Earl Neal Creque (April 13, 1940 – December 1, 2000) was an American organist and jazz composer, born in the
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...
; he was based in the Cleveland area, was a professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and played frequently around northern Ohio up until his death.
He also composed music with Mongo Santamaría including the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
-nominated song "Sofrito" which was sampled by
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
on the album '' J.Lo''. Neal also wrote and played on, Grant Green's "Windjammer."
He was a sought after session musician and his credits include Stanley Turrentine, Teresa Brewer, Leon Thomas,
Harold Ousley
Harold Lomax Ousley (January 23, 1929 – August 13, 2015) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flautist.
Background
Born in Chicago, Ousley began playing in the late-1940s and 1950s. He accompanied Billie Holiday and recorded with Dinah ...
,
Bernard Purdie
Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie ...
, and
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...
.
Neal released three solo albums, the first being ''Creque,'' in 1972, followed by ''Contrast!'' and ''Neal Creque and the Hands of Time'', both in 1974.
He died of kidney cancer in
Olmsted Falls
Olmsted Falls is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a southwestern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 9,024 at the 2010 census. The city's main business district is located at the corners of Bagley and Columbia Roads, and c ...
at the age of 60.
His daughter Nina Creque was part of
Gerald Levert
Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert ...
's group
1 of the Girls
1 of the Girls was a Cleveland-based R&B group discovered by Gerald Levert. The group's self-titled album was released in 1993, and featured the single "Do Da What", which only achieved moderate success. Another single, "Handle With Care" as als ...
. She died of an undisclosed illness in 2019.
Discography
As leader
*1972: ''Creque'' (
Cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
); re-released in 1981 as ''Black Velvet Rose'' (
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
)
*1972: ''Contrast!'' (Cobblestone)
*1974: ''Neal Creque & the Hands of Time'' (Muse)
Carryin' On
''Carryin' On'' is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label.
Green Is Beautiful
''Green Is Beautiful'' is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1970 and released on the Blue Note label.
'' (Blue Note, 1970) includes "Windjammer"
*'' Alive!'' (Blue Note, 1970)
With Eric Kloss
*'' Doors'' (Cobblestone, 1972)
With Johnny Lytle
*'' Good Vibes'' (Muse, 1981)
With
Harold Ousley
Harold Lomax Ousley (January 23, 1929 – August 13, 2015) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flautist.
Background
Born in Chicago, Ousley began playing in the late-1940s and 1950s. He accompanied Billie Holiday and recorded with Dinah ...
Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers
Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers was a Latin jazz, soul jazz and R&B group formed in 1959 by timbales player Henry "Pucho" Brown. Of the many musicians that worked in his group, Chick Corea is among them, Corea leaving prior to Pucho's recording ...
*''Shuckin' And Jivin' '' (Prestige, 1967)
*''Big Stick'' (Prestige, 1967)
*''Heat!'' (Prestige, 1968)
*''Dateline'' (Prestige, 1969)
With
Bernard Purdie
Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie ...
*''
Shaft
Shaft may refer to:
Rotating machine elements
* Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power
* Line shaft, a power transmission system
* Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque
* Axle, a shaft around whi ...
el. 1973
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
Mega
Mega or MEGA may refer to:
Science
* mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106
* Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation
* "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy
* Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Earth ...
/Flying Dutchman, 1971)
*''
Blues and the Soulful Truth
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...