Playing With Frank Lacy

I was inspired to write this as I was picking out video for this site. In one of the tunes, the band’s cooking pretty well, Frank’s soloing with his usual intensity, when suddenly he pauses and just smiles. A smile of sheer joy. My first thought was “Damn. When Frank smiles like that, he brightens the whole day.” The day in question had been particularly trying, involving major road mishaps, as well as a concert downbeat that happened as we were still unpacking- and yet there’s Frank, the previous few hours (which had started for him a couple of thousand miles away) completely washed away in the total bliss of playing on a tune we’ve been doing forever. He defines joie de vivre, and is a constant reminder of what a privilege making music is.

This is not to say he’s simple. He’s a complex man and a consummate artist. Obviously, he’s a bit of a legend. If you don’t know who he is, take a few moments and Google him. His brilliance and virtuosity are terrifying. An example: one night just before a show, he decided he wanted to play Expressions by John Coltrane. We’d never played it, never even talked about it. He transcribed my chart in the parking lot. Later, when I checked, he’d missed one accidental. His own compositions are the same way; flowing from him seemingly effortlessly. I’ve seem him write big band scores the way most of us write shopping lists.

As people who follow him on Facebook have probably noticed, he pursues his craft with a missionary’s zeal. This is a calling. Something sacred. You respect it, never stop learning, and immerse yourself in the work of those who came before you. You remain humble in the face of this art form.

Frank is an extremely kind and thoughtful man, and splendid company on the road. I swear he’s the mayor of Harlem, and that he knows literally everybody. A few years back, I met an executive from a multinational bank. He asked me what projects I was working on, and I mentioned the trio Frank, Andrew, and I have. “Frank Lacy? He spent a few weeks on my couch last summer. Tell him he can come back anytime.” That sums up the type of person he is: take a random stranger in NYC, and not only do they know Frank Lacy, they adore him. We sometimes have our issues- I still feel like I’m proving to him I’m capable of playing in this band, and his politics are, um, unorthodox- but Andrew, Frank, and I know without question that we’re always there for each other.

I love him. He’s my brother.