Gerald Albright

Recognised as a master and pioneer of a new smooth jazz style, Albright's saxophone playing made him one of America's most admired musicians with his sensual, mellow grooves regularly heard on the radio. Yet, growing up in Los Angeles listening to the gospel music of James Cleveland and the Edwin Hawkins Singers, Albright's first instrument was the piano. In one lesson, his piano teacher gave him an alto sax to try and he never looked back, listening intently to Maceo Parker's playing with James Brown, particularly on the track 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag'. Yusef Lateef and Cannonball Adderly were also major influences and Albright was already an adept and ambitious sax player by the time he went to the University of Redlands studying business administration. He later joined one of his former classmates - pianist and singer Patrice Rushen - on tour playing bass and on the hit song 'Forget Me Nots'. He later replaced Kenny G playing sax with the Jeff Lorber Fusion Band. Becoming a busy session musician (with the likes of Nina Simone, Barry White and The Temptations), he was signed by Atlantic Records, releasing the album 'Just Between Us' in 1987, which produced the hit single 'So Amazing'. His recordings subsequently became a staple diet of contemporary jazz radio, his smooth style resulting in two Grammy Award nominations in 1989 and 1990. He performed at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton, made many TV appearances on shows like 'A Different World' and 'Melrose Place' and played the music on the PlayStation video game 'Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'.

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