Eddie Gale
Encyclopedia
Eddie Gale is an American
trumpet
er known for his work in free jazz
, especially with the Sun Ra
Arkestra.
. He has recorded with Cecil Taylor
, Sun Ra
, Larry Young, and Elvin Jones
, and performed with John Coltrane
, Jackie McLean
, Booker Ervin
, and Illinois Jacquet
.
In the early 1960s he was introduced to Sun Ra
by drummer Scoby Stroman. He spent many hours exposed to Sun Ra’s philosophy about music and life. Eddie explains, "Playing with Sun Ra is a great experience--from the known to the unknown. You play ideas on your instrument that you never imagine. His music provoked me to explore the use of trill
s, for instance, and the placement of whole tones and then a space chord--ideas you do not find in the exercise books."
During the 1960s and 1970s, he toured and recorded extensively with Sun Ra
, who influenced him greatly until Ra's death in 1993.
He has lived in San Jose, California
since 1972.
Helping to bring jazz into the 21st century, the trumpeter made numerous appearances with Oakland hip-hop outfit The Coup
, whereby Gale's trumpet could be heard engaging with the music's breakbeats and turntables.In the late 1990s Eddie Gale also held regular creative music workshops at the Black Dot Cafe a grassroots performance space in Oakland ran by artist/activist Marcel Diallo
and his Black Dot Artists Collective.
With Cecil Taylor
With Larry Young
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er known for his work in free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, especially with the Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
Arkestra.
Biography
Early in life, he studied trumpet with Kenny DorhamKenny Dorham
McKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
. He has recorded with Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
, Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, Larry Young, and Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
, and performed with John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
, Booker Ervin
Booker Ervin
Booker Telleferro Ervin II was an American tenor saxophone player. He was perhaps best known for his association with bassist Charles Mingus....
, and Illinois Jacquet
Illinois Jacquet
Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo....
.
In the early 1960s he was introduced to Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
by drummer Scoby Stroman. He spent many hours exposed to Sun Ra’s philosophy about music and life. Eddie explains, "Playing with Sun Ra is a great experience--from the known to the unknown. You play ideas on your instrument that you never imagine. His music provoked me to explore the use of trill
Trill
Trill may refer to:* Trill , a type of musical ornament* Trill consonant, a type of sound used in some languages*Trill, a type of bird food-Fiction:* Trill , two symbiotic races of aliens in the fictional Star Trek universe...
s, for instance, and the placement of whole tones and then a space chord--ideas you do not find in the exercise books."
During the 1960s and 1970s, he toured and recorded extensively with Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, who influenced him greatly until Ra's death in 1993.
He has lived in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
since 1972.
Helping to bring jazz into the 21st century, the trumpeter made numerous appearances with Oakland hip-hop outfit The Coup
The Coup
The Coup is a political hip hop group based in Oakland, California. It formed as a three-member group in 1992 with emcees Raymond "Boots" Riley and E-Roc along with DJ Pam the Funkstress. E-Roc left on amicable terms after the group's second album but appears on the track "Breathing Apparatus" on...
, whereby Gale's trumpet could be heard engaging with the music's breakbeats and turntables.In the late 1990s Eddie Gale also held regular creative music workshops at the Black Dot Cafe a grassroots performance space in Oakland ran by artist/activist Marcel Diallo
Marcel Diallo
Marcel Diallo is an American musician, poet, artist and community builder, known for his founding of the Black Dot Artists Collective, The Black New World and his revitalization efforts in West Oakland's historic, predominantly African-American Prescott neighborhood aka the Lower Bottoms.In 2009,...
and his Black Dot Artists Collective.
As Leader
- 1968: Ghetto MusicGhetto MusicGhetto Music is the debut album by American trumpeter Eddie Gale recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 5 stars and stated "The aesthetic and cultural merits of Eddie Gale's Ghetto Music cannot be overstated.....
(Blue NoteBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
) - 1969: Black Rhythm HappeningBlack Rhythm HappeningBlack Rhythm Happening is the second album by American trumpeter Eddie Gale recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note) - 1992: A Minute with Miles
- 2004: Afro Fire
- 2007: Joint Happening w/Mushroom (Hyena Records)
As Sideman
With Sun RaSun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
- LanquidityLanquidityLanquidity is a jazz album by Sun Ra and his Arkestra released in 1978. It is quite different from his earlier recordings in the sense that it was more of a fusion inspired recording. It also features two guitarists which were seldom used in the Arkestra. The funk influence is also considerable,...
(Saturn, 1978)
With Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
- Unit StructuresUnit StructuresUnit Structures is a 1966 album by Cecil Taylor released on the Blue Note label. The Allmusic Review by Scott Yanow states "Taylor's high-energy atonalism fit in well with the free jazz of the period but he was actually leading the way rather than being part of a movement.....
(Blue Note, 1966)
With Larry Young
Larry Young (jazz)
Larry Young Larry Young Larry Young (also known as Khalid Yasin (Abdul Aziz) (October 7, 1940 in Newark, New Jersey—March 30, 1978 in New York City) was an American jazz organist and occasional pianist. Young pioneered a modal approach to the Hammond B-3 (in contrast to Jimmy Smith's...
- Of Love and PeaceOf Love And PeaceOf Love And Peace is an album by jazz organist Larry Young, released on the Blue Note label. This album shows a firmer move on Young's part into the realms of free jazz.The album is Young's third for Blue Note records, following on from Unity...
(Blue Note, 1969)
External links
- Eddie Gale official site
- Eddie Gale photo by John Spragens, Jr.