Gerald Albright | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 30, 1957 (age 65) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Saxophone, Bass guitar, Keyboard |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | Atlantic/WEA, GRP, Peak, Heads Up, Concord, Bright Music |
| Website | geraldalbright |
Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. [1]
Albright began piano lessons at an early age, although he professed no interest in the instrument. His love of music picked up when he was given a saxophone that belonged to his piano teacher. [2] It further reinforced when he attended Locke High School. After high school, he attended the University of Redlands where he was initiated into the Iota Chi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha and received a degree in business management with a minor concentration on music. [3] He switched to bass guitar after he saw Louis Johnson in concert. [2]
After college, Albright worked as a studio musician in the 1980s [4] for Anita Baker, Ray Parker Jr., Olivia Newton-John, and The Temptations. He joined Patrice Rushen, who was forming a band, in which he played saxophone. When the bassist left in the middle of a tour, Albright replaced him and finished the tour playing bass guitar. Around the same time, he began to tour Europe with drummer Alphonse Mouzon. He has also toured with Anita Baker, Phil Collins, Johnny Hallyday, Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones, Jeff Lorber, and Teena Marie In addition to appearances at clubs and jazz festivals, he has been part of Jazz Explosion tours on which he played with Will Downing, Jonathan Butler, Chaka Khan, Hugh Masekela, and Rachelle Ferrell.
Albright has appeared in the television programs A Different World , Melrose Place and jazz segments for Black Entertainment Television, as well as piloting a show in Las Vegas with Meshach Taylor of Designing Women . He was one of ten saxophonists to perform at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. [5]
His saxophone work appears in the PlayStation video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night during the theme song "I Am the Wind", which includes keyboardist Jeff Lorber. [6]
Albright himself describes his playing style as being influenced to a large extend by the music which he heard when being a teenager: A mixture of gospel, Motown, Philly International Sound played by the likes of James Cleveland, The Hawkins Singers, James Brown with his band and particularly Maceo Parker. [7]
In September 2021 Gerald Albright received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joseph R. Biden. [2]
Albright plays a signature series model of saxophone made by Cannonball Musical Instruments. Of the two necks that are furnished with the Cannonball saxophones, he usually uses the "Fat Neck" with the octave vent tube on the bottom of the neck, a design similar to some vintage Conn 6M models. [8] Albright also plays bass guitar.
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Just Between Us | Atlantic/Wea |
| 1988 | Bermuda Nights | Atlantic/Wea |
| 1990 | Dream Come True | Atlantic/Wea |
| 1994 | Smooth | Atlantic/Wea |
| 1995 | Giving Myself to You | Atlantic/Wea |
| 1997 | Live to Love | Atlantic/Wea |
| 1998 | Pleasures of the Night with Will Downing | Polygram |
| 2002 | Groovology | GRP |
| 2004 | Kickin' It Up | GRP |
| 2006 | New Beginnings | Peak |
| 2008 | Sax for Stax | Peak |
| 2010 | Pushing the Envelope | Telarc |
| 2012 | 24/7 with Norman Brown | Concord |
| 2013 | Summer Horns / with Dave Koz, Mindi Abair, Richard Elliot | Concord |
| 2014 | Slam Dunk [9] | Heads Up |
| 2016 | G | Bright Music |
| 2018 | 30 | Bright Music |
| 2018 | Summer Horns II From A to Z / with Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Aubrey Logan | Concord |
| 2019 | Not So Silent Night | There |
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Live at Birdland West | Atlantic/Wea |
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | G-Stream | Bright Music |
| 2022 | G-Stream 2 Turn It Up | Bright Music |
| Year | Artist | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Pauline Wilson | Only You | Pony Canyon |
| 1999 | The Phil Collins Big Band | A Hot Night In Paris | Atlantic |
| 2000 | Noel Elmowy | Feelin' Good | Expansion Records |
| 2008 | Gerald Alston | Gerald Alston Sings Sam Cooke | LST CO |
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Albright has received a sum of nine Grammy nominations. [10]
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Best R&B Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) | "So Amazing (Single)" | Nominated |
| 1989 | Best R&B Instrumental Performance | "Bermuda Nights" | Nominated |
| 2006 | Best Pop Instrumental Album | "New Beginnings" | Nominated |
| 2008 | Best Pop Instrumental Album | "Sax For Stax" | Nominated |
| 2010 | Best Pop Instrumental Album | "Pushing The Envelope" | Nominated |
| 2012 | Best Pop Instrumental Album | "24/7" | Nominated |
| 2013 | Best Pop Instrumental Album | "Summer Horns" | Nominated |
| 2014 | Best Contemporary Instrumental Album | "Slam Dunk" | Nominated |
| 2023 | Best Improvised Jazz Solo | "Keep Holding On" | Nominated |
The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. Saxophone players are called saxophonists.
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 and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B♭ (while the alto is pitched in the key of E♭), and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F♯ key have a range from A♭2 to E5 (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone. People who play the tenor saxophone are known as "tenor saxophonists", "tenor sax players", or "saxophonists".
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger than the tenor saxophone, but smaller than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones are relatively uncommon. Like all saxophones, it is a single-reed instrument. It is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, military bands, big bands, and jazz combos. It can also be found in other ensembles such as rock bands and marching bands. Modern baritone saxophones are pitched in E♭.
David Stephen Koz is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California.
Richard Elliot is a Scottish-born American saxophonist. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for Summer Horns.
The bass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family—larger and lower than the more common baritone saxophone. It was likely the first type of saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, as first observed by Berlioz in 1842. It is a transposing instrument pitched in B♭, an octave below the tenor saxophone and a perfect fourth below the baritone saxophone. A bass saxophone in C, intended for orchestral use, was included in Adolphe Sax's patent, but few known examples were built. The bass saxophone is not a commonly used instrument, but it is heard on some 1920s jazz recordings, in free jazz, in saxophone choirs and sextets, and occasionally in concert bands and rock music.
Fred Lipsius is an American musician who is the original saxophonist and arranger for the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, for which he played alto saxophone and piano. He was with the band from 1967 to 1971 and has collected 3 GRAMMY Awards and 9 Gold Records.
Gary Bias is an American saxophonist, flutist and composer. Bias is a longtime member of the Earth, Wind & Fire Horns.
Jeffrey H. Lorber is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Prototype by his band the Jeff Lorber Fusion.
He Had a Hat is a 2007 album by jazz pianist Jeff Lorber. All compositions on this album were original, except for "Grandma's Hands" which was originally composed and performed by Bill Withers.
Cannonball Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, flutes, trombones, and musical instrument accessories. The company was founded in 1996 by musicians Tevis and Sheryl Laukat, and is based in Sandy, Utah. Cannonball specializes in professional, handmade, and uniquely "acoustically hand customized" instruments.
Jessica Arellano known professionally as Jessy J, is an American saxophonist.
Now Is the Time is a jazz album released by Jeff Lorber Fusion. The album was released in 2010 on Heads Up Records and was produced by Jeff Lorber, Bobby Colomby, and Jimmy Haslip. It was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Timothy M. Ries is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate/conservatory level. Ries is in his sixteenth year as a professor of jazz studies at the University of Toronto. His universe of work as composer, arranger, and instrumentalist ranges from rock to jazz to classical to experimental to ethno to fusions of respective genres thereof. His notable works with wide popularity include The Rolling Stones Project, a culmination of jazz arrangements of music by the Stones produced on two albums, the first in 2005 and the second in 2008.
New Beginnings is an album by Gerald Albright. It was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 which became his first nomination in that category in his music career.
24/7 is a collaboration album by Gerald Albright & Norman Brown. The album was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
Sax for Stax is the thirteenth studio album by Saxophonist Gerald Albright issued in 2008 by Peak Records. The album rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, No. 7 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and No. 24 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Joe Daley was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and music teacher. Daley was part of the Chicago jazz scene for 40 years. Musicians who studied with Daley include Grammy winners David Sanborn and Paul Winter, Emmy winner James DiPasquale, Richard Corpolongo, Chuck Domanico, and John Klemmer.
Gary Meek is an American jazz and fusion saxophone and keyboard artist. As a featured artist or session musician he has contributed to more than 150 albums.
Worth Waiting For is the tenth studio album by jazz keyboardist Jeff Lorber, released on Verve Forecast in January 1993. The album topped the U.S. Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart at the end of July 1993. Worth Waiting For is the only album by Lorber to hit number 1 on that chart; five others rose to number 2. The album also hit number 33 on Billboard's Jazz chart, and number 71 on the R&B chart.
He has been nominated for several other Grammys, including in 2008 for New Beginnings and in 2009 for Sax for Stax. Subsequent Grammy nods were earned for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014. His latest release, 30, commemorates 30 years since the release of his debut CD, Just Between Us.
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