Home » Jazz Articles » Onaje Allan Gumbs

Jazz Articles about Onaje Allan Gumbs

About Onaje Allan Gumbs

Album Review

As if producer and archival sleuth Zev Feldman weren’t already busy enough unearthing lost jazz treasures, he has recently launched a new imprint, Time Traveler. A devoted collector in his own right, Feldman has turned his attention—at least initially—to the storied catalog of Muse Records. Founded in 1972 by Joe Fields, with significant contributions from Don Schlitten, Muse weathered the shifting tides of the industry for a quarter century. While portions of the catalog have resurfaced on CD over the ...

Album Review

Buster Williams: Pinnacle

Read "Pinnacle" reviewed by Andrew Schinder

by Andrew Schinder
May 7, 2026

Bass legend Buster Williams has built a long, prolific career traversing the innerwebs of diverse jazz styles and sub-genres, developing into a beloved sideman and one of the finest rhythmists of jazz's modern period. Williams' bass can elevate any material, and he has contributed to some of the most treasured recordings in the jazz canon, in particular supporting Kenny Barron, Woody Shaw and, of course, Herbie Hancock. But Williams has an exceptional discography of his own, if a bit overshadowed by ...

Catching Up With

Onaje Allan Gumbs: Dare To Dream

by La-Faithia White
September 23, 2018

Onaje Allan Gumbs is a New York based pianist, composer, lyricist, and bandleader. Gumbs' professional career began in 1971 when Leroy Kirkland introduced him to Kenny Burrell, by sharing a demo tape. The next day Gumbs received a phone call to play with Burrell at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. Onaje, (Gumbs) talks about the beginnings of his musical career, and the various artists, some who became friends, that he has collaborated with throughout those years. These artists have inspired ...

Album Review

Onaje Allan Gumbs: Bloodlife: Solo Piano Improvisations Based on the Melodies of Ronald Shannon Jackson

Read "Bloodlife: Solo Piano Improvisations Based on the Melodies of Ronald Shannon Jackson" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
April 16, 2014

Best known for his mainstream work with Woody Shaw on classic albums like The Moontrane (Muse, 1975) and Stepping Stones (Columbia, 1978), it may come as a surprise to learn that pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs was not just a friend and mentor to Ronald Shannon Jackson, but that he also played on the drummer's Decode Yourself (Island, 1985)--an album that, like much of Jackson's Decoding Society work, took Ornette Coleman's harmolodic Prime Time group as a starting point for his ...

394

Album Review

Onaje Allan Gumbs: Sack Full of Dreams

Read "Sack Full of Dreams" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
April 6, 2007

The term “journeyman musician" is an often misunderstood and unjustly maligned one. Rather than its “jack of all trades, master of none" connotation, in the sphere of music it more often refers to artists who seamlessly straddle multiple genres while retaining their individual voices no matter what the style. Pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs may well be the definitive journeyman musician, having worked with everyone from Woody Shaw to Gerald Albright and Ronald Shannon Jackson. His own records have been equally ...

867

Interview

Onaje Allan Gumbs: Music Heard, and Felt

by R.J. DeLuke
March 20, 2007

“I recently did it on a gig and one of the patrons told me, in her words, she was 'messed up.' It affected her. I gave a little intro into where the song is coming from. The band got into it. I finished the tune. Went through a whole bunch of other songs. When I got off the stage, she grabbed my hand and said, 'Onaje, I just want you to know I'm kind of messed up by that song.' ...

251

Megaphone

Onaje Allan Gumbs: Music, The Rhythm of Life

by AAJ Staff
December 13, 2005

By Onaje Allan Gumbs This music we call “jazz" has represented the essence of who we are and who we can become. Music has always been the soundtrack to my life; from the time I was three, I could sing all of the lyrics to the old Eddie Fisher song “Oh My Papa" before I could even say a full sentence. And since becoming a professional musician, I have come to realize the positive effect that my ...