Joel Frahm

American jazz saxophonist

Jazz
Neo-bop
avant-garde jazz

Occupation(s)MusicianInstrument(s)SaxophoneYears active1988–present

Musical artist

Joel Frahm (born 1970^{[note 1]}) is an American jazz saxophonist.

Early life

Frahm was born in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1970.^[1]^{[note 2]} He attended the Stephen Bull Fine Arts School, where he began playing the tenor saxophone.^[1] At the age of 15 he and his family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, where he attended William H. Hall High School.^[1] He met pianist Brad Mehldau at school, and the two had weekly gigs locally.^[1] "After leaving high school in 1988, Frahm attended Rutgers University for a year before transferring to The Manhattan School of Music, and following graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz Performance he entered Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead workshop."^[1]

Frahm lists saxophonists John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Chris Potter as influences.^[2]

Later life and career

His debut recording as a leader was Sorry, No Decaf, for Palmetto Records, in 1998.^[3] A 2001 recording, Don't Explain, was a series of duets with Mehldau.^[3]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Sorry, No Decaf (Palmetto, 1998)
The Navigator (Palmetto, 2000)
Don't Explain (Palmetto, 2001)
We Used to Dance (Anzic, 2005)
With Bruce Katz, Project A. (Anzic, 2009)
Caminhos Cruzados (Venus, 2010)
Live at Smalls (Smallslive, 2011)
With Pavel Wlosok Trio, Czechmate (New Port Line, 2013)
With Johannes Mössinger, New by Two (Unit, 2017)

As sideman

With Omer Avital

New Song (2014)

With Brad Mehldau

Finding Gabriel (Nonesuch, 2019)
Jacob's Ladder (Nonesuch, 2020–2021)

As invited soloist

With Sant Andreu Jazz Band, Barcelona

Jazzing 6 Vol. 1+2, Temps (2016))^[4]^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Joel Frahm". AllMusic. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
^ Milkowski, Bill (December 2000) "Joel Frahm". JazzTimes.
^ ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 503. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
^ https://joanchamorro.com/album/jazzing-6-vol-1, https://joanchamorro.com/album/jazzing-6-vol-2
^ https://www.tempsrecord.cat/