Born January 4, 1922 in Kansas City, Missouri, Frank Wess was a jazz saxophonist and flautist, best known for his time with Count Basie’s band as well as his own solo recordings. Relocated to Oklahoma, he began classical music training in high school. He moved to Washington, D.C. at the age of 19 and switched to jazz, playing in local big bands. Interrupted briefly by World War II, Wess picked up where he left off when he left the military. He began playing with Billy Eckstine’s orchestra and attended the Modern School of Music, earning a degree in flute. He joined Count Basie’s band in 1953, playing tenor saxophone and flute with Basie until 1964. Considered one of jazz’s best flautists, he won DownBeat magazine’s critics poll for flute each year from 1959 to 1964. He also recorded his own solo releases including the 1954 self-titled release from the Frank Wess Quintet, which featured a recording of one of his most well-known tracks, “Wess Point”. Other albums recorded during this period include Flutes & Reeds (1955), Jazz for Playboys (1957), Southern Comfort (1962), and Yo Ho! Poor You, Little Me (1963). He joined Clark Terry’s big band in 1967 and stayed with him in until the early ‘70s. He also worked with the New York Jazz Quartet, Gene Ammons, Ron Carter, Kenny Barron, Benny Carter, Mel Torme, Ernestine Anderson, Dick Hyman, Thad Jones, Yusef Lateef, and many others. Wess continued working into the 2000s, releasing a pair of albums with Hank Jones. Frank Wess died of a heart attack on October 30, 2013.
