Home » Search Center » Results: Wardell Gray

Results for "Wardell Gray"

Advanced search options

Results for pages tagged "Wardell Gray"...

Musician

Wardell Gray

Born:

Wardell Gray was one of the truly great, yet by now almost obscure, bebop tenor saxophonists. With a smooth mellow and consistent tone, he created a tenor style that veered from swing to bebop, a style that was elegant, sure-footed, mature and distinctive. His premature death under mysterious circumstances in 1955, robbed the jazz world of another unique player, and cast him into distant recollection, though his talent deserves greater recognition. Born in Oklahoma City, Gray grew up in Detroit, playing locally as a teenager. He was a member of the Earl Hines big band during 1943-1945 before moving to Los Angeles in 1945

3

Article: Multiple Reviews

Two-Trumpet Cacophony

Read "Two-Trumpet Cacophony" reviewed by AAJ Staff


This article was first published at All About Jazz in February 2002. Miles had it figured out: never record with another trumpeter in a small group setting--it just don't work. Or was it his ego? Two, three, and multi-trumpet small group ensembles represent an obscure configuration in modern jazz. This position contrasts sharply ...

8

Article: Album Review

Curtis Counce: You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce!

Read "You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce!" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


When bassist Curtis Counce died of a heart attack at the age of 37 in 1963, the jazz world was deprived of a major talent. Not that one would have known much, for his death, while noted, was not extensively covered. Counce, a Midwesterner, had come to California and to jny:Los Angeles to learn his craft, ...

1

Article: New & Noteworthy

Cristina Zavalloni: fra canzone e ricerca

Read "Cristina Zavalloni: fra canzone e ricerca" reviewed by Libero Farnè


L'ecclettismo, la vitalità creativa e l'intelligenza interpretativa di Cristina Zavalloni ci hanno abituato a sorprese continue, sia in concerto che nelle edizioni discografiche. È significativa la successione delle sue incisioni degli ultimissimi anni, a cominciare da For the Living (Encore, 2020), lavoro “impegnato" realizzato nel primo anno del Covid a capo di una formazione italo-scandinava da ...

News: Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Sonny Clark

Jazz Musician of the Day: Sonny Clark

All About Jazz is celebrating Sonny Clark's birthday today! Conrad Yeatis “Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom. Contents Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town southeast of jny: Pittsburgh. At age 12, he moved to Pittsburgh. When visiting an aunt in California ...

4

Article: Liner Notes

Jimmy Greene: Gifts and Givers

Read "Jimmy Greene: Gifts and Givers" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


The two-tenor battle is not a new idea, with iconic pairings from the jazz pantheon running the gamut from Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray to Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin. In more recent times, Eric Alexander and Grant Stewart have fueled the fire with their own incendiary adventures as heard on the current albums Wailin' ...

News: Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wardell Gray

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wardell Gray

All About Jazz is celebrating Wardell Gray's birthday today! Wardell Gray was one of the truly great, yet by now almost obscure, bebop tenor saxophonists. With a smooth mellow and consistent tone, he created a tenor style that veered from swing to bebop, a style that was elegant, sure-footed, mature and distinctive. His premature death under ...

42

Article: Album Review

Craig Davis: Tone Paintings

Read "Tone Paintings" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The subtitle of pianist Craig Davis' second album, Tone Paintings, is “The Music of Dodo Marmarosa." For those who may be inclined to ask, “Dodo who?" the album offers a mini-biography of Pittsburgh-born Michael (Dodo) Marmarosa, an exceptionally talented pianist whose promising early career was cut short by the crushing weight of mental and emotional problems ...

5

Article: Album Review

Dave Green Trio plus Evan Parker: Raise Four

Read "Raise Four" reviewed by Duncan Heining


Bassist Dave Green recorded this set for the BBC Radio 3 programme Somethin' Else in 2004. In the interview included here with the show's presenter Jez Nelson, Green reflects on a forty year career in jazz. It is fitting that this fine record, only his fourth as leader, sees its release in the year Green marks ...

16

Article: Profile

Hasaan Ibn Ali: Requiem (And Praise) For A Heavyweight Pianist

Read "Hasaan Ibn Ali: Requiem (And Praise) For A Heavyweight Pianist" reviewed by Victor L. Schermer


"The new release of Hasaan's Retrospect In Retirement Of Delay: The Solo Recordings (Omnivore Recordings, 2021), which features him in privately recorded performances from 1962 to 1965, reveals his profundity, his overwhelming power, his mighty virtuosity. It does more than put him on the map of jazz history—it expands the map to include the vast expanse ...


Engage

Contest Giveaways
Enter our latest contest giveaway sponsored by Calligram Records
Polls & Surveys
Vote for your favorite musicians and participate in our brief surveys.
Publisher's Desk
How To Follow Staff Writers
Read on...

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.