Eric Gale
Encyclopedia
Eric J. Gale was a leading American
jazz
and session
guitarist
.
Born in Brooklyn
, New York
, Gale began playing guitar at the age of 12. Although he majored in chemistry at Niagara University
, Gale was determined to pursue a musical career, and began contributing to accompaniments for such stars as Maxine Brown
, the Drifters
, and Jesse Belvin
. He soon began to attract the attention of King Curtis
and Jimmy Smith
, who began recommending him for studio work. He became known first as a session musician in the 1960s, eventually appearing on an estimated 500 albums. Among the many artists he recorded with were Aretha Franklin
, Bob James
, Paul Simon
, Lena Horne
, Quincy Jones
, Bob Marley
, Nina Simone
, Peter Tosh
, Grover Washington, Jr.
, Herbie Mann
, Esther Phillips
, Joe Cocker
, Carly Simon
, Van Morrison
, Al Jarreau
and Billy Joel
. He also had a spell in Aretha Franklin's stage band.
Gale died of lung cancer
in May 1994, at the age of 55.
Fania All Star: Rymthin Machine (1977)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
.
Born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Gale began playing guitar at the age of 12. Although he majored in chemistry at Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
, Gale was determined to pursue a musical career, and began contributing to accompaniments for such stars as Maxine Brown
Maxine Brown (soul singer)
Maxine Ella Brown is an American soul and R&B singer.-Background and career:Maxine Brown began singing as a child, performing with two New York based gospel groups called the Angelairs and the Royaltones when she was a teenager...
, the Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
, and Jesse Belvin
Jesse Belvin
Jesse Lorenzo Belvin was an American R&B singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s, whose success was cut short by his death in a car crash aged 27.-Career:...
. He soon began to attract the attention of King Curtis
King Curtis
Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
and Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
, who began recommending him for studio work. He became known first as a session musician in the 1960s, eventually appearing on an estimated 500 albums. Among the many artists he recorded with were Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Bob James
Bob James (musician)
Robert McElhiney James is a jazz keyboardist, arranger and producer.-Biography:During the 1970s, Bob James played a major role in establishing the smooth jazz genre. "Angela", the instrumental theme from the sitcom Taxi, is probably Bob James' most well-known work to date...
, Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
, Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr. was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.He wrote some of his material and...
, Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips was an American singer. Phillips was known for her R&B vocals, but she was a versatile singer, also performing pop, country, jazz, blues and soul music.-Early life:...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
, Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
. He also had a spell in Aretha Franklin's stage band.
Gale died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in May 1994, at the age of 55.
As leader
- NegrilNegril (Peter Tosh album)Negril is an instrumental album originally released in 1975 from a session produced, arranged and mostly composed by Eric Gale, and including some of Jamaica's best-known musicians...
(LP, 1975. Micron Music Ltd.) (CD, 2003. 3D Japan) - Forecast (1973) (Kudu Records)
- Ginseng Woman (1977) (ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
) - Multiplication (1978) (ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
) - Part of You (1979) (ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
) - Touch of Silk (1980) (ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
) - Blue Horizon (1981) (Elektra)
- In the Shadow of a Tree (1982) (JVC)
- Island Breeze (1983) (Elektra)
- In a Jazz Tradition (1987) (EmArcy)
- Let's Stay Together (1988) (Artful Balance)
- Utopia (1998) (Rooms Japan)
Appears on
- Kenny LogginsKenny LogginsDuring the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
: Celebrate Me Home (1977) - Greg HatzaGreg HatzaGreg Hatza is an American jazz organist born in 1948 in Reading, Pennsylvania.Hatza started on piano at age five, and switched to organ at age fifteen. He played professionally from age sixteen, working for four years at Lenny Moore's club...
: The wizardry of Greg Hatza (1967) - Greg Hatza: Organ-ized" Jazz (1968)
- Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
: Walking in Space (1969) - Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
: Blowin' Your Mind!Blowin' Your Mind!- Musicians :* Van Morrison – guitar, vocals* Eric Gale - - Production :* Vic Anesini – Mastering* Brooks Arthur – Engineer* Bert Berns – Arranger, Director, Producer, Liner Notes* Adam Block – Project Director...
(1967) - Bobby TimmonsBobby TimmonsRobert Henry "Bobby" Timmons was an African American jazz pianist and composer.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is best known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here", each of which are typical of his...
: Got to Get It!Got to Get It!Got to Get It! is an album by American jazz pianist Bobby Timmons recorded in 1967 and released on the Milestone label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Jason Ankeny awarded the album 3 stars stating "Purists may blanch, but Bobby Timmons' Milestone label debut Got to Get It! is an otherwise...
(1967) - Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
: T.B. SheetsT.B. Sheets"T.B. Sheets" is a blues-influenced song written and recorded by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, recorded for the Bang Records label in 1967 and included on his first solo album, Blowin' Your Mind!. It later appeared on the Bang compilation, T.B. Sheets.-Recording:"T.B...
(1973) - Gary McFarlandGary McFarlandGary McFarland was an influential composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist, prominent on Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s, when he made "one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz"...
: America the Beautiful (1968) - Shirley ScottShirley ScottShirley Scott was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist. She was most known for working with her husband, Stanley Turrentine, and with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis...
: Soul Song (1968) - Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
: Walking in Space(1969) - Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
& Gábor SzabóGábor SzabóGábor Szabó was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.-Biography:...
: Lena & Gabor (1969) - Freddie HubbardFreddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
: A Soul ExperimentA Soul ExperimentA Soul Experiment is an album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. It was his third release on the Atlantic label and features performances by Hubbard, Carlos Garnett, Kenny Barron, Gary Illingworth, Billy Butler, Eric Gale, Jerry Jemmott, and Grady Tate....
(1969) - Gary BurtonGary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
: Good VibesGood Vibes (album)Good Vibes is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton recorded in 1969 and released on the Atlantic label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Ken Dryden awarded the album 2½ stars calling it "rather dated and less satisfying than the vast majority of his other recordings from the era".-Track listing:#...
(1969) - Novac: The Fifth Word (1970)
- Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
: Gula Matari (1970) - Junior ManceJunior ManceJulian Clifford Mance, Jr. is an American jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:...
: With a Lotta Help From My Friends (1970) - Johnny Hammond: Breakout (1971)
- The Chuck RaineyChuck RaineyChuck Rainey, is an American bass guitar session musician, known for playing with many well-known American musicians and acts, including Donald Byrd, Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, and Aretha Franklin.-Biography:Rainey's youthful pursuits included violin, piano and trumpet...
Coalition: The Chuck Rainey Coalition (1971) - Stanley TurrentineStanley TurrentineStanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
: Salt SongSalt SongSalt Song is an album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine recorded for the CTI Note label featuring performances by Turrentine with an orchestra arranged by Eumir Deodato...
(1971) - Grover Washington, Jr.Grover Washington, Jr.Grover Washington, Jr. was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.He wrote some of his material and...
: Inner City Blues (1971) - Johnny Hammond: Wild Horses Rock Steady (1971)
- Freddie HubbardFreddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
/ Stanley TurrentineStanley TurrentineStanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
: In Concert (1973) - Stanley TurrentineStanley TurrentineStanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
: Don't Mess with Mister T.Don't Mess With Mister T.Don't Mess With Mister T. is a Stanley Turrentine album produced by Creed Taylor on his label, CTI. It was arranged by Bob James and recorded at Van Gelder Studio in June 1973.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 4½ stars....
(1973) - Joe HiggsJoe HiggsJoe Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson...
: Life Of Contradiction (1975) - Van McCoyVan McCoyVan Allen Clinton McCoy was an accomplished musician, music producer, arranger, songwriter, and orchestra conductor. He is known best for his 1975 internationally successful song "The Hustle", which is still played in dance halls and on radio to this day more than thirty years since his death...
: The Disco Kid (1975) - Phil UpchurchPhil UpchurchPhil Upchurch is an American jazz and R&B guitarist and bassist.Upchurch started his career working with The Kool Gents, The Dells, and The Spaniels before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush and Jimmy Reed. He then returned to Chicago to play and record with Woody Herman, Stan Getz,...
: Upchurch/Tennyson (1975) - Tom ScottTom Scott (musician)Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California...
: New York Connection' (1975) - Gábor SzabóGábor SzabóGábor Szabó was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.-Biography:...
: Macho (1975) - Idris MuhammadIdris MuhammadIdris Muhammad is a jazz drummer. He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam. He is known for his funky playing style. He has released a number of albums as leader, and has played with a number of jazz legends including Lou Donaldson, Johnny Griffin, Pharoah Sanders and Grover...
: House of the Rising Sun (1975) - Grover Washington, Jr.Grover Washington, Jr.Grover Washington, Jr. was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.He wrote some of his material and...
: A Secret PlaceA Secret PlaceA Secret Place is a 1976 album by jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. The album topped the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and reached number seven on the Soul Albums chart in 1977.-Background:"Tenor and soprano saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr...
(1976) - Rainbow featuring Will Boulware: Crystal Green (1976)
- Patti AustinPatti Austin-Life and career:Austin was born in Harlem, New York. She made her debut at the Apollo Theater at age four and had a contract with RCA Records when she was only five. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have proclaimed themselves as her godparents....
: End of a Rainbow (1976) - Urbie GreenUrbie GreenUrban Clifford "Urbie" Green is an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle....
: The Fox (1976) - Maynard FergusonMaynard FergusonMaynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
: Primal Scream (1976) - Idris Muhammad: Turn This Mutha Out (1977)
Fania All Star: Rymthin Machine (1977)
- Jun Fukamachi: The Sea of Dirac (1977)
- Patti Austin: Havana Candy (1977)
- Jun Fukamachi: Evening Star (1977)
- David MathewsDavid MathewsDavid Mathews was a lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was Mayor of New York from 1776 until 1783....
: Dune (1977) - Noel PointerNoel PointerNoel Pointer was an American jazz violinist and record producer.He was nominated for a Grammy award in 1981. Pointer's reputation as an outstanding jazz musician and literary advocate garnered him honorary citizenship in cities across the United States...
: Hold On (1978) - Wilbert Longmire: Sunny Side Up (1978)
- Jun Fukamachi: On The Move (1978)
- Richard TeeRichard TeeRichard Tee was a pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger.Tee graduated from the High School of Music and Art and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Though better known as a studio and session musician, Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the...
: Strokin' (1978) - Wilbert Longmire: Champagne (1979)
- Paul SimonPaul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
: One-Trick PonyOne-Trick Pony (album)One-Trick Pony is the fifth solo album released by Paul Simon, in 1980.Paul Simon's One-Trick Pony was released concurrently with the film of the same name, in which Simon also starred...
(1980) - Richard Tee: Natural Ingredients (1980)
- Michael Franks: One Bad Habit (1980)
- Patti Austin: Every Home Should Have One (1981)
- Fuse OneFuse OneFuse One were a group of Jazz musicians who collaborated for two albums released on CTI Records and one album released on GNP Crescendo Record Co..The albums Fuse One and Silk were produced by Creed Taylor...
: Silk (1981) - Mark Gray: Boogie Hotel (1982)
- Dave GrusinDave GrusinDavid Grusin is an American composer, arranger and pianist. Grusin has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, including an Academy award and 12 Grammys...
: NY/LA Dream Band (1982) - Jorge Dalto & Super Friends: Rendez-Vous (1983)
- Sadao Watanabe: Rendezvous (1984)
- David Diggs: Nothing But the Truth (1989)
- Richard Tee: Real Time (1992)
- Al Jarreau: Tenderness (1994)
- Emiel van Egdom: "This is for you" (1989)
- Emiel van Egdom: " Hybrid Groove" (1996)