Frank Gibson Jr. obit

Frank Gibson Jr Has Died

 

He was not on the list.

Frank Gibson Jr’s beat has gone well beyond Drum City: he clocks in at Drum World. Few drummers anywhere have a CV to compare.

Among the highlights have been touring and/or recording with Nat Adderley, Frank Foster, Johnny Griffin, Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, Leo Sayer, John Scofield, Dusty Springfield, Sonny Stitt, the Temptations, Rick Wakeman, the Walker Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Ernie Watts and Jimmy Witherspoon. He appeared on Lonnie Donegan’s 1978 comeback album, Puttin’ On The Style, which featured Rory Gallagher, Elton John and Brian May sharing drumming duties with Ray Cooper and Ringo Starr, and Gibson’s 1982 album Parallel 37 features a who’s who of New Zealand players plus international guests Milt Jackson, John Scofield and Bobby Shew.

The founder of Dr Tree and toured with stars such as Dionne Warwick, The Temptations and Glen Campbell before moving to the UK in 1977 where he became a highly sought-after session and studio musician, and toured with Dusty Springfield and Leo Sayer. Gibson returned to New Zealand, formed "Space Case", and produced three albums. Gibson performed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. In 1992, he joined the Edith Cowan University as full-time lecturer in jazz music for five years. Gibson was the winner of the three New Zealand Best Jazz albums. In 1983, he was inducted into the Zildjian hall of fame.