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Frank Kimbrough

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This article is about the jazz pianist. For the American football coach, see Frank Kimbrough (American football).

Frank Kimbrough (November 2, 1956 – December 30, 2020) was an American post-bop jazz pianist and composer. 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 to New York City in 1981.[1]

Kimbrough started playing the piano at the age of 3, beginning with hymns and then moving on to studies of classical music and his own improvised pieces; however, in rural North Carolina, he had no exposure to jazz until his mid-teens. As he recalled, "I didn't become exposed to jazz until I was probably around 14 or 15, and it was on PBS: the Bill Evans Trio. I remember it like it was yesterday. Because there it was, the discipline of the classical stuff that I'd been working on, and the freedom of improvising and just playing. There had always been this dichotomy between pop music and my classical studies, a very clear line. This was a great way to take the parts that I loved in each of those and channel them into one thing. That was it."[2]

In addition to Evans, his main influences included Herbie Nichols, Thelonious Monk, Vince Guaraldi, Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, and Andrew Hill. Outside of jazz, he acknowledged a particular fondness for the Catalan composer Federico Mompou and for shakuhachi music.[1][3][4]

In 1985, Kimbrough won the Jacksonville Jazz Festival's Great American Jazz Piano Competition. Soon thereafter, he began a five-year solo gig at the Village Corner, a piano bar in Greenwich Village, playing for six hours four or five nights a week.[2] After signing with Mapleshade Records, he released his first album, Star-Crossed Lovers, on cassette tape in 1986 and his first CD, Lonely Woman, in 1988. Kimbrough often shifted labels but is mostly affiliated with Palmetto, for which he recorded the highly acclaimed trio albums Lullabluebye (2003) and Play (2005), which were remastered and rereleased together in 2022.[5] From 1992 to 2001, 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. Kimbrough also co-founded The Jazz Composers Collective with bassist Ben Allison.

Throughout his career, Kimbrough recorded albums with a cast of illuminates in the field of jazz music, including Michael Blake, Ron Horton, Joe Locke, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Motian, Paul Murphy, Ted Nash, Scott Robinson, and Kendra Shank. He also played in the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and in Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project. Schneider has noted of Kimbrough's playing with her orchestra: "Frank would create these improvised introductions and transitions that were just unbelievable. Sometimes I'd listen to this stuff and say, 'This is a composition.' And they were totally different every single night. He never repeated himself, ever. And we played five years of Monday nights, revisiting a lot of the same music. He would take these solos on specific pieces of mine, which were completely open. He could go anywhere. It blew me away. It still does."[2]

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] He was married for 31 years to the vocalist and composer Maryanne de Prophetis[6] and recorded two albums with her.

Kimbrough's final and most ambitious recording project was a 6-CD set of the complete works of Thelonious Monk for Sunnyside Records. This collection includes 70 compositions by Monk, which is more of Monk's music than Monk himself recorded.[7]

Following Kimbrough's death, apparently from a heart attack,[6] Newvelle Records produced a digital tribute album, Kimbrough, in 2021 that features multiple ensembles covering 58 of his compositions.[8] Contributors to the project include many musicians who performed and recorded with Kimbrough as well as piano peers such as Fred Hersch and Dan Tepfer.[9] In addition, two Kimbrough recordings have been released posthumously by Sunnyside, Ancestors in 2021 and The Call in 2025.

Discography

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Year recorded Title Label Notes
1986 Star Crossed Lovers Mapleshade Solo (cassette only)[10]
1987 Double Visions Mapleshade Duo, with Steve Williams (bass) (cassette only)
1988 Lonely Woman Mapleshade Trio, with Ben Wolfe (bass), Jeff Williams (drums)[11]
1996 Love Is Proximity Soul Note With The Herbie Nichols Project
1992 & 1997 Chant Igmod Trio, with Ben Allison (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums)[12]
1997 Saturn's Child OmniTone Duo, with Joe Locke (vibraphone)[13]
1997 Noumena Soul Note Quartet, with Scott Robinson (tenor sax, baritone sax), Ben Monder (guitar), Tony Moreno (drums, percussion); in concert[13]
1998 Quickening OmniTone Trio, with Ben Allison (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums); in concert[13]
1999 Dr. Cyclops' Dream Soul Note With The Herbie Nichols Project
2000 The Willow OmniTone Duo, with Joe Locke (vibraphone)[13]
2001 Strange City Palmetto With The Herbie Nichols Project
2002 Autumn LoNote Duo, with Ron Brendle (bass)[14]
2003 Lullabluebye Palmetto Trio, with Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)[13]
2005 Play Palmetto Trio, with Masa Kamaguchi (bass), Paul Motian (drums)[13]
2007 Air Palmetto Solo[15]
2008 Verrazano Moon OmniTone Duo, with Joe Locke (vibraphone)[16]
2009 Rumors Palmetto Trio, with Masa Kamaguchi (bass), Jeff Hirshfield (drums)[17]
2010, released 2025 The Call Sunnyside Solo[18]
2011 Live at Kitano Palmetto Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)[19]
2013 Afar ScienSonic Duo, with Scott Robinson[20]
2014 Quartet Palmetto Quartet, with Steve Wilson (saxophones), Jay Anderson (bass), Lewis Nash (drums)[21][22]
2015 Meantime Newvelle Quintet, on vinyl[23]
2016 Solstice Pirouet[24] Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Jeff Hirshfield (drums)
2017, released 2021 Ancestors Sunnyside Trio, with Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Masa Kamaguchi (bass)[25]
2018 Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk Sunnyside Quartet, with Scott Robinson (various wind instruments), Rufus Reid (bass), Billy Drummond (drums); 6 CDs

With Ben Allison

With Dave Ballou

With Michael Blake

  • Drift (Intuition Music, 2000)
  • Elevated (P&M Records, 2002)
  • Tiddy Boom (P&M Records, 2014)

With Katie Bull

  • Freak Miracle (Innova Recordings, 2010)

With Maryanne de Prophetis

  • A Glance (LoNote Records, 2005)
  • Tell a Star (ENNA Records, 2016)

With Joe Locke

  • Beauty Burning (Sirocco Jazz Limited, 2000)

With Ted Nash

  • Out of This World (Mapleshade Records, 1993)
  • Rhyme & Reason (Arabesque, 1999)
  • Still Evolved (Palmetto Records, 2003)
  • The Mancini Project (Palmetto Records, 2008)

With Rich Perry

  • Left Alone (SteepleChase Records, 1997)

With Noah Preminger

  • Before the Rain (Palmetto Records, 2011)

With Maria Schneider

With Kendra Shank

  • Wish (Jazz Focus, 1998)
  • Reflections (Jazz Focus, 2000)
  • A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook (Challenge, 2006)
  • Mosaic (Challenge, 2009)

With Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project

With Dawn Upshaw and Maria Schneider

Literature

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  • Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford/New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-19-532000-8

References

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  1. ^ a b c Russonello, Giovanni (January 12, 2021). "Frank Kimbrough, Pianist With a Subtle Touch, Is Dead at 64". New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Chinen, Nate (May 7, 2024). "Frank Kimbrough: Ghost Dance". Jazz Times. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  3. ^ Freitas, Filipe (September 17, 2019). "Frank Kimbrough Interview, NYC". Jazz Trail. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  4. ^ Marriner, Douglas (January 4, 2021). "Tribute: Frank Kimbrough (1956-2020)". London Jazz News. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  5. ^ "Lullabluebye by Frank Kimbrough". AllAboutJazz. August 22, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Chinen, Nate (December 31, 2020). "Frank Kimbrough, Pianist and Composer Who Balanced Mystery with Clarity, Has Died at 64". WBGO. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  7. ^ Balitsaris, Matt, liner notes, Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk, Sunnyside Records, 2018, p. 19.
  8. ^ Kaplan, Fred (December 15, 2021). "The Best Jazz Albums of 2021". Slate. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  9. ^ Mehler, Elan (2025). "Kimbrough". Newvelle Records. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  10. ^ "Frank Kimbrough — Star-Crossed Lovers: Piano Solos". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  11. ^ Henderson, Alex. "The Frank Kimbrough Trio: Lonely Woman". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Adler, David R. "Frank Kimbrough: Chant". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 824. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  14. ^ Nathan, Dave (April 18, 2002). "Ron Brendle/Frank Kimbrough: Autumn". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  15. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Frank Kimbrough: Air". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "Frank Kimbrough: Verrazano Moon". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  17. ^ Bilawsky, Dan (March 4, 2010). "Frank Kimbrough: Rumors". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  18. ^ Bilawsky, Dan (April 9, 2025). "Frank Kimbrough: The Call". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  19. ^ Bilawsky, Dan (October 17, 2012). "Frank Kimbrough Trio: Live At Kitano". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Frank Kimbrough / Scott Robinson: Afar". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "Frank Kimbrough: Quartet". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  22. ^ Bilawsky, Dan (October 1, 2014). "Frank Kimbrough: Quartet". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Frank Kimbrough: Meantime". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  24. ^ "Frank Kimbrough Solstice". pirouet.de. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  25. ^ "Frank Kimbrough: Ancestors". jazztimes.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
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