Al Grey

Al Grey stood out thanks to his signature expressions along with a witty deployment of the plunger mute. Following his discharge from military service, he performed with the ensembles of Benny Carter from 1945 to 1946, Jimmie Lunceford from 1946 to 1947, Lucky Millinder, and Lionel Hampton on an intermittent basis between 1948 and 1953. From 1956 to 1957 he served as a featured soloist in Dizzy Gillespie’s worldwide-touring orchestra, delivering an exciting improvisation during the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival on the blazing version of “Cool Breeze.” Grey appeared with Count Basie’s orchestra across three separate stretches—1957-1961, 1964-1966, and 1971-1977—while also co-leading a group with Billy Mitchell in the early 1960s and forming a combo with Jimmy Forrest after exiting Basie in 1977. In subsequent years he collaborated frequently in performance and on record with Clark Terry, issued a CD alongside the Statesmen of Jazz, and at one point directed a quintet that featured his son Mike Grey on second trombone. Recording under his own name, Al Grey released sessions for Argo between 1959 and 1964 as well as for Tangerine, Black & Blue, Stash, Chiaroscuro, and Capri, and he co-led a notable 1983 Pablo date with J.J. Johnson. Complications from diabetes caused his death on March 24, 2000.