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Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.
While his performing career was relatively short, much of his work as a player, composer, and arranger was quite influential and well-recognized during his time. However, Gryce abruptly ended his jazz career in the 1960s. This, in addition to his nature as a private person, has resulted in little knowledge of Gryce today. Several of his compositions have been covered extensively ("Minority", "Social Call", "Nica's Tempo") and have become minor . Gryce's compositional bent includes harmonic choices similar to those of contemporaries Benny Golson, Tadd Dameron and Horace Silver. Gryce's playing, arranging, and composing are most associated with the classic hard bop era (roughly 1953–1965). He was a well-educated composer and musician, and wrote some classical works as a student at the Boston Conservatory. As a jazz musician and composer he was influenced by the work of Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.
Gryce spent most of his early life in Hartford, Connecticut. His family's strong emphasis on music, manners, and discipline had a tremendous effect on him as a child and into his later career. Gryce's parents were of modest means: his father owned a small cleaning and pressing service, and his mother, Rebecca Rials, was a seamstress who also helped her husband run the business. (2026). 9780990668602, Current Research in Jazz. ISBN 9780990668602 The family belonged to the African Methodist Episcopal Church and attended services diligently. Especially as the Great Depression began to take its toll on the family's financial welfare, the Gryces did their best to instill the value of discipline and hard work in their children.. p. 11
Music was much emphasized in the Gryce household. The family had a piano, which Gigi and his siblings (four older sisters and one younger brother) were encouraged to play. Mostly church music was performed in the Gryce home, while pop and jazz was mostly frowned upon. (Later, however, when Gigi pursued jazz as a career, his mother and older sisters would support him personally and financially.) Many of the Gryce children were encouraged to pursue vocal performance at church, school, and other community; for a time the family even held weekly recitals in their home.. p. 12
The early 1930s saw tragedy and hardship for the Gryce family. In 1931, as the economic crisis of The Great Depression began to take hold, the Gryces were forced to sell their cleaning business. Two years later, Gigi's father, George Sr., died after suffering a heart attack. Rebecca Gryce was forced to raise the children as a single mother, relocating the family in order to rent out the house. Even through this hardship, however, Rebecca continued to motivate her children for success through strict but supportive parenting, encouraging musical development, hard work, discipline, and Christian morals.. p. 14
Gigi applied his family's sense of discipline to his developing passion for music. As a youth Gigi was described as bright but reserved, extremely polite, studious, and formal in nature. It is unclear exactly when Gigi first began learning the clarinet – it is rumored he may have started as early as age 9 or 10, but the first evidence for his pursuit appears later as he entered high school. The under-resourced, and at this time, mostly black Booker T. Washington High School had a series of music teachers through the Federal Music Project; Gigi first studied with Joseph Jessie and later Raymond Shepard. As it was for many, a musical instrument would have been a crippling expense for the Gryces during the Depression; when Gigi and his brother Tommy studied clarinet with Shepard they allegedly borrowed the same clarinet from a friend directly before each lesson. Eventually, Gigi's mother was able to buy him his own Cavalier metal clarinet, with which Gigi became quite successful as a high school student, winning school and state competitions. At school Gigi was also able to study music theory, which he enjoyed and continued to explore on the piano at home.. pp. 20-24
After completing his time in the navy, Gryce decided to continue his musical education, financially supported by the G.I. Bill as well as his mother and older sisters. He moved to Hartford to live with his sister Harriet and her husband in 1946, and the following year enrolled at the Boston Conservatory. At the Boston Conservatory Gryce developed his theoretical background and studied classical composition, writing three symphonies and a ballet in addition to other works. He was inspired and influenced by the work and philosophy of Boston Conservatory composer Alan Hovhaness, a musical eclectic whose passion was for melodicism and lyricism.. pp. 37-52
During his time at the conservatory Gryce also developed connections in the Hartford, Boston, and New York jazz scenes which would have a tremendous effect on his later career as a jazz musician, composer, and arranger. While New York was best known for cutting edge jazz of the time, both Boston and Hartford were also the sites of active and innovative jazz scenes. Gryce traveled between the two cities, and arranged for local bands including those of Sabby Lewis, Phil Edmonds, and Bunky Emerson. While Gryce developed his theoretical background and a passion for the works of Bartok and Stravinsky, he simultaneously developed an obsession for the work of Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, with whom, around 1949, he became acquainted and also performed. Gryce developed a reputation as a well-trained and talented artist, and became relatively well known in the local Boston and Hartford scenes. He also began to explore the New York scene, where he would eventually find himself in the early fifties.. pp. 54-62
Gryce is rumored to have traveled to Paris on a Fulbright scholarship in 1951 to study with Nadia Boulanger and Arthur Honegger. However, there is much confusion and rumor surrounding this period in Gryce's life, and there is no evidence to suggest that Gryce did receive a Fulbright or formally study with the two composers. Gryce did take two semesters off to study in Europe, but little is known about his travels. It is possible that he studied with the composers privately. While Gryce did propagate the Fulbright rumor himself to substantiate his credentials, Gryce had little else to say about this time in his life.. pp. 70-74
Gryce was influenced by Tadd Dameron, with whom he played in 1953 at the Paradise Club.. p. 89 Gryce had not yet reached his peak as a musician or soloist, but was developing a reputation as a versatile and talented composer and arranger. Later in 1953 Gryce also contributed a tune, "Up in Quincy's Place" to Art Farmer's Prestige recordings. While this recording was rather inconsequential, Farmer would become one of Gryce's closest colleagues.. pp. 79-90
One of the most important connections Gryce made in New York was with Quincy Jones, who encouraged Lionel Hampton to hire Gryce for his band in the summer of 1953. After playing with Hampton's band in the States, Gryce was invited to join the band for their European tour.. p. 94
While the style of the Hampton band was outdated and overly commercialized in Gryce's eyes, the opportunities and connections made on the European tour were largely what propelled Gryce into success as an artist. In Hampton's band, Gryce played with Anthony Ortega, Clifford Solomon (tenor saxophone), Clifford Scott, Oscar Estelle (baritone saxophone), Walter Williams (trumpet), Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, Quincy Jones, Al Hayse, Jimmy Cleveland, George "Buster" Cooper, William "Monk" Montgomery, and Alan Dawson. Gryce became particularly close friends with Clifford Brown, with whom he found much in common. The Hampton tour did not pay well, and Gryce and others frequently sought recording opportunities on the side, particularly in Stockholm and Paris, where Europeans were eager to record touring Americans. There was already some tension in the band between young bebop-influenced musicians and the more established swing musicians (including Hampton himself), and Hampton did not react well when he heard his musicians were recording on the side.. pp. 94-115
The recordings Gryce made with Clifford Brown and others on the tour were often hurried and done on the fly, yet they were instrumental in building his career, particularly as a composer. Notable of these European recordings were "Paris the Beautiful", featuring tonal centers a third apart and a Charlie Parker solo by Gryce; "Brown Skins", a concerto for a large jazz ensemble; "Blue Concept", recorded by the Gryce-Brown sextet; and "Strictly Romantic", which oscillates between A flat and G major. In addition, Henri Renaud recorded an entire album exclusively of Gryce's work, which did a great deal to build his reputation.
The record made in May 1955 by the Farmer-Gryce quintet featured pianist Freddie Redd, bassist Addison Farmer, and drummer Art Taylor. This session exemplifies Gryce's feel for thematic development, all of the pieces artfully composed and arranged. Later in 1955 Gryce also played for Oscar Pettiford's octet, and got the opportunity to play alto in Thelonious Monk's session with Percy Heath and Art Blakey for Signal Records (released as one side of Gryce's 1955 album, best known under the title Nica's Tempo) .. pp. 151-62
The final ticket to Gryce's success was his third recording with the Farmer Quintet in October 1955 and his nonet recordings for Don Schlitten immediately after. The Farmer record featured non-standard forms, and adventurous arrangements which pushed the limits of the hard bop idiom. His Signal Records arrangements were influenced by the style and instrumentation of Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool group, and were well received by the jazz community. By the mid-1950s Gryce was a major figure in jazz, known as a great individualist, a competent studio musician, and an innovative composer.. pp. 175-176
In 1957 Gryce and Donald Byrd collaborated on a series of projects with Jazz Lab, which produced play-along recordings as educational tools. Gryce's arrangements were fresh but accessible, tailored for educational purposes. The rhythm section played with a soloist to give the play-alongs a more natural feel. The group also performed, and gave a rather lukewarm performance at the Newport Jazz Festival.. p. 213
The years 1957 to 1960 saw a series of miscellaneous projects for Gryce. He continued to play with the Jazz Lab, as well as writing for Betty Carter, Art Farmer, Jimmy Cleveland, Curtis Fuller, and Max Roach.. pp. 248-70 He put together his own quintet, which he renamed the Orch-tette after adding vibraphonist Eddie Costa in 1960. His recordings with the Orch-tette had potential, but featured intricate arrangements which limited space for solos.. p. 290 Gryce worked on a handful of other projects in 1960, including a film score to On the Sound by Fred Baker and a final studio recording on Randy Weston's Uhuru Afrika. However, by this time Gryce was becoming preoccupied with business troubles associated with his publishing companies, as well as some family issues.. p. 307 Gryce's genre of hard bop was beginning to give way to more experimental strains. Around 1963, Gryce withdrew completely from his jazz career.
On December 20, 1953, soon after his return from the Lionel Hampton tour, he married Eleanor Sears, to whom he was introduced by trumpeter Idrees Sulieman.. p. 148 Their wedding was a simple event, held at a mosque in Brooklyn. The ceremony and the subsequent luncheon were attended by only Eleanor's sister, her husband, and a Muslim friend of Gryce's. They had three children: Bashir (born 1957); Laila (born 1959); and Lynette (born 1963)... pp. 234, 276, 308 They also had a child, Bilil, in 1958 who was born prematurely and did not survive infancy... p. 253
In 1972, Gigi Gryce, now known as Basheer Qusim, married Ollie Warren, a school secretary in the Bronx. Throughout their marriage until Gryce's death, his earlier music career took a back seat to his passionate dedication to education. Focused on teaching children, Gryce went above and beyond, aiming to bring out the best in his students, many of whom were at risk of failing. His innovative approach included using music to teach reading skills, aligning with research that shows music instruction improves reading and math skills for students in grade school.
In the 1960s Gryce reinvented himself as a public school teacher in New York. He was somewhat interested in education throughout his life, and was said to be an excellent music instructor. He received a master's degree in education from Fordham University in 1978 and developed a passion for teaching. He left a lasting legacy at Elementary School No. 53 in the Bronx, which was renamed in his honor after his death. Students, colleagues, and parents who encountered Gryce during this time knew him as a private, serious, passionate, and caring man. Believing that music aided literacy, Gryce was a strict but caring teacher, and went out of his way to aid students at educational risk, working at an under-resourced mostly black and Hispanic school.. pp. 321-23
Gryce died on March 14, 1983, of a heart attack after becoming increasingly ill. His death was a shock to many of his former music career colleagues, as well as students, teachers, and parents of the students whom he had encountered over the years. Before his death, he reached out to his family again, and visited Pensacola for the first time in almost 30 years.. p. 329
His compositions and arrangements with Farmer continued to feature non-standard forms and harmonies. His approach to hard bop trod the line between experimental and accessible, particularly in later work with the Teddy Charles Tentet and the Oscar Pettiford Orchestra. As an experimental composer, his goal was not jazz without limits, but forms which provided boundaries which liberated the soloist.. p. 189
While Gryce was an accomplished saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist, his playing tended to be less innovative than his writing. As a saxophonist, he was influenced by Charlie Parker, who he had always idolized and became friends with in the mid-1950. Contemporaries recall that Parker would sometimes borrow Gryce's horn.. p. 157
More recently, Gryce's music has found a resurgence, specifically his composition "Social Call". Prominent recordings of this song (with lyric by Jon Hendricks) have been recorded by a new generation of jazz vocalists such as Jazzmeia Horn and Veronica Swift. The song is included on Samara Joy's Linger Awhile which won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Compilation
With Clifford Brown
With Betty Carter
With Kenny Dorham
With Art Farmer
With Dizzy Gillespie
With Benny Golson
With Thelonious Monk
With Oscar Pettiford
With Max Roach
With Tony Scott
With others
Conversion to Islam
Gryce had always been described as having a strict moral sensibility. He may have been interested in Islam as early as 1950, and as a student became interested in religious history.. p. 50 At the Boston Conservatory in 1953 he named one of his symphonies "Gashiya" for a surah in the Qur'an. Gryce reveals little about who or what urged his conversion, but Islam was an increasingly popular faith among black jazz musicians in the fifties, particularly Ahmadiyya, Nation of Islam, and Sunni Islam.Bayoumi, Moustafa. “East of the Sun (West of the Moon): Islam, the Ahmadis, and African America”, Journal of African American Studies (October 2001): pp. 251-63 Gryce is believed to have converted during or shortly after his travels in Europe during his college years.. p. 74 While Gryce did not regularly attend the mosque, he did read the Qur'an and abstain from drugs, alcohol, and pork.. p. 235 His faith was a source of some tension in his marriage to Eleanor, who remained a practicing Christian. Many of Gryce's compositions had Islamic titles and his first two children were given Islam-inspired names.
Withdrawal, teaching career, and death
Little is known about the real nature of Gryce's retreat from jazz, as this period is characterized by a great deal of misunderstanding and rumor. Gryce revealed little about his business hardships, but what is known is that his publishing business encountered financial troubles in the early 1960s, with many musicians withdrawing from Melotone and Totem.. p. 310 Many of his colleagues believe that powerful interests considered Gryce's publishing activities a threat, and were forcing him out of business. Rumors circulated about intimidation and threats to his family. While these rumors have not been confirmed, Gryce's behavior became extremely introverted and erratic during this time. He dissolved his publishing companies in 1963 and gave up his music career, thereafter adopting his Islamic name entirely, Basheer Qusim.. pp. 310-18 Several of his compositions are credited to the pseudonym Lee Sears.
Musical style, influences, and legacy
While in many ways his work exemplifies the conventions of the hard-bop era, Gryce always attempted to push the limits of common practice. As an educated composer with an extensive theoretical background, Gryce was prone to unconventional harmonization, form, and instrumentation as his style developed. In "Up in Quincy's Place", one of his early tunes, Gryce was rather ahead of his time in his frequent use of quartal harmony, a practice that would be popularized during the cool jazz era.. p. 91DeVeaux, Scott; Giddins, Gary. Jazz. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009, p. 379
Discography
As leader
As sideman and arranger
With Art Blakey
Bibliography
(2026). 9781893163256, Berkeley Hill Books. ISBN 9781893163256
External links
Categories: 1925 Births, 1983 Deaths, African-american Jazz Musicians, American Jazz Saxophonists, American Male Saxophonists, African-american Muslims, Jazz Musicians From Florida, Hard Bop Saxophonists, Musicians From Pensacola, Florida, American Big Band Bandleaders, American Jazz Bandleaders, American Jazz Flautists, American Jazz Educators, Savoy Records Artists, Verve Records Artists, Columbia Records Artists, Prestige Records Artists, Riverside Records Artists, Boston Conservatory At Berklee Alumni, Converts To Islam, 20th-century American Saxophonists, Bebop Saxophonists, 20th-century American Male Musicians, American Male Jazz Musicians, 20th-century African-american Musicians, Muslims From Florida
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