Wardell Gray - Central Avenue (1976)

1.Twisted
2.Easy Living
3.Southside
4.Sweet Lorraine

NYC - 11/11/49

5.Scrapple from The Apple
6.Move 

Hula Hut, LA 8/27/50

7.A Sinner Kissed an Angel 
8.Blue Gray
9.Grayhound 
10.Treadin 

Detroit - 4/25/50

11.April Skies 
12.Bright Boy 
13.Jackie 
14.Farmer's Market
15.Sweet and lovely 
16.Lover man 

LA - 1/21/52

17.The Man I Love 
18.Lavonne 
19.So Long Broadway 
20.Paul's Cause 

LA - 2/20/53

Musicians:
Wardell Gray - tenor sax
Al Haig - piano
Tommy Potter - bass
Roy Haynes - drums
Clark Terry - trumpet
Sonny Criss - alto sax
Dexter Gordon - tenor sax
Jimmy Bunn - piano
Billy Hadnott - bass
Chuck Thompson - drums
Phil Hill - piano
John Richardson - bass
Art Madigan - drums
Art Farmer - trumpet
Hampton Hawes - piano
Harper Crosby - bass
Lawrence Marable - drums
Robert Collier - conga
Frank Morgan - alto sax
Sonny Clark - piano
Teddy Charles - vibes
Dick Nivison – bass

Wardell Gray was one of the top tenors to emerge during the bop era (along with Dexter Gordon and Teddy Edwards). His Lester Young-influenced tone made his playing attractive to swing musicians as well as younger modernists. He grew up in Detroit, playing in local bands as a teenager. Gray was with Earl Hines during 1943-1945, recording with him (1945). That same year, he moved to Los Angeles and he became a major part of the Central Avenue scene, having nightly tenor battles with Dexter Gordon; their recording of "The Chase" was popular. Gray recorded with Charlie Parker in 1947 and yet his style appealed to Benny Goodman, with whom he played the following year. Among his own sessions, his solos on "Twisted" (1949) and "Farmer's Market" (1952) were turned into memorable vocalese by Annie Ross a few years later. Back in New York, Gray played and recorded with Tadd Dameron and the Count Basie septet and big band (1950-1951); "Little Pony," his showcase with the Basie orchestra, is a classic. Gray was featured on some Norman Granz jam sessions ("Apple Jam" has a particularly heated solo) and recorded with Louie Bellson (1952-1953). Ironically, Wardell Gray, who in the late '40s was an inspiration to some younger musicians due to his opposition to drug use, himself became involved in drugs and died mysteriously in Las Vegas on May 25, 1955, when he was just 34. ---Scott Yanow, allmusic.com

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

uploaded yandex 4shared mega mediafire solidfiles zalivalka cloudmailru oboom

back