About Frank Gibson Jr
New zealand drumming legend
It’s difficult to write a biography of Frank Gibson Jr as he led many lives and created a body of work that is difficult to even summarize.
Frank was one of New Zealand’s most accomplished and versatile drummers. His life was defined by music, with a remarkable career that spanned more than seven decades and left a lasting impact on the local and international music scenes. Frank’s musical journey began at age 8 with a drum duet alongside his father at the Auckland Town Hall, which he turned into a 70 year career.
As a highly sought-after drummer, Frank’s career spans multiple genres, but his passion was always jazz. If a jazz great was touring, like Joe Henderson, Frank was the drummer.
His impressive CV features collaborations with a diverse range of artists, including Leo Sayer, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Molly Ringwald, Diana Krall, Rick Wakeman, Milt Jackson, Ronnie Scott, Sonny Stitt, The Temptations, Charlie Byrd, Mike Nock and many more.
Frank was very proud of his teaching, having taught hundreds of students through secondary schools, Auckland University, Massey University and Edith Cowan in Perth, Western Australia.
He received his PhD from Otago University in 2017. He wrote lessons and advice for drummers in New Zealand Musician magazine for many years.
Frank played on over 250 albums and appeared on more than 300 television and radio
programs across the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The 2024 re-release of his multi-award winning 1976 record Dr. Tree re-entered the Aotearoa Music Charts in May 2025.
He suffered a stroke in 2021, from which he developed speech aphasia. Despite that, he continued to privately play with friends on and off for the next couple of years before retiring.
Frank passed peacefully on May 21st 2025. Even a few months before his passing, he’d still play a drum solo for us.
More than a list of his accomplishments, Frank was a beloved father and partner.
Many thanks to Audioculture for their extensive research and interviews with Frank, as well as the many contributors to his Wikipedia.
We will be continuing to update this site to create a definitive biography for Frank. If you have any contributions, please contact us.