Gary Windo (7 November 1941, in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England – 25 July 1992, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) was an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

tenor saxophonist The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

Career

Windo came from a musical family in England. By age six he took up drums and accordion, then guitar at twelve and saxophone at seventeen. He lived in the United States during the 1960s but returned to England in 1969. In the early 1970s, his career grew as he founded the Gary Windo Quartet and worked with

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936) is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera '' Escalator over the Hill'' ...

Brotherhood of Breath The Brotherhood of Breath was an English-South African big band established in the late-1960s by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor, an extension of McGregor's previous band, The Blue Notes. History The Brotherhood of Breath i ...

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Matching Mole Matching Mole were an English progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album, '' The End of an Ear'' (4 December 1970). He c ...

, The Running Man, and

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...

heard Windo play at the

Berlin Jazz Festival JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included B ...

and asked him to join the band, which he declined. He worked outside jazz, with

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

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, and for the comedy television show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. He taught music lessons with his friend Eric Peralli. Windo could play many reed instruments, including

soprano sax The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

and

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

. His time in America exposed him to all types of jazz, and he was at home in any idiom. He used harmonics often and could split a note into its components using his prodigious technique and a metal mouthpiece with a wide lay and a hard reed. He suffered from asthma and died following an asthma attack in 1992. He was survived by his wife Pamela Windo.

Discography

As leader

* ''Dogface'' (Europa, 1982) * ''Deep Water'' (Antilles, 1988) * ''His Master's Bones'' (Cuneiform, 1996) * ''Anglo American'' (Cuneiform, 2004) * ''Avant Gardeners'' (Reel, 2007) * ''Steam Radio Tapes'' (Gonzo, 2013)

As sideman

With

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting in ...

* ''1984'' (CBS, 1973) * ''

Hopper Tunity Box Hopper Tunity Box is a 1977 album by jazz/ rock musician Hugh Hopper. Ex-Soft Machine bassist augments his rather infamous fuzz-bass attack by performing on guitar, recorders, soprano sax, and percussion. The album recorded in 1976 and re-releas ...

'' (Compendium, 1977) * ''A Remark Hugh Made'' (Shimmy Disc, 1994) With Chris McGregor * ''Brotherhood'' (RCA Victor, 1972) * ''

Live at Willisau ''Live at Willisau'' is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on January 27, 1973, in Willisau, Switzerland, and was released on LP by Ogun Records in 1974. In 1994, the ...

'' (Ogun, 1974) * ''Travelling Somewhere'' (Cuneiform, 2001) * ''

Bremen to Bridgwater ''Bremen to Bridgwater'' is a double-CD live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded in 1971 and 1975 in Bremen, Germany, and Bridgwater, England, and was released on CD by Cuneif ...

'' (Cuneiform, 2004) * ''

Eclipse at Dawn ''Eclipse at Dawn'' is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on November 4, 1971, at the Berliner Jazztage in Berlin, and was released on CD by Cuneiform Records in 2008 ...

'' (Cuneiform, 2008) With

* ''Grooves in Orbit'' (Bearsville, 1983) * ''Lou and the Q'' (Rounder, 1985) * ''Honest Dollar'' (Rykodisc, 1992) * ''Message for the Mess Age'' (Forward, 1994) With

* '' Rock Bottom'' (Virgin, 1974) * ''

Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard ''Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard'' is the third solo album by Robert Wyatt. Background The follow-up to '' Rock Bottom'', for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, ''Ruth...'' consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of o ...

'' (Virgin, 1975) * ''Theatre Royal Drury Lane 8th September 1974'' (Hannibal, 1981) * ''Flotsam Jetsam'' (Rough Trade, 1994) * ''His Greatest Misses'' (Domino, 2004) * ''Different Every Time'' (Domino, 2014) With others *

Alan Shorter Alan Shorter (May 29, 1932 – April 5, 1988) was a free jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player, and the older brother of composer and saxophone player Wayne Shorter. Biography Shorter was born in the Ironbound District in Newark, New Jersey. He st ...

, '' Tes Estat'' (

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, 1970) *

Daevid Allen Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015), known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966 ...

, ''Jungle Windo(w)'' (Charly, 1982) * Daevid Allen, ''Opium for the People/Alien in New York'' (Spalax Music, 1996) *

, ''

European Tour 1977 ''European Tour 1977'' is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley. Recorded in 1977 in Munich, Germany, it was released on the Watt/ECM label in 1978.

'' (WATT/ECM, 1978) * Carla Bley, ''

Musique Mecanique ''Musique Mecanique'' is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley recorded in 1978 and released on the ECM (record label), Watt/ECM label in 1979.

'' (WATT, 1979) *

Jean-Patrick Capdevielle Jean-Patrick Capdevielle (born December 19, 1945) is a French songwriter, composer, singer, musician and painter who influenced the French rock scene in the 1980s. With a mixture of American and British influences, Capdevielle's work is chara ...

, ''L'Ennemi Public'' (CBS, 1982) *

, ''

Septober Energy ''Septober Energy'' is the only album of the jazz/progressive rock big band Centipede. Produced by Robert Fripp under the musical direction of Keith Tippett, it was originally released 1971 in the UK as a double LP, and 1974 in the US with a dif ...

'' (RCA/Neon, 1971) *

The Cover Girls The Cover Girls are an all-female, New York city-based freestyle group that achieved most of its chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Among the group's best-known songs are " Show Me, " " Because of You," “ Don't Stop Now,” ...

, '' Show Me'' (Fever, 1987) * Ian Hunter, ''

Short Back 'n' Sides ''Short Back 'n' Sides'' is the fifth studio album by Ian Hunter. Unsure of which direction he should take, Ian Hunter finally decided to collaborate with Mick Jones, who gave Hunter's songs a tougher and heavier touch. Fellow Clash member To ...

'' (Chrysalis, 1981) *

Michael Mantler Michael Mantler (born August 10, 1943) is an Austrian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer of contemporary music. Career: United States Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria. In the early 1960s, he was a student at the Academy of Music and V ...

, ''More Movies'' (WATT/ECM 1980) *

, ''

Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports ''Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports'' is the debut solo album by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, released in May 1981 in the UK and the US. It was Mason's first major work outside of Pink Floyd. It is sung by Robert Wyatt (formerly of Soft Machine), ...

'' (Harvest, 1981) * Tommy Morrison, ''Place Your Bets'' (Real 1979) *

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

, '' Forever Now'' (CBS, 1982) * The Pursuit of Happiness, '' One Sided Story'' (Chrysalis, 1990) *

Ray Russell Ray Russell (September 4, 1924 – March 15, 1999) was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories. His most ...

, ''Secret Asylum'' (Black Lion, 1973) *

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...

& Carla Bley, ''50 Jahre Jazz Fest Berlin'' (Berliner Festspiele 2014)

References

External links

NPR

All About Jazz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Windo, Gary 1941 births 1992 deaths English jazz tenor saxophonists British male saxophonists People from Brighton Musicians from Brighton and Hove Matching Mole members Centipede (band) members 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians