Frank Mantooth

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.