Eric Gale

Eric J. Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and session guitarist.

Not to be confused with Eric Gales.
Eric Gale
Gale in Montreux, Switzerland, 1976
Background information
Born(1938-09-20)September 20, 1938
Brooklyn, New York, United States
DiedMay 25, 1994(1994-05-25) (aged 55)
Baja, California, Mexico
GenresJazz, pop
Occupation(s)Session musician
InstrumentsGuitar

Early life and career

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gale began playing guitar at the age of 12.[1] Although he majored in chemistry at Niagara University, Gale was determined to pursue a musical career, and began contributing to accompaniments for such stars as Maxine Brown, the Drifters, and Jesse Belvin. He soon began to attract the attention of King Curtis and Jimmy Smith, who began recommending him for studio work.[2] He became known first as a session musician in the 1960s, eventually appearing on an estimated 500 albums. Among the many artists he recorded with were Mose Allison, Aretha Franklin, Bob James, Paul Simon (Gale plays a supporting role in the 1980 film One-Trick Pony, written by and starring Simon), Lena Horne, Quincy Jones, Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Peter Tosh, Grover Washington, Jr., Herbie Mann, Esther Phillips, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Van Morrison, Al Jarreau, Dave Grusin, Lee "Scratch" Perry,[3] Paul Douglas[3] and Billy Joel.[4] He also had played in Aretha Franklin's stage band.

Death

Gale died of lung cancer in May 1994 at the age of 55.[5]

Discography

As leader
  • Forecast (Kudu, 1973)
  • Negril (Micron, 1975)
  • Multiplication (Columbia, 1977)
  • Ginseng Woman (Columbia, 1977)
  • Part of You (Columbia, 1979)
  • Touch of Silk (Columbia, 1980)
  • In the Shade of a Tree (JVC, 1982)
  • Blue Horizon (Elektra/Musician, 1981)
  • Island Breeze (Elektra/Musician, 1983)
  • Let's Stay Together (Artful Balance, 1988)
  • Utopia (Rooms, 1998)
  • In a Jazz Tradition - Ron Carter presents Eric Gale (Mercury, 1988)

With Stuff

Further information: Stuff (band)

As sideman

With Ashford & Simpson

  • Come as You Are (1976)
  • So So Satisfied (1977)
  • Is It Still Good to Ya? (1978)
  • A Musical Affair (1980)
  • Street Opera (1982)

With Patti Austin

With George Benson

With Hank Crawford

With Roberta Flack

With Aretha Franklin

With Jun Fukamachi

  • The Sea of Dirac (1977)
  • Evening Star (1977)
  • On the Move (1978)

With Greg Hatza

  • The Wizardry of Greg Hatza (1967)
  • Organ-ized" Jazz (1968)

With Freddie Hubbard

With Bob James

  • Two (1975)
  • Three (1976)
  • Four (1977)
  • Heads (1977)
  • Touchdown (1978)
  • Lucky Seven (1979)
  • One on One (1979)
  • Grand Piano Canyon (1990)

With Billy Joel

With J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding

With Quincy Jones

With Al Kooper

With Yusef Lateef

With Ralph MacDonald

  • Sound of a Drum (1976)
  • The Path (1978)
  • Counterpoint (1979)
  • Universal Rhythm (1984)
  • Surprise (1985)

With Jimmy McGriff

With Van Morrison

With Idris Muhammad

With David "Fathead" Newman

With Esther Phillips

  • Burnin' (1970)
  • From a Whisper to a Scream (1972)
  • Capricorn Princess (1977)

With Jerome Richardson

With Diana Ross

With Lalo Schifrin

With Diane Schuur

  • Love Songs (1993)

With Shirley Scott

With Tom Scott

  • New York Connection (1975)
  • Blow It Out (1977)
  • Intimate Strangers (1978)
  • Apple Juice (1981)
  • Flashpoint (1988)
  • Streamlines (1987)

With Paul Simon

With Richard Tee

  • Strokin' (1978)
  • Natural Ingredients (1980)
  • Real Time (1992)

With Stanley Turrentine

With Grover Washington Jr.

With Sadao Watanabe

  • Morning Island (1979)
  • How's Everything (1980)
  • In the Shade of a Tree (1981)
  • Rendezvous (1984)

With others

References
  1. Will, Patrick T.; Kernfeld, Barry (2002). "Gale, Eric". In Barry Kernfeld (ed.). The new Grove dictionary of jazz, vol. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 5. ISBN 1561592846.
  2. Album notes by Chris Albertson, Contributing Editor, Stereo Review
  3. Katz, David (2006). The Return of Django. People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry. London: Omnibus Press. p. 83.
  4. "Eric Gale: Forecast". Dougpayne.com. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  5. "Eric Gale, 55, Dies; Versatile Guitarist". The New York Times. 3 June 1994.
  6. "Billboard". Books.google.com. 1971-08-07. p. 61. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
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