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Gordon James Beck (16 September 1935 – 6 November 2011) was an English Jazz piano and composer. At the time of his death, 26 albums had been released under his name.
Beck became a professional musician in 1960. That year, he played with saxophonist Don Byas in Monte Carlo. Beck joined the Tubby Hayes group in 1962 back in England. He led his own bands from 1965, including Gyroscope, from 1968, a trio with bassist Jeff Clyne and drummer Tony Oxley.
In 1967, the Gordon Beck Quartet recorded the album Experiments with Pops which was released on Major Minor MMLP 21 in 1968. The sessions were recorded at London's Lansdowne Studios in August the previous year.Jazz Discography Project - Gordon Beck Catalog, The Gordon Beck Quartet - Experiments With Pops Major Minor (E) MMLP 21 1968 In the spring of 1968, the Gordon Beck Quartet recorded some songs with Joy Marshall. Thirteen of the tracks with Marshall would appear on an album, When Sunny Gets Blue (Spring '68 Sessions) decades later.Discogs - Gordon Beck Quartet* Featuring Joy Marshall – When Sunny Gets Blue (Spring '68 Sessions) The Afterword, 12/02/2023 - A Short History of ‘the BBC session’
Beck first played with vocalist Helen Merrill in 1969 and continued the relationship into the 1990s when she toured Europe. From 1969 to 1972 he toured with saxophonist Phil Woods's European Rhythm Machine. Beck recorded ten albums with Woods.
In the 1960s and 1970s he was a house pianist at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. Beck also played "experimental funk in the Swiss musician George Gruntz's six-keyboard group Piano Conclave (1973-75), and free jazz with ... British improv drummer John Stevens (1977, 1982)." Beck was a member of Nucleus between 1973 and 1974.
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