Gary Windo
Encyclopedia
Gary Windo was a jazz
tenor
saxophonist
.
He came from a musical family in England
and by age six took up drum
s and accordion
, then guitar
at 12, and finally saxophone at 17. He lived in the United States
in the 1960s, but returned to England in 1969. In the early 1970s, his career grew as he founded his own group, the Gary Windo Quartet, and worked with Brotherhood of Breath
, Centipede
, Matching Mole
, The Running Man, Carla Bley
and Nick Mason
.
He also did work outside with groups like The Psychedelic Furs, Robert Wyatt
and NRBQ. In addition to this he did incidental music for Saturday Night Live
and also taught.
Although he was a blower, he suffered from asthma
. He died in 1992 and since then compilation album
s of his work continue to appear with a recent example being Anglo-American.
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...
tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
.
He came from a musical family in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and by age six took up drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, then guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
at 12, and finally saxophone at 17. He lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1960s, but returned to England in 1969. In the early 1970s, his career grew as he founded his own group, the Gary Windo Quartet, and worked with Brotherhood of Breath
Brotherhood of Breath
The Brotherhood of Breath was a big-band created in the late 1960s by South African pianist/composer Chris McGregor , essentially an extension of McGregor's previous band The Blue Notes....
, Centipede
Centipede (band)
Centipede were an English jazz/progressive rock/Canterbury sound big band with more than 50 members, organized and led by the British free jazz pianist Keith Tippett...
, Matching Mole
Matching Mole
Matching Mole was a short-lived UK progressive rock band from the Canterbury scene best known for the song "O Caroline". Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album The End of an Ear...
, The Running Man, Carla Bley
Carla Bley
Carla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
and Nick Mason
Fictitious Sports
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason fronted the group who made the one-off self-titled album Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports in May 1981 in the UK and US, this being Mason's first major work outside of Pink Floyd. However, the album is considered by many a Carla Bley album in all but name, since she...
.
He also did work outside with groups like The Psychedelic Furs, Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
and NRBQ. In addition to this he did incidental music for Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and also taught.
Although he was a blower, he suffered from asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
. He died in 1992 and since then compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s of his work continue to appear with a recent example being Anglo-American.