Frank Kimbrough (November 2, 1956 – December 30, 2020) was an American post-bop jazz pianist. He was born and raised in Roxboro, North Carolina. He did some work at Chapel Hill before moving to Washington, D. C. in 1980 and then New York City in 1981.[1]
His influences included Herbie Nichols, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, and Andrew Hill.[1][2][3] After signing with Mapleshade Records, he released his first album, Star-Crossed Lovers, on cassette tape in 1986 and his first CD in 1988. Kimbrough often shifted labels but is mostly affiliated with Palmetto.
In the 1990s he was a member of the Herbie Nichols Project, a repertoire ensemble dedicated to performing both known and undiscovered works by the pianist and composer Herbie Nichols. He also co-founded The Jazz Composers Collective with Ben Allison.
Throughout his career Kimbrough recorded albums with a cast of illuminates in the field of jazz music including Paul Murphy, Joe Locke, Michael Blake, Ron Horton, and Ted Nash. He also played in the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra.
Kimbrough was also a music educator, teaching piano at New York University during the 1990s, and became a professor at the Juilliard School in 2008.[1]
Following Kimbrough's death, Newvelle Records produced a digital tribute album, Kimbrough, in 2021 that featured multiple ensembles covering 58 of his compositions. [4]