About Frank De Vito...
Frank De Vito has had a full and fascinating career that reads like a chronicle of jazz and pop music from the fifties to the present day.
Born and raised in Utica, New York, Frank started his long and storied career at the age of 14. Before he was 20, he had moved to the Manhattan area, where he studied at the Brooklyn School of Music with legendary drum teacher Jim Chapin.
When Frank moved into Manhattan proper he stayed at the Radio Center Hotel, a popular roost of some of the up and coming musicians of the time. He and others would often hang around at some of the great clubs at the time, such as the Famous Door, the Three Deuces, Birdland, and the Onyx. They would also rent a rehearsal room and get together to play, or go down to the union to try and line up gigs. One such gig was a chance for Frank to replace Shelly Manne in Bob Astor's band. After working with Astor for a few months, he went back to Utica to do gigs with his friends (and great players) J.R. Montrose and Sammy Mancusco. Frank also played with legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday during this time.
While back in Utica, Frank received a call in 1949 from his friend Buddy DeFranco and was asked to join a new group DeFranco was forming in New York. The band traveled and played extensively in the east and mid-west, but eventually it broke up and Frank found himself back in Utica. While there, he hooked up with his old buddy J.R. Montrose and they gigged around in the area. Soon though, DeFranco called Frank again and told him he was forming another group--this time a big band--and Frank was back in New York City.
During those years, when not playing or touring with DeFranco's band, Frank also played recording or live dates with such notables as The Mills Brothers, Hal McIntyre, Oscar Pettiford, Lee Konitz, Kai Winding, J.J Johnson, Stan Getz, and Horace Silver. He even got to sub for Roy Haynes and play with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie!
In 1953, Frank joined the Terry Gibbs Quartette and went on the road for two years with this combo. The tour ended in California in 1955, and burnt out from being on the road, Frank decided to stay in L.A.
Frank was soon working again with DeFranco and The Pete Jolly Trio. In 1957, he began a three-year stint touring and recording with Frank Sinatra. Other jazz artists that Frank performed with during this time period included Terry Gibbs, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and Ella Fitzgerald.
With the recommendation and help of the great drummer Earl Palmer, Frank also became involved in studio session work. In addition to working with a number of jazz artists, Frank recorded with pop artists such as Elvis Presley, Sonny & Cher, Sam Cooke, Dick Dale, Ricky Nelson, The Ventures, and The Beach Boys. He also recorded several albums and toured with the Baja Marmimba Band. He is now listed among the ranks of legendary session drummers like Earl Palmer, Hal Blaine and John Guerin.
Blues in the Night, and his subsequent years spent recording in Hollywood eventually netted him a few film roles as well. Frank can be seen and heard briefly in such films as The Wild Party (1956), La Bamba (1987) and Man On The Moon (1999).
Frank continues to play today, focusing on his passion for jazz. In recent years he has performed with Ken Peplowski, Tom Ranier, Harry Allen, Bill Cunliffe, the Tracy Wells Big Band as well as performing for six years at the Sweet And Hot Jazz Festival in L.A.
You can also visit
FRANKDEVITODRUMMER.COM
for more information.
