Albert Gay (born ''Albert Goldstein''; 25 February 1928 – 12 October 2013) was a British jazz tenor saxophonist.

Biography

After having played with the

Jive Bombers The Jive Bombers were an American R&B group from New York City. The Jive Bombers consisted of members of two previous vocal groups, Sonny Austin & the Jive Bombers and The Palmer Brothers. They first recorded under the name The Sparrows in 1949 f ...

, Gay worked with

Freddy Randall Frederick James 'Freddy' Randall (6 May 1921 – 18 May 1999) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Clapton, London, Clapton, East London. Biography Born in Clapton, East London at the age of just 18 Randall led the St. Loui ...

from 1953, and would return several times to Randall's future line-ups. In the early 1960s, he was with

Bob Wallis Robert Wallis (3 June 1934 – 10 January 1991) was a British jazz musician, who had a handful of chart success in the early 1960s, during the UK traditional jazz boom. Biography Wallis was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, where ...

' Storyville Jazzmen before going on to join

Alex Welsh Alex Welsh (9 July 1929 – 25 June 1982) was a Scottish jazz musician who played cornet and trumpet and was also a bandleader and singer, Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage Leith Silver Band and wi ...

. With fellow tenors

Dick Morrissey Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute. Biography Background He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey emerg ...

and Stan Robinson, baritone sax Paul Carroll, and trumpets

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildhall ...

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

and Greg Brown, Al Gay formed part of The Animals' Big Band that made its one-and-only public appearance at the 5th Annual British Jazz & Blues Festival in Richmond on 5 August 1965. In 1978, he played with the

World's Greatest Jazz Band The World's Greatest Jazz Band was an all-star jazz ensemble active from 1968 to 1978. Dick Gibson founded the group at his sixth Jazz Party, an annual event. The group performed mostly Dixieland jazz and recorded extensively. It was co-led by ...

. As well as leading his own line-ups, Gay has also played in bands led by

Digby Fairweather Richard John Charles "Digby" Fairweather (born 25 April 1946) is a British jazz cornetist, author and broadcaster. Biography Before becoming a professional musician, Fairweather was a librarian and has retained an interest in jazz bibliograph ...

, Laurie Chescoe and Ron Russell,

Carr, Ian Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildhall ...

and

Brian Priestley Brian Priestley (born 10 July 1940)Many sources list Priestley's year of birth as 1946, but this is inaccurate. See Priestley's entry in ''The Rough Guide to Jazz'' anon his revised Charlie Parker study. is an English jazz writer, pianist and a ...

(2004
''The Rough Guide to Jazz'', p. 285. Rough Guides
At Google Books. Retrieved 24 July 2013. as well as with the Pizza Express All Stars.Biography

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved 24 July 2013.

Personal life and death

Gay lived in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

until his death in 2013; an obituary appeared in

Jazz Journal ''Jazz Journal'' is a British jazz magazine established in 1946 by Sinclair Traill (1904–1981). It was first published in London under the title ''Pick Up'', which Traill founded as a locus for serious jazz criticism in Britain.Roberta Freund Sc ...

's March 2014 edition.

Discography

;As sideman *1967: ''Hear Me Talkin – Ruby Braff *1967: ''A Portrait of Henry "Red" Allen'' –

Henry "Red" Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...

/The Alex Welsh Band *1978: ''100 Years of American Dixieland Jazz'' –

Johnny Mince Johnny Mince (born John Henry Muenzenberger) (July 8, 1912 – December 23, 1994) was an American swing jazz clarinetist. Career Mince played with Joe Haymes from 1929 to 1934, and recorded with Red Norvo and Glenn Miller in 1935. He then worked ...

(Flutegrove) *1994: ''After Awhile'' –

Dick Sudhalter Richard Merrill Sudhalter (28 December 1938 – 19 September 2008)Biography ''AllMusic'' was an American jazz trumpeter and writer. Biography Born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Sudhalter was inspired to pursue a musical career by his ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Al 1928 births 2013 deaths Place of birth missing British jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists British male jazz musicians 20th-century saxophonists