Frank Mantooth

Frank Mantooth (April 11, 1947 in Tulsa, Oklahoma – January 30, 2004 in Garden City, Kansas) was an American jazz pianist and arranger.

Mantooth attended University of North Texas College of Music, graduating in 1969, then played in and arranged for the Air Force Academy Falconaires from 1969 to 1973. He spent the rest of the 1970s living in Austria, where he published arrangements for big bands and small ensembles.

After his return to the U.S. in 1980, Mantooth worked as a pedagogue, arranger, and publisher in addition to performing. He taught at DePaul University and recorded with Phil Wilson, Ashley Alexander, and Kirsten Gustafson. He wrote music for Louie Bellson, Art Farmer, and Carla Helmbrecht. In 2004 he died from a heart attack at the age of 56 at his home in Garden City, Kansas.

• Our First (Fontana, 1978)
• Suite Tooth (Optimism, 1989)
• Persevere (Optimism, 1990)
• Dangerous Precedent (Sea Breeze, 1993)
• Sophisticated Lady (Sea Breeze, 1995)
• A Miracle (Sea Breeze, 1999)
• Ladies Sing for Lovers (MCG Jazz, 2005)

With Ashley Alexander

• Ashley Alexander Plays Frank Mantooth (AM-PM, 1982)
• Powerslide (Pausa, 1985)
• Seems Like Old Times (Chase, 1987)

• Voicings for Jazz Keyboard

• Scott Yanow, Frank Mantooth at Allmusic
• Obituary, Lawrence Journal-World, p. 8B, February 1, 2004
• Obituary, The Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2004

• Frank Mantooth website