Matthew Gee (November 25, 1925 in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

– July 18, 1979 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) was an American

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and part-time actor. Gee played trumpet and baritone as a child, and took up the trombone at age 11. After studying at

Alabama State University Alabama State University (ASU) is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the ...

, he played with

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

before doing a stint in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. Following this, he played with Dizzy Gillespie (1946–1949), Joe Morris, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt (1950),

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

(1951),

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 ...

(1952–1954),

Lou Donaldson Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop ...

(1954), Sarah Vaughan (1956), and Gillespie again in 1957. In 1956 he released his only record as a bandleader on

Riverside Records Riverside Records was an American jazz record company and label. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, Jr, under his firm Bill Grauer Productions in 1953, the label played an important role in the jazz record industry for a decade. Riverside ...

. From 1959 to 1963 he played on and off with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Later in the 1960s, he played in small groups with

Paul Quinichette Paul Quinichette (May 17, 1916 – May 25, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was known as the "Vice President" or "Vice Prez" for his emulation of the breathy style of Lester Young, whose nickname was "The President", or simply "P ...

and

Brooks Kerr Chester Monson Brooks Joseph Kerr III (December 26, 1951 – April 28, 2018) was an American jazz pianist. He was perhaps best known for being bandleader of a small group featuring Sonny Greer and Russell Procope and for his knowledge of Duke E ...

, as well as in

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

s with Sonny Stitt and

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Discography

As leader

* '' Jazz by Gee'' ( Riverside, 1956) * '' Soul Groove'' (Atlantic, 1963) - with

As sideman

With Gene Ammons *''

Soulful Saxophone ''Soulful Saxophone'' is an album by saxophonist Gene Ammons, compiling tracks recorded between 1948 and 1951, some of which were originally released as singles, that was issued by the Chess label in 1959.959 Year 959 ( CMLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April - May – The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungari ...

*'' Jug and Sonny'' (Chess, 1948–51,

960 Year 960 ( CMLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Siege of Chandax: A Byzantine fleet with an expeditionary force (co ...

*''The Gene Ammons Story: The 78 Era'' (Prestige, 1950–55) With

*''

Basie in London ''Basie in London'' is a 1956 live album by Count Basie and his orchestra, recorded (despite the inaccurate album title) in Gothenburg, Sweden. Track listing # "Jumpin' at the Woodside" (Count Basie, Jon Hendricks) – 3:38 # "Shiny Stockin ...

'' (Verve, 1956) ;With

Ray Bryant Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...

*'' Dancing the Big Twist'' (Columbia, 1961) With

*'' Quartet/Quintet/Sextet'' (

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 c ...

, 1952–54) With Duke Ellington *'' Blues in Orbit'' (Columbia, 1958–59) *'' Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.'' (1960) With Dizzy Gillespie *''

Jazz Recital ''Jazz Recital'' (also released as ''Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra'') is an album by the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1954 and 1955 and released on the Norgran label. It consists of quintet, sextet and jazz orchestra tracks.

'' (Norgran, 1955) With Tony Graye *''Oh, Gee!'' (Zim, 1975) With

*'' The Big Soul-Band'' (Prestige, 1960) With

*''Body And Soul Revisited'' (GRP, 1951–58) With

Erskine Hawkins Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1 ...

*''1946-1947'' (Classics) With

*'' Groovin' with Jacquet'' (Clef, 1951-53 956 *'' The Kid and the Brute'' (Clef, 1955) *'' The Soul Explosion'' (Prestige, 1969) With Sonny Stitt *''

Stitt's Bits ''Stitt's Bits'' is an album by saxophonist Sonny Stitt compiling tracks recorded in 1950 and released on the Prestige Records, Prestige label in 1958.

'' (Prestige, 1950

958 Year 958 ( CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantines under John Tzimiskes ...

*''

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...

'' (Prestige, 1950 957 *'' Sonny Stitt & the Top Brass'' (Atlantic, 1962)

References

* Richard Cook & Morton, Brian: The Penguin Guide To Jazz on CD'', 6th Edition, London, Penguin, 2002 . * Scott Yanow, Matthew Geeat Allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gee, Matthew American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Musicians from Houston Riverside Records artists 1925 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trombonists Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians