Jazz Articles about Grady Tate

Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached, 1957-1965

by John Chacona
July 10, 2023

Imagine if Sidney Bechet, Charlie Christian and Jimmy Smith were barely remembered and recordings of their music were long unavailable and known only on the geekiest corners of Discogs. That is essentially the status of harpist Dorothy Ashby. Like the three figures cited above, Ashby essentially created a language for her chosen instrument, the harp, where virtually none has existed before and established it as a legitimate and expressive vehicle for jazz improvisation at the highest level. Just how brilliantly ...

Grady Tate: The Art of the Singing Drummer

by Greg Thomas
October 22, 2008

Grady Tate, 76, is best known as one of the most beloved, consistently dependable session drummers since the 1960s. He's the steady pulse on the famous version of Benny Golson's “Killer Joe," from Quincy Jones' Walking in Space (Verve, 1969), where his hi-hat groove and snare drum rim shots on the four, in tandem with bassist Ray Brown's big-toned walking, formed the backdrop for the head and solos by Hubert Laws and Freddie Hubbard.He was the house drummer ...

Grady Tate: From the Heart: Songs Sung Live at the Blue Note

by Greg Thomas
March 11, 2007

Grady Tate, likely the most recorded trap drummer in history, has played with many a great singer: Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan--and that's just a few. But Tate himself has been one of the best jazz vocalists on the scene since his 1968 recording Windmills of My Mind. This past New Year's Eve, at a brunch gig at the Blue Note, he performed an exhilarating set which included tunes from From the ...

Image In The Mirror: The Triptych: Jeri Brown

by AAJ Staff
April 1, 2001

A singer introduced and nurtured by Justin Time Records, Jeri Brown has grown to earn recognition for her distinctive voice as she interprets tunes from a personal perspective. Settling in Montreal, Brown is finally achieving the acclaim she deserves. As a result, she is busy managing Canadian teaching opportunities and worldwide singing engagements.True to form, Brown pursues the music of Image In The Mirror: The Triptych from a broad overview. She breaks down the overall theme of the ...

Jeri Brown: Image In The Mirror: The Triptych

by Jim Santella
April 1, 2001

A consummate jazz singer, Jeri Brown has mastered all the elements. Her rich vocal quality is a natural for ballads. Seamless phrasing and a convincing emotional inflection make each story come alive. Her accuracy and power while scat singing lift the session to a higher level. Vocalese appears to be one of Brown's strongest qualities.

Milton Sealey wrote the music for this, her 8th Justin Time album. Together, he and Brown connected the pieces into a cohesive work of dramatic ...

Jeri Brown: Image In The Mirror: The Triptych

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 2001

A singer introduced and nurtured by Justin Time Records, Jeri Brown has grown to earn recognition for her distinctive voice as she interprets tunes from a personal perspective. Settling in Montreal, Brown is finally achieving the acclaim she deserves. As a result, she is busy managing Canadian teaching opportunities and worldwide singing engagements.True to form, Brown pursues the music of Image In The Mirror: The Triptych from a broad overview. She breaks down the overall theme of the ...

Jimmy Smith: Organ Grinder Swing

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 1, 2001

It was through his early work on Blue Note that the world-shattering innovations of Jimmy Smith first reached the record buying public. Pure be-bop was the order of the day and aside from a special guest or two thrown in from time to time, Smith worked mainly in a trio context. Then the organist left for Verve Records and producer Creed Taylor broadened Smith's horizons by recording him with large ensembles, not to mention getting him to add a bluesy ...