Frank Tusa obit

RIP Frank Tusa (1947-2026)

 

He was not on the list.

American bassist Frank Tusa has died at the age of 79. The news was shared on social media yesterday by Jake Feinberg. Tusa was best known as an original member of Dave Liebman’s Lookout Farm, and his passing comes just months after the death of fellow Lookout Farm member Richie Beirach.

Frank Tusa was born in New York City on 1 April 1947. He took up the bass aged 13, after transitioning from the guitar. As was the case with most American males of his generation, he was drafted into the US Army when he came of age in 1967, but he received an honourable discharge two years later. He returned to New York and found steady work as a utility bassist for the New York Playboy Club, where he played regularly with pianist Don Friedman.

In 1971, Tusa was hired for his first recording by pianist Paul Bley, appearing as one of three bassists on The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show. He also worked with Don Cherry around this time. In 1972, he established the Open Sky Trio with saxophonist Dave Liebman and drummer Bob Moses, presumably having met them through Free Life Communication. They were active until 1974.

Tusa was best known as an original member of Liebman’s band Lookout Farm – alongside Richie Beirach (piano), Jeff Williams (drums) and the late Badal Roy (percussion and tablas). They were active from 1973 until 1976 and made a handful of recordings together during that time, beginning with an eponymously titled album for ECM in 1974. During those years, the members of Lookout Farm made additional recordings together in other lineup configurations with alternating leaders. Such examples include a couple of trio recordings in Beirach’s name (with Tusa and Williams) and Tusa’s debut session as a leader, Father Time, recorded in July 1975 with all five Lookout Farm members.

In 1978, following the breakup of Lookout Farm, Liebman performed a headline residency at the Village Vanguard in New York. His band for the occasion combined trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Al Foster with Lookout Farm bandmates Tusa and Beirach. Live recordings of the band were officially issued in 2010 as an astonishing 3-CD set called Pendulum: Live at the Village Vanguard.

Tusa toured with Chet Baker during the early 1980s and played on several broadcasts with the great trumpeter that have since been posthumously reissued. At various points in his career, he also played with Joe Henderson, Art Blakey, Stan Getz, Buddy Montgomery, Pepper Adams, Lee Konitz, Bobby Hutcherson, Johnny Griffin, Herb Ellis, Art Farmer, Freddie Hubbard, George Cables, Larry Coryell and Shelly Manne among others.

He relocated to San Francisco in 1980 and became active in music education, teaching at San Jose State University and Stanford University. His wife, Valerie Mabel Tusa, passed away in 1997, and to honour her memory, he produced an album with his children called Reunion of Old Spirits, featuring a partial reunion of Lookout Farm. Liebman, Beirach and Williams feature on sax, piano and drums respectively, joined by guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Tony Marino, Caris Visentin (Liebman’s wife) on oboe, and Scott Tusa (Frank and Valerie’s son) on percussion.

In a 1977 Downbeat interview, Tusa cited Scott LaFaro and Gary Peacock as his primary influences. It is difficult to comment on his career from the mid-1980s onwards because hardly any recordings exist. Still, during the 1970s, when he was recording regularly, one can safely say that he was as accomplished on his instrument as any of his contemporaries. His playing could be characterised as strong presence, anchored and swinging whilst also melodically interactive. He was also known to compose on occasion, and a shining example of his compositional creativity is the funky recording below with Richie Beirach and Jeff Williams.

Frank Tusa is survived by his children, Scott and Nicole Tusa.

In sadness.