Frank Ricotti
Encyclopedia
Frank Ricotti is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 vibraphonist
Vibraphonist
Notable players of the vibraphone include:* Peter Appleyard* Roy Ayers* Karl Berger* Jeff Berman* Jack Brokensha* Larry Bunker* Christian Burchard* Rusty Burge* Gary Burton* Joe Chambers* Teddy Charles* Salem Chiles* John Cocuzzi* Monte Croft...

 and percussionist.

Ricotti played in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra
National Youth Jazz Orchestra
The National Youth Jazz Orchestra is a British jazz orchestra founded in 1963 by Bill Ashton.Based in Westminster, London, NYJO started life as the London Schools' Jazz Orchestra and evolved into becoming the national orchestra...

 while a teenager, then attended Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...

 (1967-70). He worked with Neil Ardley
Neil Ardley
Neil Richard Ardley was a prominent English jazz pianist and composer, who also made a name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music.-Brief biography:...

 (1968-71), Dave Gelly, Graham Collier
Graham Collier
James Graham Collier OBE was an English jazz bassist, bandleader and composer.-Life and career:Born in Tynemouth, Northumberland, on leaving school Collier joined the British Army as a musician, spending three years in Hong Kong...

, Mike Gibbs (1969-72), Stan Tracey
Stan Tracey
Stanley William Tracey CBE is a British jazz pianist and composer, most influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.-Early career:...

 (1970), Harry Beckett
Harry Beckett
Harold Winston "Harry" Beckett was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player.-Biography:A resident in the UK since 1954, Harry Beckett had an international reputation. In 1961, he played with Charles Mingus in the film All Night Long. In the 1960s he worked and recorded within the band of bass...

 (1970-72), Norma Winstone
Norma Winstone
Norma Ann Winstone MBE is a British jazz singer and lyricist. In a career spanning over forty years she is best known for her wordless improvisations....

 (1971) and Gordon Beck
Gordon Beck
Gordon James Beck was an English jazz pianist.Beck was born in Brixton, London, and attended Pinner County Grammar School . He studied piano in his youth, but decided to go into a career as an engineering technical draughtsman...

 (1973-74).

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ricotti led his own jazz quartet. A line-up featuring the guitarist Chris Spedding
Chris Spedding
Chris Spedding is an English rock and roll and jazz guitarist, best known for his session work. Allmusic states - "Spedding is one of the UK's most versatile session guitarists, and has had a long career on two continents that saw him tackle nearly every style of rock and roll, as well as...

, bassist Chris Laurence
Chris Laurence
Chris Laurence is an English jazz double bassist born in London, perhaps most noteworthy for his 1980s work in various trios with Tony Oxley ....

 and drummer Bryan Spring recorded the album Our Point of View, released in July 1969.

In 1971 in partnership with Mike de Albuquerque (bass) he released the album First Wind (as 'Ricotti and Albuquerque').

In the 1980s, he played with Chris Laurence
Chris Laurence
Chris Laurence is an English jazz double bassist born in London, perhaps most noteworthy for his 1980s work in various trios with Tony Oxley ....

 and John Taylor
John Taylor (jazz)
John Taylor is a British jazz pianist; he has occasionally performed on the organ and the synthesiser. He is one of Europe's most celebrated jazz pianists and composers.-Performing career:...

 in the group Paragonne, and played with Beck again in 1984. After this he worked primarily as a studio musician. Ricotti has recorded with artists such as Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...

, The Pet Shop Boys, Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister are a British "sophisti-pop" group best known worldwide for their 1986 song "Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", "Twilight World", "Waiting Game" and a remake of "Am I the Same Girl?" Though album sales in the U.S. and Europe have levelled off since the early 1990s, the...

, Belle and Sebastian, Clannad, Barclay James Harvest
Barclay James Harvest
Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Saddleworth, Lancashire, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme , and Mel Pritchard .-History:...

, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...

, Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...

, Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...

, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...

, Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....

, Thomas Anders
Thomas Anders
Thomas Anders is a German singer, composer and record producer. Anders was the lead singer of Germany's popular pop-duo Modern Talking in 1984–1987 and in 1998–2003.-Early years:...

, Alphaville
Alphaville (band)
Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold , Bernhard Lloyd , and Frank Mertens Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold (real name Hartwig Schierbaum,...

 and Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...

.

Between 1984 and 1987, Ricotti wrote the soundtrack music for Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

's, Beiderbecke Trilogy, in the style of Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...

. The music was performed by his band, the Frank Ricotti All Stars and featured Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (trumpeter)
Kenny Baker was born on 1 March 1921 in Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire and died 7 December 1999. He was an accomplished player of jazz trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn, and a composer.-Biography:...

 on cornet. A soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 was released in 1988. It later peaked at #73 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

 in June 1993. Ricotti and his band made a cameo appearance in the final series, playing in a jazz club.

In 2007, Ricotti played vibes on Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...

's album Kill to Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson
Kill to Get Crimson is the fifth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released 23 October 2007. The album cover image is taken from the painting "Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman" by John Bratby, painted in 1958....

.

Further reading

  • John Chilton
    John Chilton
    John James Chilton is a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts....

    , Who's Who of British Jazz.
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