Gary Bartz
American jazz saxophonist & singer (born 1940)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist.[1] He has won two Grammy Awards.[2]
Gary Bartz | |
|---|---|
Gary Bartz at the 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam | |
| Background information | |
| Born | September 26, 1940 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, jazz fusion, bebop, hard bop, free jazz, spiritual jazz, soul jazz, jazz-funk, acid jazz |
| Occupations | Musician, composer, bandleader, educator |
| Instruments | Alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, keyboards, vocals, percussion |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Labels | Milestone, Prestige, P-Vine, SteepleChase, Candid, Atlantic, Blue Note, Mapleshade |
Biography
Bartz was first exposed to jazz as the son of the owners of a jazz nightclub in Baltimore. In 1958 he left Baltimore to study at the Juilliard School.[1][3] In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop. He worked as a sideman with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln before joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.[1] In 1968, he was a member of McCoy Tyner's band, Expansions.[1]
In mid-1970, he joined Miles Davis' band,[1] performing live at the Isle Of Wight festival in August;[4] and at a series of December dates at The Cellar Door club in Washington, D.C. Portions of these shows were initially released on the 1971 Live-Evil album,[1] with the entire six performance/four night run eventually released in full on the 2005 Cellar Door Sessions box set.[5] He later formed the band Ntu Troop, which combined jazz, funk, and soul.[6]
Bartz was awarded a Grammy for "Best Latin Jazz Performance" for his work on Roy Hargrove's "Habana" at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, and for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group" for For McCoy Tyner's Illuminations at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.[2]
Bartz was awarded the BNY Mellon Jazz 2015 Living Legacy Award, which was presented at a special ceremony at The Kennedy Center.[7]
In 2019, Revive Music and Bartz celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his Another Earth album at Winter Jazzfest in New York City, alongside original member Pharoah Sanders.[8]
He is Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Oberlin College.[9]
Discography
As leader
| Year recorded | Album title | Label | Year released | Notes / Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Libra | Milestone | 1968 | Quintet: with Jimmy Owens, Albert Daily, Richard Davis, Billy Higgins |
| 1968 | Another Earth | Milestone | 1969 | With Charles Tolliver, Pharoah Sanders, Stanley Cowell, Reggie Workman, Freddie Waits |
| 1969 | Home! | Milestone | 1970 | Live. NTU Troop: with Woody Shaw, Albert Dailey, Bob Cunningham, Rashied Ali. |
| 1970 | Harlem Bush Music – Taifa | Milestone | 1971 | NTU Troop: with Nat Bettis, Andy Bey, Harold White. Compilation in 1997. |
| 1971 | Harlem Bush Music – Uhuru | Milestone | 1971 | NTU Troop: with Nat Bettis, Andy Bey, Ron Carter, Juini Booth. Compilation in 1997. |
| 1972 | Juju Street Songs | Prestige | 1972 | NTU Troop: with Stafford James, Harvey Mason |
| 1972, 1973 |
Follow the Medicine Man | Prestige | 1973 | NTU Troop: with Hector Centeno, Hubert Eaves III, Andy Bey |
| 1973 | I've Known Rivers and Other Bodies | Prestige | 1973 | NTU Troop: with Stafford James, Howard King |
| 1973 | Altissimo | Philips | 1973 | With Charlie Mariano, Jackie McLean, Lee Konitz, Joachim Kühn, Han Bennink, Palle Danielsson |
| 1973, 1974 |
Singerella: A Ghetto Fairy Tale | Prestige | 1974 | NTU Troop: with Hector Centeno, Howard King, Hubert Eaves III, James Benjamin, Kenneth Nash, Maynard Parker |
| 1975? | The Shadow Do! | Prestige[10] | 1975 | With Hubert Eaves III, Michael Henderson, Reggie Lucas, James Mtume, Howard King |
| 1976 | Juju Man | Catalyst | Curtis Robertson, Howard King, Charles Mims, Syreeta | |
| 1977 | Music Is My Sanctuary | Capitol | Syreeta Wright, Mizell Brothers | |
| 1978 | Love Affair | Capitol | Wah Wah Watson, Dorothy Ashby, Welton Gite, Bill Summers, George Cables, Wade Marcus | |
| 1978 | Love Song | Vee-Jay | George Cables, Curtis Robinson, Howard King, Rita Greene | |
| 1980 | Bartz | Arista | Howard King, Hubert Eaves III | |
| 1988 | Monsoon | SteepleChase | Butch Lacy, Billy Hart, Clint Houston | |
| 1988 | Reflections of Monk: The Final Frontier | SteepleChase | Bob Butta, Geoff Harper, Billy Hart, Eddie Henderson | |
| 1990 | West 42nd Street (Live) | Candid | Claudio Roditi, John Hicks, Ray Drummond, Al Foster | |
| 1991 | There Goes the Neighborhood! (Live) | Candid | Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Ben Riley | |
| 1991 | Shadows | Timeless[11] | Benny Green, Christian McBride, Victor Lewis, Willie Williams | |
| 1994 | Episode One: Children of Harlem | Challenge | Larry Willis, Ben Riley, Buster Williams | |
| 1994 | The Red and Orange Poems | Atlantic | Dave Holland, Mulgrew Miller, Eddie Henderson | |
| 1995 | Alto Memories | Verve[12] | Sonny Fortune, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Jack DeJohnette | |
| 1996 | The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life | Atlantic | Tom Williams, George Colligan, James King, Greg Bandy, Jon Hendricks, Cyrus Chestnut, Russell Malone, Dennis Chambers | |
| 1999 | Live @ the Jazz Standard, Vol. 1: Soulstice | OYO[13] | Barney McAll, Greg Bandy, Kenny Davis | |
| 2001 | The Montreal Concert (Live) | DSM | Peter Leitch | |
| 2003 | Continuum Act One | Space Time | Jean Toussaint, Bill Mobley, Donald Brown, Essiet Essiet, Billy Kilson, Anga Diaz | |
| 2005 | Soprano Stories | OYO | James King, Greg Bandy, George Cables, John Hicks | |
| 2012 | Coltrane Rules: Tao of a Music Warrior | OYO | Barney McAll, Greg Bandy, James King |
As sideman
With Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
- Soul Finger (Limelight, 1965) – Bartz recording debut
- Hold On, I'm Coming (Limelight, 1966) – on one track left over from Soul Finger sessions
With Donald Byrd
- Stepping into Tomorrow (1974)
- Caricatures (1976)
With George Cables
- Shared Secrets (MuseFX, 2001)
- Looking for the Light (MuseFX, 2003)
With Norman Connors
- Invitation
- Slewfoot
- This is Your Life
- Love from the Sun
- Dance of Magic: Live at the Nemu Jazz Inn
- Romantic Journey
- Saturday Night Special
With Miles Davis
- On the Crest of the Airwaves (Discs 1 & 2: Live in August & October 1970)
- The Cellar Door Sessions (1970)
- Live-Evil (1971)
- Bitches Brew Live (2011)
- Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (2015)
- Live in Europe: Volume One (2023) – rec. 1971
With Roy Hargrove
- Of Kindred Souls: The Roy Hargrove Quintet Live (Novus, 1993)
- Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Habana (Verve, 1997) – Latin Jazz Grammy Winner
With Heads of State[14]
- Search for Peace (Smoke Sessions, 2015)
- Four in One (Smoke Sessions, 2017)
With Phyllis Hyman
With Barney McAll
- Release the Day (2001)
- Precious Energy (2022)
- Precious Energy Re-UP (2023)
With Woody Shaw
- Blackstone Legacy (Contemporary, 1970)
- For Sure! (Columbia, 1979)
- United (Columbia, 1981)
With Malachi Thompson
- Rising Daystar (Delmark, 1999)
- Blue Jazz (Delmark, 2003)
With McCoy Tyner
- Expansions (Blue Note, 1968)
- Cosmos (Blue Note, 1970)
- Extensions (Blue Note, 1970)
- Asante (Blue Note, 1970)
- Sama Layuca (Milestone, 1974)
- Focal Point (Milestone, 1976)
- Looking Out (Milestone, 1982)
- Dimensions (Elektra/Musician, 1984)
- McCoy Tyner and the Latin All-Stars (Telarc, 1999)
- Illuminations (Telarc, 2004)
With others
- Joe Chambers, Urban Grooves[15] (441, 2003)
- the Rance Allen Group, Say My Friend (1977)[16]
- Gene Ammons, Goodbye (Prestige, 1974)
- Roy Ayers, Stoned Soul Picnic (Atlantic, 1968)
- Cindy Blackman, The Oracle (Muse, 1995)
- Donald Brown, Sources of Inspiration (Muse, 1989)
- Kenny Burrell, Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (Fantasy, 1975)
- Ray Drummond, Vignettes (Arabesque, 1996)
- Antonio Hart, Don't You Know That I Care (1992)
- Louis Hayes, The Crawl (Candid, 1989)
- Jackie McLean, Ode to Super (SteepleChase, 1973)
- Grachan Moncur III, Exploration (2004)
- Alphonse Mouzon, Virtue (1976)
- Rare Silk, New Weave (Polydor, 1984)
- Max Roach, Members, Don't Git Weary (Atlantic, 1968)
- Wallace Roney, A Place in Time (HighNote, 2016)
- Pharoah Sanders, Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun) (Impulse!, 1970)
- Sphere, Sphere (Verve, 1998)
- Bob Thiele Collective, Lion Hearted (1993)
- Leon Thomas, Precious Energy (Mapleshade, 1987)
- Charles Tolliver, Charles Tolliver and his All Stars (Black Lion, 1971)
- Robert Walter, Spirit of '70 (1996)
- Chip White, Harlem Sunset with Steve Nelson, Robin Eubanks, Claudio Roditi (Postcards)
- John Lee & Gerry Brown, Infinite Jones with Chris Hinze (Keytone, 1974)
- The Midnight Hour (with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammed), Jazz Is Dead 001, Distant Mode (2020)