Wardell Gray

As a youngster, Wardell Gray studied clarinet and alto saxophone, then began playing in local Cleveland orchestras at the age of 10. In 1943, when he was hired by pianist Earl Hines, he was still playing alto saxophone, which he abandoned for good when he moved to Los Angeles, opting instead for tenor saxophone. Norman Granz, a concert promoter and organizer, noticed Wardell Gray and set up a meeting with tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon. The fruit of their many collaborations was the 1947 and 1952 recordings of two versions of the theme "The Chase". In 1947, he also had the opportunity to record with alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. The following year, Wardell Gray joined the band of clarinettist Benny Goodman, who gave his orchestra a more modern edge after the war. At the end of the '40s, Wardell Gray joined pianist Tadd Dameron's quintet, featuring trumpeter Fats Navarro, with whom he triumphed at New York's Royal Roost club. He then played with Count Basie, who led a sextet-octet in which Wardell Gray was one of the elements contributing to the band's modernization. In 1951, he embarked on a career as a freelance musician, working successively with trumpeter Clark Terry, pianist Hampton Hawes and drummer Louie Bellson. He was found murdered on a Nevada road, rumored to have been the result of an unpaid gambling debt, but the mystery remains.

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