Frank Catalano

Chicago's Frank Catalano approaches the tenor saxophone with a soulful jazz sensibility that has established him as a versatile session musician, road veteran, and bandleader. His playing fuses foundational soul-jazz, blues, and jazz-funk elements with contemporary post-bop and avant-garde explorations. The saxophonist's first Delmark date as leader, Cut It Out, appeared in 1998. He fronted his own ensembles while contributing to sessions and tours alongside both jazz and pop artists. The 2000 release You Talkin' to Me?! documented his partnership with Von Freeman. In 2006 he issued the soul-jazz album Love Bugaloo, which was succeeded months afterward by the live recording Mighty Burner that registered on the charts. Bang followed in 2008. Catalano joined Richie Cole and Jim Holman for the 2012 album Explosion. Beginning in 2014 he shared bandleading duties with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmie Chamberlin. Drawing personnel from Brand X, Megadeth, and Kneebody, the pair released Love Supreme Collective, which ascended to the top of digital streaming rankings. Their subsequent projects included the widely praised charting sets God's Gonna Cut You Down, the 2016 album Bye Bye Blackbird featuring guest David Sanborn, and the 2017 chart-topping Tokyo No. 9. After extensive touring, festival appearances, and residencies, Catalano delivered the quartet recording Live at Birdland in 2022.

Raised in Chicago, Catalano took up the tenor saxophone at age eight. He refined his technique at DePaul University and entered the professional ranks while still a teenager. Following performances with jazz drummer Louis Bellson and avant-garde jazz organist Charles Earland in 1991, he received an invitation to join pop vocalist Tony Bennett's ensemble. Beyond Bennett, Catalano has appeared or recorded with Clark Terry, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Kenny Loggins, Jimmy McGriff, Randy Brecker, and Arturo Sandoval.

His own work has drawn increasing notice. The debut solo album Cut It Out, issued in February 1988, earned placement on year-end best-of lists from Jazz Times, Los Angeles Weekly, and The Chicago Tribune. Pins 'n' Needles, his next effort, included trumpeter/flügelhornist Randy Brecker, pianist Willie Pickens, bassist Larry Gray, and drummer Joel Spencer. Catalano maintains an active schedule with his own quartet—guitarist Kirk Hunter, Hammond B-3 organist Vijay Tellis-Nayak, and drummer Dan Leali—alongside John Burnett & His Orchestra and Lenny King's Chicago Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra.

In 2001 he collaborated with vocalist Peter Oprisko on Ring-A-Ding Romance!: Peter Oprisko Sings! Saxophonist Frank Catalano Plays! and also released the concert album Live at the Green Mill that same year. Catalano resurfaced in 2005 with the studio album Mighty Burner, which remained on the jazz charts for more than twenty weeks. Bang! arrived two years later. In 2012 he appeared as co-billed guest, alongside saxophonist Richie Cole, on pianist Jim Holman's Delmark album Explosion.

Catalano formed a partnership with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, whose background includes formal jazz training and continued engagement with the idiom despite rock success. The duo assembled a vanguard supergroup featuring bassist Percy Jones of Brand X, guitarist Chris Poland of Megadeth, and keyboardist Adam Benjamin of Kneebody, resulting in the Ropeadope release Love Supreme Collective. This modal jazz-rock project reached the summit of digital charts within a week of issue.

In 2016 Catalano and Chamberlin enlisted saxophonist David Sanborn for the live collection Bye Bye Blackbird: Blowing in from Chicago for Von and Eddie. The following year brought Tokyo No. 9, which captured performances in Japan, Chicago, and New York and debuted at number one on the jazz album charts. Catalano sustained tours, festivals, and club dates until the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic halted live performances; he resumed road work in late 2021. In July 2022 he issued Live at Birdland with a fresh quartet comprising drummer Mike Clark, pianist Randy Ingram, and bassist Julian Smith.