Gerald Albright
Encyclopedia
Gerald Albright is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 jazz saxophonist.

Albright has sold over 1,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone. His self-produced music features him on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

s, drum programming, and background vocals.

Biography

Born in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Albright grew up in its South Central neighborhood. He began piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 lessons at an early age, even though he professed no great interest in the instrument. His love of music picked up considerably when he was given a saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 that belonged to his piano teacher. It was further reinforced when he attended Locke High School, a breeding ground for many young West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

 musicians. After high school, he attended the University of Redlands
University of Redlands
The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on near downtown Redlands. The university was founded in 1907 and was associated with the American Baptist Church. The land for the university was donated by...

 where he received a B.S. degree in business management, minoring in music. Already a polished saxophonist by the time he enrolled in college, Albright suddenly switched to bass guitar after he saw Louis Johnson
Louis Johnson (bassist)
Louis Johnson is an American bass guitarist.Johnson is best known for his group The Brothers Johnson and his session playing on several hit albums of the 1970s and '80s including the "best selling album of all time" Thriller...

 in concert.

Immediately after college, Albright began to master his talent by working extensively in the studio with such artists as Anita Baker
Anita Baker
Anita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....

, Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...

, The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...

, and Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...

. A few months after graduating from college, Gerald joined Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:...

, who was in the process of forming her own band, in which he played the saxophone. Later, when the bass player left in the middle of a tour, Albright replaced him and finished the tour on bass guitar. Consequently, he often performed on both instruments. Around the same time he also began to tour Europe with drummer Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...

.

He has also toured with Jeff Lorber
Jeff Lorber
Jeff Lorber is an American Grammy Award-nominated keyboardist, composer, and record producer.After leading his own group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, he went on to pioneer the smooth jazz genre....

, Teena Marie
Teena Marie
Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer...

, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...

, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....

, Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...

, Anita Baker and many others. In addition to numerous appearances at clubs and jazz festivals, Albright had also been a part of the popular Jazz Explosion tours, which saw him teaming up with contemporary jazz stars like Will Downing
Will Downing
Will Downing , is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Downing is known in the contemporary jazz and R&B music genres for his rich baritone vocals, and his interpretations of R&B and pop classics that stretch back to the early 1980s...

, Jonathan Butler
Jonathan Butler
Jonathan Butler is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music.-Biography:...

, Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...

, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

, and Rachelle Ferrell
Rachelle Ferrell
Rachelle Ferrell is an American singer and musician. Although she has had some success in the mainstream R&B, pop, gospel, and classical music scene, she is most noted for her talents as a contemporary jazz singer.-Biography:...

, among others.

Albright has also made several television appearances on shows such as A Different World, Melrose Place, and BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

 jazz segments, as well as piloting a show in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

 with Designing Women
Designing Women
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...

star Meshach Taylor
Meshach Taylor
Meshach Taylor is an American actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the sitcom Designing Women. He also had a major role on the sitcom Dave's World, playing Sheldon Baylor, and appeared in Buffalo Bill.-Personal life:Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of...

.

Albright was one of the ten featured saxophonists who performed at Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

’s inauguration. He was also featured at the Presidential Summit, as well as several private functions for the President.

Albright is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...

 fraternity. Albright now lives with his family near Denver, Colorado.

Saxophones

Gerald Albright plays his own signature series model of saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 made by Cannonball Musical Instruments
Cannonball Musical Instruments
Cannonball Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, and musical instrument accessories. The company was founded in 1996 by musicians Tevis and Sheryl Laukat, and is based in Sandy, Utah...

. The GA5-SB is the current model shown above, with a polished black-nickel bell on a silver plated body.

Necks

Of the two necks that are furnished with the Cannonball saxophones
Cannonball Musical Instruments
Cannonball Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, and musical instrument accessories. The company was founded in 1996 by musicians Tevis and Sheryl Laukat, and is based in Sandy, Utah...

, Gerald generally uses the "Fat Neck" (as shown above), with the octave vent tube located on the bottom of the neck—a design somewhat similar to that of some vintage Conn 6M models.

Mouthpieces & Reeds

  • Tenor Sax - Sugal Kirk Whalum II with Hahn Reeds
  • Alto Sax - Custom Beechler HR Diamond Inlay with Hahn Reeds
  • Soprano Sax
    Soprano saxophone
    The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...

     - Dukoff D7 with Hahn Reeds

Trivia

  • Gerald Albright's saxophone work is featured in the PlayStation video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
    Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
    Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...

    . His saxophone work can be heard during the game's closing theme song "I Am the Wind" (which, coincidentally, also features smooth jazz keyboardist Jeff Lorber
    Jeff Lorber
    Jeff Lorber is an American Grammy Award-nominated keyboardist, composer, and record producer.After leading his own group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, he went on to pioneer the smooth jazz genre....

    ).
  • Albright is an avid golfer, and a pair of golf clubs is somewhat hidden in the hand-engraving motif he helped design for his signature series saxophones.

Discography

titles |yearlabel
Just Between Us 1987 Atlantic/Wea
Bermuda Nights 1988 Atlantic/Wea
Dream Come True]]" 1990 Atlantic/Wea
Live at Birdland West 1991 Atlantic/Wea
Smooth 1994 Atlantic/Wea
Giving Myself to You 1995 Atlantic/Wea
Live to Love 1997 Atlantic/Wea
Pleasures of the Night with Will Downing
Will Downing
Will Downing , is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Downing is known in the contemporary jazz and R&B music genres for his rich baritone vocals, and his interpretations of R&B and pop classics that stretch back to the early 1980s...

 
1998 Polygram
The Very Best of Gerald Albright 2001 Atlantic/Wea
Groovology
Groovology
Groovology is the study of the aspect of music that brings out a physical, participatory response in its listeners. The word itself is derived from 'groove', an informal term for a rhythmic pattern in pop or jazz music, especially one that is perceived to be enjoyable. It has been characterized...

2002 GRP
Kickin' It Up 2004 GRP
New Beginnings 2006 Peak
Sax for Stax 2008 Peak
Gerald Alston Sings Sam Cooke with Gerald Alston
Gerald Alston
Gerald Alston is an R&B singer, and the lead singer with The Manhattans. Between 1988 and 1995, he left the group to record five albums and ten solo singles, including "Take Me Where You Want To." "Slow Motion" a remake of Atlantic Starr's "Send For Me" and "Activated", most of which was for...

2008 LST CO. INC.
Pushing the Envelope 2010 Telarc

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK