Gloria Coleman

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Gloria Coleman (* 1931 in New York City ; † 10. February 2010 ) was an American soul jazz - organist , pianist and composer and bass player and singer. She was married to the saxophonist George Coleman ; their son is the drummer George Coleman Jr .

biography

Gloria Coleman first studied violin, piano and bass; She began her career as a musician in 1952 as a bassist in Philadelphia with pianists such as Sarah McLawler and Myrtle Young, as well as with Sony Thompson in Chicago . In the following years she worked a. a with Lou Donaldson , Willis Jackson , Etta Jones , Jack McDuff , Jimmy Scott , Sonny Stitt , Matthew Gee and Cecil Payne . Eventually the piano and Hammond organ became her main instruments when she developed her own style under the influence of "Wild" Bill Davis and Jimmy Smith . She then played at the Harlem nightclub Small's.

In the early 1960s she performed for a while as a pianist and organist with Tiny Grimes at Sherry’s Club in Atlantic City ; she then returned to Sonny Stitt's band as an organist, with whom she a. a. performed at New York's Village Gate . Then she played in an organ combo with Booker Ervin and drummer Carmen Lacaria . To develop her style, she and her husband George Coleman worked in their home with trumpeter Booker Little . She was now also active as a composer and arranger, wrote a. a. "You Make Me Want to Dance" (performed by Joe Lee Wilson and Irene Reid ), "I Got A Claim on Fame" (for Irene Reid) and "There's a Way" (for Hank Crawford ), as well as music for Bobbi Humphrey and Ernestine Anderson .

Coleman became better known for her debut album, which she released in October 1963 for the Impulse! recorded. Soul Sisters (Impulse A-47) was composed as a quartet with guitarist Grant Green , alto saxophonist Leo Wright and drummer Pola Roberts . She did not record a second album until 1971 with Ray Copeland , Dick Griffith , James Anderson, Earl Dunbar and Charlie Davis. Coleman also continued to work as a songwriter. Coleman also worked as a musician and composer on recordings by Leo Wright ( Soul Talk ), Hank Crawford ( Groove Master , 1990), Nat Simpson and Etta Jones.

Coleman later appeared at the Monterrey Jazz Organ Festival with a tribute to Shirley Scott , and at the Billie Holiday Jazz Festival in Brooklyn , where she played with her son George Coleman Jr. and his quartet. In 2008 her album Sweet Missy was released , on which she played with George Coleman, her son George Jr. and the guitarist Eric Johnson.

Discographic notes

  • Soul Sisters (Verve, 1963)
  • Sings and Swings Organ (1971)
  • Sweet Missy (2008)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Coleman, Gloria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 2010