Calvin Keys
Encyclopedia
Calvin Keys is an American jazz guitarist, known for the several albums he released for Black Jazz Records
.
The Bay Area virtuoso guitarist is well known for his performances and recordings with greats such as Ray Charles
, John Handy
, Bobby Hutcherson
, Eddie Marshall
, Sonny Stitt
, Pharaoh Sanders, Joe Henderson
and Leon Williams
.
Black Jazz Records
Black Jazz Records was a jazz record label founded in Oakland, California during the early 1970s by jazz pianist Gene Russell.Russell founded the label as an alternative to traditional jazz invoking a more political and spiritual tone often with funk overtones. Black Jazz released various types...
.
The Bay Area virtuoso guitarist is well known for his performances and recordings with greats such as Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, John Handy
John Handy
John Richard Handy III is an American jazz alto saxophonist.-Biography:In the 1960s, Handy led several groups...
, Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
, Eddie Marshall
Eddie Marshall
Edwin "Eddie" Marshall was an American jazz drummer.-Biography:Marshall was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He played in his father's swing group and in R&B bands while in high school. He moved to New York City in 1956, developing his percussion style under the influence of Max Roach and Art...
, Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt
Edward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
, Pharaoh Sanders, Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
and Leon Williams
Leon Williams
Leon Williams is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami....
.
Quotes
- "Calvin is a natural. His playing is so deep in the pocket, it comes off elegant and effortless." - Mercury News
- "At times, his fluid fingerpicking threatened to free itself completely from its rhythmic moorings and escape the building into the night sky." - East Bay ExpressEast Bay ExpressThe East Bay Express is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland, and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
- "This man can list such sterling greats as Ray Charles, Ahmad Jamal, Carmen McCrea, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Gloria Lynn, M.C. Hammer, Sonny Stitt, Tony Bennett and Luther Vandross as just a few of the folks he has performed and/or recorded with." - Pacifica Tribune