BBC Big Band Orchestra Big Band Favorites CD

At the age of 10 he started to learn the alto saxophone and played in a band led by his father.

After moving to Washington DC he started playing in local bands, first on alto and later on tenor saxophone as well. He worked briefly in a band led by Blanche Calloway.

During World War II Frank played tenor saxophone and solo clarinet in the army band and later led a band accompanying Josephine Baker.

After being discharged he went on to play in the bands of Billy Eckstine, Eddie Heywood, Lucky Millinder and Bull Moose Jackson.

In 1949 he began studying flute with Wallace Mann from the National Symphony and Harold Bennett, Metropolitan Opera, New York.

In 1953 Frank joined the Count Basie Orchestra, starting off on tenor saxophone and flute but later playing alto saxophone too.

He stayed with Basie until 1964.

From a lyrical standpoint Mello very candidly exposes himself on several songs. He takes the listener from laughter, to outrage and from apathy to concern. The CD starts off with a mid-ninties insprired intro by Jonny Black (aka Jonninfinit). Then in something of a musical tidalwave, Olugbenga (drums), Jesse (bass) and Sol (keys, vocals) lock the headnodding music bed while Mello-D smacks the listener in the forhead with vicious lyrical skills on Raw Hip-Hop. This happens just after trading verses with the legendary KRS-ONE on Still Cool Witchu, the follow-up track to Antitainment's hit song. Mello-D pulls no punches in criticizing bias in politics and media in the gritty, highly charged title track Truth Lies Etc and literally blows you away at the end of the song with a soulful tenor sax solo just before fading into Welcome to D.C., a roots rock reggae groove featuring a guest appearance from Akshan.