Edward Gale Stevens Jr. (August 15, 1941 – July 10, 2020), known professionally as Eddie Gale, was an American

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er known for his work in

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

, especially with the

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

Arkestra.

Life and career

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

on August 15, 1941, Gale studied trumpet with

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public ...

. He recorded with

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

, Larry Young, and

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

, and performed with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

, and

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of t ...

. In the early 1960s he was introduced to

by drummer Scoby Stroman. He spent many hours exposed to Sun Ra's philosophy about music and life. Eddie explains, "Playing with Sun Ra is a great experience--from the known to the unknown. You play ideas on your instrument that you never imagine. His music provoked me to explore the use of

trill TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is an Internet Standard implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and is the application of link-state routing to the VLAN-aware cus ...

s, for instance, and the placement of whole tones and then a space chord--ideas you do not find in the exercise books." During the 1960s and 1970s, he toured and recorded extensively with

, who influenced him greatly until Ra's death in 1993. After a yearlong stint as artist in residence at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, Gale moved to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

in 1972. Helping to bring jazz into the 21st century, the trumpeter made numerous appearances with Oakland hip-hop outfit

The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political ...

, whereby Gale's trumpet could be heard engaging with the music's breakbeats and turntables. Eddie Gale died on July 10, 2020, at the age of 78. "Trumpeter Eddie Gale has died", ''Marlbank.net'', July 13, 2020
Retrieved July 13, 2020

Discography

As leader

*1968: '' Ghetto Music'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

) *1969: '' Black Rhythm Happening'' (Blue Note) *1992: ''A Minute with Miles'' *2004: ''Afro Fire'' *2007: ''Joint Happening'' w/Mushroom (Hyena Records) *2007: ''In Love Again''

As sideman

With

*''

Lanquidity ''Lanquidity'' is a 1978 studio album by American jazz musician Sun Ra. Music The album was recorded by Bob Blank at Blank Studios, entirely on the night of July 17, 1978, following a performance on ''Saturday Night Live''. Stylistically, the ...

'' (Saturn, 1978) With

*''

Unit Structures ''Unit Structures'' is a 1966 studio album by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records. Background ''Unit Structures'' was Taylor's first album on Blue Note. He released ''Conquistador!'' on the label in the same year, with a ...

'' (Blue Note, 1966) With Larry Young *''

Of Love and Peace ''Of Love and Peace'' is an album by organist Larry Young. It was recorded in 1966 and was released by Blue Note Records in 1967. Recording and music The album was recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on July 28, 1966. " ...

'' (Blue Note, 1969)

References

External links

Eddie Gale official site
by John Spragens, Jr. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, Eddie 1941 births 2020 deaths Post-bop trumpeters Free jazz trumpeters Free funk trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Musicians from San Jose, California Blue Note Records artists Sun Ra Arkestra members Avant-garde jazz trumpeters Musicians from Brooklyn Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male jazz musicians Mapleshade Records artists