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1966 Frankie Randall

In 1958, we had a jazz combo from Passaic perform at Rutherford High School, just across the river. It was the Frankie Randall Jazz Trio.   My bandmates from the “Rutherfordians,” the RHS dance band,  were keenly interested in this group.  We were learning to like jazz, and we were especially interested in the new “cool” sound which was very minimalist and which was evident in the Randall performance.  My friend Frank, the drummer in our group, tried to copy that style, as evidenced by the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Frankie Randall played piano and he sang like Sinatra, but that day, it was cool jazz.   So I recall that day quite vividly, because it was rare that we could hear a live performance by a jazz group.

Two Italian singers. From Jazztimes.com

Randall went on to make a career in music, performing the Great American Songbook. Sinatra helped him obtain a record contract.  Randall was 20 years old that day at RHS, but now he is in his ’70’s and still working.  He has also done some acting.

“One Morning in May” is a jazz standard written by Hoagy Carmichael  in 1933.  This Frankie Randall rendition is from his album “Sings and Swings.”

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