Al Grey

Al Grey
Al Grey, ca. 1980s
Background information
Born	(1925-06-06)June 6, 1925 Aldie, Virginia
Died
Genres	Orchestral jazz, swing, big band
Instruments	Trombone
Years active	1946–1990
Associated acts	Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, , Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie

Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was a jazz trombonist who is most remembered for his association with the Count Basie orchestra.

Grey is known for his plunger mute technique (comparable only to Tricky Sam Nanton, Bob Hunt and Wycliffe Gordon), and also wrote an instructional book called "Plunger Techniques".

Early life and career

Al Grey was born in Aldie, Virginia and grew up in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. During World War II he served in the Navy where he started playing the trombone. Soon after his discharge he joined Benny Carter's band and later the trombone section of Lionel Hampton. After some solo work Grey joined Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1956. In October 1957, Count Basie urgently needed a fill-in for his European tour and Al Grey luckily was in the right place at the right time.

After 1961, Grey performed only occasionally with the Count. Apart from leading his own combos, he appeared with many jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and even Ray Charles.

He is featured on Count Basie recordings with Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra and recorded "Snap your Fingers". His trombone skills were also featured on the award-winning soundtrack for Steven Spielberg's film The Color Purple.

Al Grey greatly contributed to the post-swing era jazz-trombone vocabulary and will be remembered for his charming personality as well as his ability to bond with audiences around the world.

Style

Al Grey's early trombone style was inspired by Trummy Young. He developed a wild, strong and full sound. Solos often consisted of short, pronounced phrases with precisely timed syncopation. When playing with the plunger, however, he would produce the most mellow fill-ins and shape melodic answers to the lead voice. This aspect of his playing can be heard to great effect in response to Bing Crosby's vocals on the 1972 album, "Bing 'n' Basie" ("Gonna Build a Mountain" and "Put Your Hand in the Hand").

"Al Grey, the last great big time plunger" Gwendolyn Lanier-Gardner, 2015.

Discography

As leader

• The Last of the Big Plungers (Argo, 1960)
• The Thinking Man's Trombone (Argo, 1961)
• The Al Grey/Billy Mitchell Sextet (Argo, 1961)
• Snap Your Fingers (Argo, 1962)
• Having a Ball (Argo, 1963)
• Night Song (Argo, 1963)
• Boss Bone (Argo, 1964)
• Shades of Grey (Tangerine, 1965)
• Key Bone (Black & Blue, 1972)
• Grey's Mood (Black And Blue, 1975)
• Struttin' and Shoutin' (Columbia, 1976)
• Featuring Arnett Cobb and Jimmy Forrest (Black And Blue, 1977)
• Live at Rick's (Aviva, 1978)
• Truly Wonderful (Vintage Jazz, 1978)
• Night Train Revisited (Storyville, 1978 [1999])
• O.D. (Out 'Dere) (Grey Forrest, 1980)
• Things Are Getting Better All the Time (Pablo, 1983)
• Al Grey and Jesper Thilo Quintet (SLP, 1986)
• The New Al Grey Quintet (Chiaroscuro, 1988)
• Al Meets Bjarne (Gemini, 1988)
• Christmas Stockin' Stuffer (Capri, 1990)
• Fab (Capri, 1990)
• Live at the Floating Jazz Festival (Chiaroscuro, 1990)
• Me N' Jack (Pullen Music, 1995)
• Matzoh and Grits (Arbors, 1996)
• Echoes of New Orleans (Progressive, 1998)

As sideman

With Count Basie

• The Atomic Mr. Basie (Roulette, 1957) aka Basie and E=MC²
• Basie Plays Hefti (Roulette, 1958)
• Sing Along with Basie (Roulette, 1958) - with Joe Williams and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
• Basie One More Time (Roulette, 1959)
• Breakfast Dance and Barbecue (Roulette, 1959)
• Everyday I Have the Blues (Roulette, 1959) - with Joe Williams
• Dance Along with Basie (Roulette, 1959)
• String Along with Basie (Roulette, 1960)
• Not Now, I'll Tell You When (Roulette, 1960)
• The Count Basie Story (Roulette, 1960)
• Kansas City Suite (Roulette, 1960)
• Back with Basie (Roulette, 1962)
• Pop Goes the Basie (Reprise, 1965)
• Basie Meets Bond (United Artists, 1966)
• Live at the Sands (Before Frank) (Reprise, 1966 [1998])
• Sinatra at the Sands (Reprise, 1966) with Frank Sinatra
• Basie's Beatle Bag (Verve, 1966)
• Basie Swingin' Voices Singin' (ABC-Paramount, 1966) with the Alan Copeland Singers
• Basie's Beat (Verve, 1967)
• The Basie Big Band (1975)

With Ray Bryant

• Madison Time (Columbia, 1960)

With Dizzy Gillespie

• Dizzy in Greece (Verve, 1957)
• Birks' Works (Verve, 1957)
• Dizzy Gillespie at Newport (Verve, 1957)
• I Needs to be Bee'd with (with Basie, 1958 )

With Melba Liston

• Melba Liston and Her 'Bones (1958)

With Joe Newman

• Counting Five in Sweden (Metronome, 1958)

With Pony Poindexter

• Gumbo! (Prestige, 1963) with Booker Ervin

With Randy Weston

• Tanjah (Polydor, 1973)

External links

• Al Grey/Rosalie Soladar Memorial Collection, part of the International Jazz Collections at the University of Idaho Library