Eric Gale

Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American 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
DiedMay 25, 1994(1994-05-25) (aged 55)
Baja, California
GenresJazz, Jazz-Funk, R&B
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1960s–1990s
LabelsCTI
Associated actsStuff


Early life and career

Born in Bed-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. Gale grew up in a diverse house hold, he was of Black-American, Native-American, and British-American heritage. Gale's Grandfather was from Yorkshire, England who moved to Barbados and met his future Wife there. Gale held dual-citizenship by descent to the UK, where he spent a lot of time going back and forth to visit family and for further studies. Gale was a decade older than his two Brothers.

Gale began playing guitar at the age of 12. He skipped junior high school. In high school, he visited the home of John Coltrane after school and sat in on the jam sessions, which inspired Eric's style.[1] Gale received his Master of Science in chemistry at Niagara University, he was also on the football team. Later, Gale was pursued by Frank Sinatra to work on the hit song My Way, as mentioned in Frank Sinatra's Autobiography. Eric decided to commit to a musical career full time, instead of getting his Phd in Chemistry.

A close friend to Eric, Roberta Flack, asked Gale to work with her on the Killing Me Softly album. He had just finished recording his Negril album with the Wailers Band, along with Peter Tosh as vocals in Kingston, Jamaica. During that period of time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and JFK were assassinated in the States, and it hit Eric hard; he flew out to Montenegro, Jamaica to clear his mind and reconnect with nature; he then was able to finish an amazing album in Kingston with his friends who understood politics and injustice. This was mentioned in the Aston "Familyman" Barrett autobiography. After that, Roberta called Eric and begged him to come back home to New York to help her with the Killing me Softly album. Gale was reluctant, and so she flew the band members to him instead. They ended up going back to the States after some persuading; the Killing me softly album was a hit.

Gale toured with Paul Simon and appeared in the film, One-Trick Pony (film) starring Paul Simon, along side band mates Stuff, and played the role of Lee-Andrew Parker. They contributed to the film's soundtrack as well.

Gale was apart of the generation of American artists who brought the unforgettable sound of Motown alive, to the world, with such artists to name a few: Diana Ross and The Supremes, Jackson Five and many more. Later, he worked on Michael Jackson's albums Bad and Thriller. As well as: Little Richard, 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 as a session musician in the 1960s, appearing on an estimated 500 plus albums during his career. Among the many artists he recorded with were Mose Allison, Aretha Franklin, Bob James, Paul Simon, Lena Horne, Quincy Jones, Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Peter Tosh, Grover Washington, Jr., Herbie Mann, Esther Phillips, Joe Cocker, Roberta Flack, Ron Carter, Carly Simon, The Beatles, Van Morrison, Al Jarreau, Dave Grusin, Lee "Scratch" Perry,[3] Paul Douglas[3] and Billy Joel.[4]

Death

Gale died of lung cancer in May 1994 at the age of 55. He is survived by his wife Masako Murakami-Gale, three daughters, and a granddaughter.[5]

Discography

As leader
  • Forecast (Kudu, 1973)
  • Multiplication (Columbia, 1977)
  • Ginseng Woman (Columbia, 1977)
  • Part of You (Columbia, 1979)
  • Touch of Silk (Columbia, 1980)
  • Blue Horizon (Elektra Musician, 1982)
  • In the Shade of a Tree (JVC, 1982)
  • Island Breeze (Elektra Musician, 1983)
  • In a Jazz Tradition (EmArcy, 1988)
  • Let's Stay Together (Artful Balance, 1988)
  • Utopia (Rooms, 1998)

With Stuff

  • Stuff (Warner Bros., 1976)
  • Live Stuff (Warner Bros., 1978)
  • Stuff It! (Warner Bros., 1979)
  • Live in New York (Warner Bros., 1980)
  • Made in America (Bridge Gate, 1994)

As sideman

With Ashford & Simpson

  • Come as You Are (Warner Bros., 1976)
  • Send It (Warner Bros., 1977)
  • Is It Still Good to Ya (Warner Bros., 1978)
  • Stay Free (Warner Bros., 1979)
  • A Musical Affair (Warner Bros., 1980)
  • Street Opera (Capitol, 1982)
  • So So Satisfied (Big Break, 2015)

With Patti Austin

With George Benson

With Ron Carter

  • Anything Goes (Kudu, 1975)
  • Very Well (Polydor, 1987)
  • Yellow & Green (Epic, 1987)
  • I'm Walkin (EmArcy, 1988)

With Hank Crawford

With Fania All-Stars

  • Ella Fue/Juan Pachanga (Columbia, 1977)
  • Ella Fue/Steady (Discophon, 1977)
  • Rhythm Machine (Fania, 1977)
  • Spanish Fever (Columbia, 1978)
  • Cross Over (Columbia, 1979)
  • Commitment (Fania, 1980)
  • Social Change (Dig It, 1981)

With Roberta Flack

With Jun Fukamachi

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

With Freddie Hubbard

  • A Soul Experiment (Atlantic, 1969)
  • Windjammer (Columbia, 1976)
  • In Concert (CTI, 1976)
  • First Light (CTI, 2003)

With Bob James

  • Two (CTI, 1975)
  • Three (CTI, 1976)
  • BJ4 (CTI, 1977)
  • Heads (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1977)
  • Touchdown (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1978)
  • Lucky Seven (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1979)
  • One On One (Tappan Zee, 1979)
  • Sign of the Times (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1981)
  • The Genie (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1983)
  • 12 (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1984)
  • Double Vision (Warner Bros., 1986)
  • Grand Piano Canyon (Warner Bros., 1990)

With Quincy Jones

  • Walking in Space (A&M, 1969)
  • Gula Matari (A&M, 1970)
  • Smackwater Jack (A&M, 1971)
  • $ (Reprise, 1972)
  • Body Heat (A&M, 1974)
  • I Heard That!! (A&M, 1976)
  • Sounds ... and Stuff Like That!! (A&M, 1978)

With Gladys Knight & the Pips

  • Still Together (Buddah, 1977)
  • The One and Only (Buddah, 1978)
  • About Love (Columbia, 1980)
  • Touch (Columbia, 1981)

With Yusef Lateef

With Ralph MacDonald

  • Sound of a Drum (Marlin, 1976)
  • The Path (Marlin, 1978)
  • Counterpoint (Marlin, 1979)
  • Universal Rhythm (Polydor, 1984)
  • Surprize (Polydor, 1985)

With Van McCoy

  • Disco Baby (Avco, 1975)
  • The Disco Kid (Avco, 1975)
  • The Real McCoy (H&L, 1976)
  • Rhythms of the World (H&L, 1976)

With David "Fathead" Newman

With Esther Phillips

  • From a Whisper to a Scream (Kudu, 1971)
  • Alone Again Naturally (Kudu, 1972)
  • Capricorn Princess (Kudu, 1976)

With Diana Ross

With David Ruffin

  • In My Stride (Motown, 1977)
  • Who I Am (Motown, 1975)
  • Everything's Coming Up Love (Motown, 1976)

With Mongo Santamaria

  • Mongo '70 (Atlantic, 1970)
  • Mongo's Way (Atlantic, 1971)
  • Red Hot (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1979)

With Shirley Scott

With Tom Scott

  • New York Connection (Ode, 1975)
  • Blow It Out (Ode, 1977)
  • Intimate Strangers (Columbia, 1978)
  • Apple Juice (Columbia, 1981)
  • Streamlines (GRP, 1987)
  • Flashpoint (GRP, 1988)
  • Them Changes (GRP, 1990)
  • Keep This Love Alive (GRP, 1991)
  • Reed My Lips (GRP, 1994)

With Johnny "Hammond" Smith

With Richard Tee

  • Strokin (Tappan Zee/Columbia, 1979)
  • Natural Ingredients (Tappan Zee, 1980)
  • Real Time (One Voice, 1995)

With Stanley Turrentine

With Grover Washington Jr.

With Sadao Watanabe

  • Bravas Brothers (1983)
  • Fill Up the Night (Elektra Musician, 1983)
  • How's Everything (Columbia, 1980)
  • Morning Island (Flying Disk, 1979)
  • Nice Shot! (Flying Disk, 1980)
  • Orange Express (CBS/Sony, 1981)
  • Rendezvous (Elektra, 1984)
  • Vocal Collection (Warner 2009)

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. ISBN 9780857120342.
  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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