Introduction
Frank Mantooth (April 11, 1947, Tulsa, Oklahoma – January 30, 2004, Garden City, Kansas) was an American jazz pianist and arranger.
Mantooth attended University of North Texas College of Music, graduating in 1969, then played in and arranged for the Air Force Academy Falconaires from 1969 to 1973. He spent the rest of the 1970s living in Austria, where he published big band and small ensemble arrangements.
After his return to the U.S. in 1980, Mantooth worked extensively as a pedagogue, arranger, and publisher in addition to performance. He taught at DePaul University and recorded with Phil Wilson, Ashley Alexander, and Kirsten Gustafson. He wrote music for Louie Bellson, Art Farmer, and Carla Helmbrecht among others. He died in 2004 from a heart attack, aged 56.
Discography
- Our First with Wayne Darling (Fontana, 197?)
- Suite Tooth (Optimism, 1987)
- Sophisticated Lady (Sea Breeze, 1995)
- Miracle (Sea Breeze, 1999)
- Ladies Sing for Lovers (MCG Jazz, 2005)
As arranger and pianist
- Dangerous Precedent (Sea Breeze, 1993) by The Frank Mantooth Big Band featuring Bobby Shew, Clark Terry, and Ramsey Lewis
- Per-Se-Vere (Optimism, 1987; Sea Breeze, 2005) by The Frank Mantooth Big Band featuring Bobby Shew, Clark Terry, and Pete Christlieb
Publications
- Voicings For Jazz Keyboard
Education
- 1969 — Bachelor of Music, University of North Texas College of Music
- 1977 — Advanced Degree in Piano, Hochschule für Musik, Vienna