Gerald Albright
(born August 30, 1957) is an American jazz saxophonist.
Albright has sold over 1,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone. His self-produced music features him on bass guitar, keyboards, flutes, drum programming, and background vocals.
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GERALD ALBRIGHT TICKETS
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Biography
Born in
Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its
South Central neighborhood. He began
piano 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 that belonged to his piano teacher. It was further reinforced when he attended Locke High School, a breeding ground for many young
West Coast musicians. After high school, he attended the
University of Redlands 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 in concert.
Immediately after college, Albright began to master his talent by working extensively in the studio with such artists as
Anita Baker,
Ray Parker, Jr.,
The Temptations, and
Olivia Newton-John. A few months after graduating from college, Gerald joined
Patrice Rushen, 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.
He has also toured with
Jeff Lorber,
Teena Marie,
Quincy Jones,
Whitney Houston,
Phil Collins, 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,
Jonathan Butler,
Hugh Masekela,
Chaka Khan, and
Rachelle Ferrell, among others.
Albright has also made several television appearances on shows such as
A Different World
,
Melrose Place
, and
BET jazz segments, as well as piloting a show in
Las Vegas with
Designing Women
star
Meshach Taylor.
Albright was one of the ten featured saxophonists who performed at
Bill Clinton’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, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter
fraternity established for
African Americans. Albright now lives with his family near Denver, Colorado.
Saxophone
Gerald Albright plays his own Signature Series model of
saxophone made by Cannonball Musical Instruments of
Salt Lake City,
Utah. The GA5-SB is the current model shown above, with a polished black-nickel bell on a silver plated body. Of the two necks that are furnished with the Cannonball horns, Gerald generally uses the "Fat Neck" (as shown above) which incorporates an underslung octave mechanism similar to that on a vintage Conn 6M, with the octave vent tube located on the bottom of the neck. This creates a more open sound and a clearer, more pronounced upper register which is especially helpful to solo jazz performers like Albright.
The Gerald Albright Signature Series Cannonball Saxophones now feature hand engraving that Albright helped design. Albright is an avid golfer, and a pair of golf clubs is somewhat hidden engraving motif.
Albright's mouthpiece and reed setups are as follows:
- Tenor Sax - Sugal Kirk Whalum II with La Voz Medium Reeds
- Alto Sax - Custom Beechler HR Diamond Inlay with La Voz Medium Reeds
- Soprano Sax - Dukoff D7 with La Voz Medium Reeds
Trivia
- Gerald Albright's saxophone work is featured in the PlayStation video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. 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). [1]
Discography
| titles
| year
| label
|
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| "Just Between Us"
| 1987
| Atlantic/Wea
|
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| "Bermuda Nights"
| 1988
| Atlantic/Wea
|
|
| "Dream Come True"
| 1990
| Atlantic/Wea
|
|
| "Live At Birdland West"
| 1994
| Atlantic/Wea
|
|
| "Giving Myself To You"
| 1995
| Atlantic/Wea
|
|
| "Live To Love"
| 1997
| Atlantic/Wea
|
|
| "Pleasures Of The Night"
with Will Downing
| 1998
| Polygram
|
|
| "The Very Best Of Gerald Albright"
| 2001
| Atlantic/Wea
|
|
| "Groovology"
| 2002
| GRP
|
|
| "Kickin' It Up"
| 2004
| GRP
|
|
| "New Beginnings"
| 2006
| Peak
|
|
| "Sax for Stax"
| 2008
| Peak
|
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| "Gerald Alston Sings Sam Cooke"
with Gerald Alston
| 2008
| LST CO. INC.
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References
- Game Credits for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night