Gigi Gryce
Bruce Williams
Saxophonist Bruce Williams, who hails from Washington, D.C. and currently resides in Montclair, NJ, has made his presence known on the jazz scene by garnering critical attention with his own enthusiastically received CD releases, Brotherhood and Altoicity (Savant Records), and Private Thoughts (Passin’ Thru Records). In addition, he’s made an indelible impression as a sideman on more than 40 recording sessions. Williams has performed, toured, and recorded with a long roster of jazz legends including saxophonist/flutist Frank Foster, pianist Stanley Cowell, The Count Basie Orchestra, trombonist Curtis Fuller, and trumpeter Roy Hargrove, to name a few. As an educator, he is or has been involved with Jazz House Kids, Bard College, Princeton University, The New School, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the Juilliard School.
The Williams’ quintet with Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Elliot Bernard (piano), Chris Berger (bass) and Alvester Garnett (drums) will participate in Black History Month by celebrating the centennial of another great musician — saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator Gigi Gryce (1925-1983).
The Williams ensemble will play several of Gryce’s compositions and, in addition to the music performances. Noal Cohen will discuss the artist’s life and music. He is co-author with Michael Fitzgerald of Rat Race Blues: The Musical Life of Gigi Gryce, now in its second edition.
About Gigi Gryce
Gryce never attained superstar status in the jazz world; in fact his career as a musician only lasted about eight years. Nonetheless, during that time, he left a substantial legacy of outstanding recordings and compositions many of which endure to this day.
He was one of a group of accomplished, talented, and innovative jazz instrumentalists and composers of the 1950s including his friends such as Clifford Brown, Benny Golson, Horace Silver and Randy Weston. All of these artists helped transform bebop into a richer and more diverse genre that came to be known as hard bop and set the stage for the even more radical developments of the 1960s.
Although eventually overshadowed by his longer-tenured contemporaries, Gryce participated in many recording sessions between 1953 and 1961, often as leader. And he composed prolifically, with his body of work including such frequently performed pieces as “Minority” and “Social Call.” His talents and interests, however, extended beyond the boundaries of those usually associated with jazz artists. He was a pioneer in music publishing and served as a mentor to younger aspiring musicians who needed assistance with problems both musical and professional. In many ways, Gryce was far from the stereotype of the jazz musician of his time.
Throughout his career, he collaborated with a number of noted trumpet players including Clifford Brown, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, and Richard Williams. With Byrd, he co-led an ensemble known as the Jazz Lab which made several highly regarded recordings in 1957. Utilizing a structured but strongly swinging approach, the Jazz Lab helped establish the standard for small group repertoire and performance during this period. Gryce’s last ensemble was called the Orch- Tette and added vibraphone to the saxophone-trumpet front line.
As a music publisher, Gryce’s pioneering efforts to protect African-American composers’ rights were courageous but ill-fated and led to serious professional and personal difficulties. In 1963, he left music and became a teacher in the New York City school system using his Muslim name, Basheer Qusim. For 20 years, he taught at several schools, most notably C.E.S. 53 in the South Bronx, renamed The Basheer Qusim/G.G. Gryce School in his honor, after his death in 1983. He had earned an M.S. in Education Administration and Supervision from Fordham University in 1978 and was working towards a doctorate when he passed away at the age of 57.
$10 Members/ $15 Non-Members
For information on membership and the New Jersey Jazz Society, please visit their website at https://njjs.org/