Andy Bey
Encyclopedia
Andrew W. Bey is a jazz singer and pianist.
Bey has a wide vocal range, with his four octave
baritone voice.
He worked on a television show, Startime, with Connie Francis
and sang for Louis Jordan
.
He was 17 when he formed a trio with his siblings Salome Bey
and Geraldine Bey (de Haas), called Andy and the Bey Sisters. The group did a 16-month tour of Europe. The Chet Baker
documentary Let’s Get Lost shows footage of Andy Bey and his sisters delighting a crowd of Parisian partygoers.
The trio recorded three albums (one for RCA Victor in 1961, two for Prestige in 1964 and 1965) before breaking up in 1967.
He also did notable work with Horace Silver
and Gary Bartz
.
In 1974, Bey and Dee Dee Bridgewater
were the featured vocalists on Stanley Clarke
's album Children of Forever
. Later, Bey recorded the album Experience And Judgment, which had Indian influences
. After that period he returned to hard bop
and also recorded covers of music by non-jazz musicians such as Nick Drake
.
Other albums include Andy Bey and The Bey Sisters, Ballads, Blues & Bey (1996), American Song (2004), Tuesdays In Chinatown, and Ain't Necessarily So (2007).
Andy Bey got the "2003 Jazz Vocalist of the Year" award by the Jazz Journalists Association
.
The album "American Song" received a Grammy nomination for “Best Jazz Vocal Album” (2005).
Bey is an openly gay jazz musician. In 1994 Bey was diagnosed as HIV-positive, but has continued his career and maintained a regimen
that includes yoga
and a vegetarian diet
. Colleague Herb Jordan assisted Bey with a resurgence of his recording career. Their recording Ballads, Blues, & Bey in 1996 returned Bey to prominence.
John Coltrane
cited Bey as his favorite vocalist. (Savoyjazz.com)
Bey has a wide vocal range, with his four octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
baritone voice.
He worked on a television show, Startime, with Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
and sang for Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
.
He was 17 when he formed a trio with his siblings Salome Bey
Salome Bey
Salome Bey, CM is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and composer who has lived in Toronto, Ontario since 1966. In 2005, she was made an honorary Member of the Order of Canada....
and Geraldine Bey (de Haas), called Andy and the Bey Sisters. The group did a 16-month tour of Europe. The Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
documentary Let’s Get Lost shows footage of Andy Bey and his sisters delighting a crowd of Parisian partygoers.
The trio recorded three albums (one for RCA Victor in 1961, two for Prestige in 1964 and 1965) before breaking up in 1967.
He also did notable work with Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
and Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
.
In 1974, Bey and Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee Bridgewater is an American Jazz singer. She is a three-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award - winning stage actress and host of National Public Radio's syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater...
were the featured vocalists on Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
's album Children of Forever
Children of Forever
Children of Forever is the debut album of the fusion jazz bassist Stanley Clarke.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Stanley Clarke and Neville Potter; except where indicated# "Children of Forever" – 10:42# "Unexpected Days" – 5:53...
. Later, Bey recorded the album Experience And Judgment, which had Indian influences
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
. After that period he returned to hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
and also recorded covers of music by non-jazz musicians such as Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
.
Other albums include Andy Bey and The Bey Sisters, Ballads, Blues & Bey (1996), American Song (2004), Tuesdays In Chinatown, and Ain't Necessarily So (2007).
Andy Bey got the "2003 Jazz Vocalist of the Year" award by the Jazz Journalists Association
Jazz Journalists Association
The Jazz Journalists Association is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2011, it has approximately 500 members, primarily in North America but also on other continents...
.
The album "American Song" received a Grammy nomination for “Best Jazz Vocal Album” (2005).
Bey is an openly gay jazz musician. In 1994 Bey was diagnosed as HIV-positive, but has continued his career and maintained a regimen
Regimen
A regimen is a plan, a regulated course such as a diet, exercise or medical treatment, designed to give a positive result. A low-salt diet is a regimen. A course of penicillin is a regimen.- History :...
that includes yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and a vegetarian diet
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
. Colleague Herb Jordan assisted Bey with a resurgence of his recording career. Their recording Ballads, Blues, & Bey in 1996 returned Bey to prominence.
John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
cited Bey as his favorite vocalist. (Savoyjazz.com)
Discography
- Now! Hear! (Prestige, 1964) with Jerome RichardsonJerome RichardsonJerome Richardson was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet and piccolo...
, Kenny BurrellKenny BurrellKenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
- (with Bey Sisters) - Round Midnight (Prestige, 1965) with Kenny Burrell, Milt HintonMilt HintonMilton John "Milt" Hinton , "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist and photographer. He was nicknamed "The Judge".-Biography:...
, Osie JohnsonOsie JohnsonJames "Osie" Johnson was a jazz drummer.He first worked with Sabby Lewis and then, after service in the United States Navy freelanced for a time in Chicago...
- (with Bey Sisters) - Experience and Judgement (Atlantic, 1970)
- Ballads, Blues and Bey (Evidence, 1996)
- Shades of Bey (Evidence, 1998)
- Tuesdays in Chinatown (Encoded Music, 2001)
- Chillin (solo, Minor Music 2003)
- American Song (2004, Savoy Jazz)
- Ain't Necessarily So (2007, 12thStreet)