Frank Tusa

Frank Tusa, 79, died on July 26, 2026. Frank Tusa was known publicly as an American bassist and composer. Tusa played guitar before switching to bass at age ten. He worked in a Broadway pit orchestra and then played while serving in the Army. Tusa worked with Paul Bley (1970–71), Horacee Arnold (1971), and in the Open Sky trio with Dave Liebman and Rakalam Bob Moses in 1972–74. Early in the 1970s he also played with Dave Holland, Collin Walcott, and Dom Um Romão, the last on electric bass. In the middle of the decade he toured Europe in Dave Liebman's Lookout Farm ensemble with Richard Beirach, Jeff Williams, and Badal Roy. Public biographical listings identify Tusa as an American bassist and composer. This public record remains centered on Tusa's work as an American bassist and composer and the documented milestones of that career.