Frank Butler
b. 18 February 1928, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, d. 24 July 1984. Learning to play drums in school, Butler played in his home town where he took tuition from the ciy's finest drummer, Jo Jones. Despite such swing era roots, however, and notwithstanding a brief stint depping with Duke Ellington, Butler's interest lay in modern developments. From the late '50s onwards he worked with Curtis Counce, Art Pepper, Harold Land and other west coast luminaries and also played in groups led by Miles Davis and John Coltrane. His career faltered in the mid-60s but he returned a decade later, playing with great drive and flair and was at ease in the milieu of the hard-bop resurgence.