums of 2021". Slate. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ↑ Henderson, Alex. "The Frank Kimbrough Trio: Lonely Woman". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Adler, David R. "Frank Kimbrough: Chant". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 824. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ↑ Nathan, Dave (April 18, 2002). "Ron Brendle/Frank Kimbrough: Autumn". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Frank Kimbrough: Air". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Frank Kimbrough: Verrazano Moon". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Bilawsky, Dan (March 4, 2010). "Frank Kimbrough: Rumors". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Bilawsky, Dan (October 17, 2012). "Frank Kimbrough Trio: Live At Kitano". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Frank Kimbrough / Scott Robinson: Afar". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Frank Kimbrough: Quartet". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Bilawsky, Dan (October 1, 2014). "Frank Kimbrough: Quartet". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Frank Kimbrough: Meantime". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Frank Kimbrough Solstice". pirouet.de. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ↑ "Frank Kimbrough: Ancestors". jazztimes.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
External links
- AllMusic
- Frank Kimbrough discography at Discogs
- Frank Kimbrough's home page