Media in the US have reported the death of pianist and composer Frank Kimbrough. He was 64 and the cause of death was due to a heart attack. A pianist with the Maria Schneider Orchestra for a quarter of a century a span that included his having appeared on the recently acclaimed album Data Lords, Kimbrough also stacked up a lengthy discography of well received records under his own name. His monumental take on Monk titled Monk's Dreams for instance generated a lot of interest when it came out in 2018.
Kimbrough's fellow pianist Ethan Iverson has paid tribute on his blog Do the Math: ''Frank was part of the Jazz Composers Collective, a group with Ben Allison, Ted Nash, and others. They programmed original music at a series held at the Greenwich House Music School. One of the best sets of the many I heard there in the 90s was a trio with Frank, Ben Allison, and Jeff Ballard. The opening piece was unforgettable, where Frank offered some bluesy triadic piano riffs before the bass and drums came in with controlled chaos.
''After Paul Bley died, I organized a memorial concert on the Greenwich House Music School stage. Frank was the Paul Bley expert, and he showed up with a stack of Annette Peacock music. In a way I wish I had made the concert more about playing those Peacock and Carla Bley melodies; some of the best stuff that night was simply Frank reading through 'Nothing Ever Matters, Anyway' and 'Butterflies' at the soundcheck.''
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