John Gross (musician)

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John Gross

John Gross (born May 30, 1944 in Burbank ) is an American jazz musician ( tenor saxophone , flute, clarinet), record producer and author.

biography

John Gross comes from a musical family; He made his first professional appearances in Los Angeles at the age of eight, playing clarinet in LA County Parks and the Recreation Youth Orchestra. He studied clarinet with Phil Sobel and Vito Susca, saxophone with Ronnie Lang and John Graas ; He also performed as a child and as a teenager in various symphony orchestras and youth big bands in California. At 14, he played in the Gas House in Venice Beach , a center of LA Beat culture then in the jazz scene in Los Angeles, as in the Hillcrest Club, where he met artists such as Ornette Coleman , Don Cherry , Gary Peacock and Horace Tapscott occurred . At the age of 16 he left California State University, Northridge and became a member of Harry James' band ; In the early 1960s he also worked for Lionel Hampton , Johnny Mathis , Stan Kenton and Woody Herman . In the mid-1960s he performed regularly at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach , where he a. a. performed with Warne Marsh , Frank Strazzeri , Sam Most and Sal Nistico .

From 1967 to 1972 he was a member of Shelly Mann's band, which was the house band in his club Shelly's Manne-Hole . In 1970 he went on a European tour with Manne ( Alive in London , 1970) and performed a. a. at Ronnie Scott's Club in London. From 1979 to 1983 he played in Toshiko Akiyoshi's big band, with which he made a guest appearance at Carnegie Hall . Gross also worked on recordings and a. by Oliver Nelson ( Black, Brown and Beautiful , 1969), Kim Richmond , Howard Roberts and David Friesen .

In 1990 he received a Grammy nomination for his trio album Three Play , which he recorded with bassist Putter Smith and guitarist Larry Koonse . Since 1991 he has lived in Portland (Oregon) and works as a music teacher. He published the book Multiphonics for the Saxophone .

Discography

  • John Gross Trio: Three Play (Nine Winds, 1989)
  • John Gross / Billy Mintz : Beautiful You ( Origin , 2004)
  • John Gross Trio with Dave Frishberg : Strange Feeling (Diatic, 2006)

publication

  • Multiphonics for the Saxophone: A Practical Guide; 178 Different Note Combinations Diagramed and Explained, Advance Music (1999)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gioia, Ted, "West Coast Jazz, 1945-1960," University Of California Press, 1992, ISBN 0520217292 , p355
  2. Chamberlain, Safford, “An Unsung Cat, The Life and Music of Warne Marsh,” Scarecrow Press, 2000, ISBN 0810837188 , p. 149
  3. Jazz Play Along, Vol 3, 1996
  4. ^ Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 9th edition. Penguin, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0 , p. 936.