Frank plays: Saxes (from soprano to bass sax); Flutes (from piccolo to contrabass flute); Clarinets (from Bb clarinet to BBb contrabass clarinet); ocarinas and ethnic winds; synthesizers, and composes and arranges very strange music!
Keyboards: Billy Childs, John Rosenberg, Mike Hatfield
Guitars: Grant Geissman, Eric Jensen, John Hoy, Rick Myers
Bass: Dave Carpenter, John Hettel, Tommy Lockett
Drums: Peter Erskine, Vinnie Colaiuta, Mike Hyman, Jim Helman, Robert Freeberg, Rodney Smith
Percussion: Scott Breadman, Larry Walker, Mike Hatfield, Jon Eeg-Henriksen, Aaron Smith, Craig Bunch
Brass: Wayne Bergeron, Mark Isham, Larry Hall, Bruce Fowler, Alex Iles, Ken Kugler, Kevin Porter, Rick Walsh, Mike Peipman, Steve Campos, Brian Boothe, Marvin McFadden, Michael Plumleigh
Woodwinds: Valarie King, Howard Levy, Alex Murzyn, Tim Price (S.F.), Rob Sudduth, Phil Feather, Bev Dahlke-Smith, ON SAXOLOLLAPALOOZA: Eric Marienthal, Sal Lozano, Bob Sheppard, Gene Cipriano, Jay Mason
Strings: Peter Kent, Stefanie Fife, Steve Richards, Cecilia Tsan, Karie Prescott, The Prague Orchestra
Vocalists: Tracy London, Karen Drucker, Robert Vickers, Leslie Delahanty, Larry Walker, John Rosenberg, Patrick Maier, Mike Hatfield
These great musicians have performed on Frank's CDs:
Frank Macchia's BOOGA-BOOGA
Introducing Frankie Maximum
Frankie Maximum Goes Way-er Out West
Little Evil Things Volumes 1-5
The Galapagos Suite
Animals
Mo' Animals
Emotions
Landscapes
Saxolollapalooza
Influences
Billy Strayhorn, John Coltrane, Frank Zappa, Igor Stravinsky, Pat Metheny Group, Bela Bartok, Parliament Funkadelics, Gil Evans, Michael Brecker, Gyorgi Lygeti, Gene Ammons, Don Ellis, Charlie Parker, Tower of Power, Keith Jarrett, Ralph Vaughn-Williams, Brecker Bros., Weather Report, Chris Potter, Miles Davis, John Corigliano, Eric Dolphy, Herbie Hancock, Cannonball Adderley, Charles Ives, Paul Gonsalves, Olivier Messiaen, and of course... James Brown!!
Sounds Like
Butter!!!
Go to my website, frankmacchia.net to download over 60 minutes of FREE MUSIC!!
Currently residing in Los Angeles, Frank was born and raised in San Francisco, CA.,where he started on the clarinet at the age of ten years old. Soon afterward he began studies on bassoon, saxophone and flute. By the age of fourteen he began studying composition, writing jazz and classical pieces for his high school band and orchestra and for jazz ensembles that rehearsed at the local union hall, including trumpeter Mike Vax's Big Band.
In 1975-76 Frank wrote jazz/classical hybrid works that were performed by the San Francisco Symphony and local professional jazz musicians at the Summer Music Workshop Programs, and he composed and conducted an orchestral overture for his high school graduation ceremony. During this time period he also performed and arranged music for contemporary dance bands in the Bay Area.
In 1976 Frank attended Berklee College of Music, studying woodwinds with Joseph Viola, Joe Allard, Steve Grossman and composition/arranging with Herb Pomeroy, Phil Wilson, Greg Hopkins, Tony Texiera, and Ken Pullig. From 1976-80 he performed and composed for the top student ensembles as well as performing with his own ensembles. He received a National Endowment Grant for the Arts to compose a 90 minute continuous jazz/classical suite for large ensemble. He also won Down Beat magazine's DB award for original big band composition in 1979.
After graduating with a degree in composition, Frank taught at Berklee at the tender age of 20, as well as performed throughout the New England area with his 8-piece fusion group, 'Booga-Booga'. In 1981 Frank moved back to the San Francisco area where he continued working as a musician and composer/arranger over the next ten years, performing concerts with such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Rita Moreno, Tony Bennett, Clare Fischer, Chuck Mangione, and the Temptations, to name a few. He performed with local groups such as The Bay Area Jazz Composers Orchestra, Mike Vax's Great American Jazz Band, Royal Street, the Dick Bright Orchestra and the Melotones. He also led his own original groups, including The Gleets, Desperate Character and The Frankie Maximum Band. In 1989 he recorded Introducing Frankie Maximum, an eclectic CD that showcased original material in a variety of styles, from new wave to polka. He followed that with the CD Frankie Maximum Goes Way-er Out West, a wild romp through traditional cowboy folksongs, done with new treatments (Ringo as a hip-hop jazz tune!?). This 1991 album received much critical praise including being named one of the top ten albums of the year by the Oakland Tribune.
In 1991 Frank toured Germany performing in productions of West Side Story and 42nd Street, and when that tour was over, he found himself in Los Angeles, where he has remained ever since. Since 1992 he has worked as a composer/orchestrator on many films and television projects, including Superman Returns, The Fantastic Four, The Guardian, Miracle, X2-Xmen United, Men of Honor, Eight Legged Freaks, Hide and Seek, Austin Powers:Goldmember, The Contender, The Apt Pupil, Santa Clause 2, and television shows Night Visions, Nickelodeon's Oh Yeah Cartoons, Disney's Oliver Twist, and the Tonight Show. From 1997-2001 he created a series of five original audio horror stories CDs with full underscore entitled "Little Evil Things", which received critical acclaim. In 2003 he completed the jazz/world CD "The Galapagos Suite", a six movement suite based on the animals of the Galapagos Islands, where he and his wife Tracy visited. His CD, "Animals" was released in Fall 2004, and the follow-up "Mo' Animals" in Winter 2006, featuring Frank on multi-woodwinds and a roster of some of Los Angeles best musicians. His CD, "Emotions" featuring the Prague Orchestra and Frank on tenor sax, was released in January 2007. It received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement and was followed by another CD with the Prague Orchestra, entitled "Landscapes". His latest CD is "Saxolollapalooza" featuring Frank and 5 other top Los Angeles saxophonists plus drummer Peter Erskine doing more wild n crazy arrangements by Frank. It's all available at his website, frankmacchia.net, as well as amazon.com and cdbaby.com. You can also find Frank's music on iTunes. He lives in Burbank, CA with his wife and son Charlie.
Hallo People! I believe that music can unite people from the most remote corners of our planet. I would like to offer to create live music via Internet together. You can record your instrument via computer and send this record to me via Internet so I can play together with you. Also, together we can find the other musicians for our music created and played together. We can understand each other with the help of our music and send our messages to the whole world!
Hi Frank, Long time since we last saw each other. I still have that Bossa you and I recorded. Remember that? Can you send me a lead sheet to it if you can find it? I'd like to try it out in my band if that's ok with you. I see Rick Walsh from time to time...the last was at new years. If you get up to the bay area, give me a call and let's get together. 650-740-7004. Peace, John
Frank! Yesterday in the morning I received an envelope in the mail. When I saw it was from Cacophony Music I knew it was from you before opening it. Thanks man for the Saxolollapalooza CD! It is really great! The writing is really beautiful, the group you assembled you already know is great, and the playing is... WOW! If we were not so far I will be asking you for some writing lessons for sure. you seem to have a consistent writing production. As much as I love composing and arranging I hate the time away from the horn it needs. My playing has suffered a lot in the last two months, because I got a commision to write an extended piece( 45 min.) for big band. I already have it so I can start practicing regularly again. the premiere is next week. I will probably record it in video and post it on youtube. keep in touch. Leo from Argentina