Free jazz saxophonist Frank Wright was born on July 9, 1935 in Grenada, Mississippi. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and Cleveland, Ohio and was known for his energetic improvisation. Wright, an ordained minister sometimes referred to as the Reverend Frank Wright, was known to get so involved in his improvisation that he would sometimes break into dance while performing.

Wright began his career playing electric bass and backed artists B.B. King and Bobby “Blue” Bland. However, after hearing Albert Ayler in the early 1960s he switched to the tenor sax. He moved to New York City in 1964 and sat in with John Coltrane the following year. Coltrane, who referred to Wright as “little brother,” reportedly invited Wright to play on his album “Ascendancy,” but Wright declined feeling that his technical skills were not sufficient to participate in the project. That same year, though, Frank recorded his first record as a leader.

In 1968 Frank Wright was a member of the Cecil Taylor group that was briefly in residency at Stanford University and performed at the Berkeley Jazz Festival. The following year Wright relocated to France and would do the bulk of his work in Europe over the next two decades. In 1984 he reunited with Taylor to play in his Orchestra of Two Continents. In 1988 he appeared with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and around that same time was working with German drummer A.R. Penck, as well. Frank Wright died in Germany at age 54 in 1990.

Here is a link to a cut from Frank Wright’s first album:

"THE EARTH"