Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe - tenor saxophone (1943 2003)
Tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe came out of Memphis inspired by the bluesy sound of King Curtis, but went on to become one the premier free jazz players in New York beginning with his association with Sun Ra in the mid sixties.
Frank Lowe grew up in Memphis and soaked up the remarkable musical currents of that city in the early 1960's. The saxophonists Charles Lloyd and Hank Crawford and the singer Carla Thomas were his friends and neighbors; his first music teacher outside of school was Packy Axton, the part owner of Stax Records, who also played saxophone. As a teenager, Mr. Lowe worked in the Stax recording studio and in its record store.
He briefly attended the University of Kansas, and for a time in his 20's he moved to San Francisco to study with the saxophonists Donald Rafael Garrett, Bert Wilson and Sonny Simmons. While he was there, he met Ornette Coleman, one of his idols, who suggested that he move to New York. He played with Sun Ra from 1966 to 1968, and shortly after, he began performing with Alice Coltrane, wife of John, though he said that he was still learning how to play his instrument. ''I felt privileged,'' he said in an interview in 1992. ''I was just listening to records, and the next thing I knew I was onstage.''
He played on an album with Ms. Coltrane, ''World Galaxy,'' and then made his own first album, ''Black Beings,'' on the ESP label in 1973. It was a wild, full-throttle album of high-energy improvising over scant themes, and after getting it out of his system, he quickly changed his style.
Read moreTags
Album Review
- Out Loud by John Sharpe
- Out Loud by Hrayr Attarian
- Out Loud by Mark Corroto
- The Loweski by John Sharpe
- Black Beings by Jerry D'Souza
- Lowe-down and Blue by Jeff Stockton
- Lowe-Down and Blue by Derek Taylor
Interview
Read more articlesJuly 29, 2011
Billy Bang Quintet Featuring Frank Lowe - Above and Beyond (2007)
October 08, 2003
Frank Lowe: powerful, undersung free jazz tenor saxophonist
April 15, 2003
Photos
Albums
Similar

saxophone, tenor

saxophone

saxophone

piano

saxophone

saxophone, soprano

trumpet

bass, acoustic

saxophone, tenor

saxophone

saxophone, alto

saxophone, tenor

saxophone, alto

saxophone, alto

saxophone, baritone

saxophone