Monday 20 October 2014

BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " PAUL GONSALVES " WAS A JAZZ TENOR SAXOPHONIST BEST KNOWN FOR HIS ASSOCIATION WITH DUKE ELLINGTON : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

BLACK                SOCIAL             HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                          Paul Gonsalves


Paul Gonsalves
Birth namePaul Gonsalves
BornJuly 12, 1920
OriginBrockton, Massachusetts,USA
DiedMay 15, 1974 (aged 53)
LondonEnglandUK
GenresJazz
Swing
Bebop
OccupationsMusician - Woodwinds
InstrumentsTenor Saxophone
Years active1938–1974
LabelsRCA Victor
Impulse Records
Riviera Records
Black Lion Records
Associated actsPhil Edmonds,
Sabby Lewis Orchestra,
Count Basie,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Duke Ellington
Paul Gonsalves (July 12, 1920 – May 15, 1974) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist[1] best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue",[2] a performance credited with revitalizing Ellington's waning career in the 1950's.[3]

Biography

Born in BrocktonMassachusetts, to Cape Verdean parents, Gonsalves' first instrument was the guitar, and as a child he was regularly asked to play Cape Verdean folk songs for his family. He grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and played as a member of theSabby Lewis Orchestra. His first professional engagement in Boston was with the same group on tenor saxophone, in which he played before and after his military service during World War II.[4] Before joining Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1950, he had also played in big bands led by Count Basie (1947–1949) and Dizzy Gillespie (1949–1950).
At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves' solo in Ellington's song "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" went through 27 choruses; the publicity from this performance is credited with reviving Ellington's career.[5] The performance is captured on the album Ellington at Newport. Gonsalves was a featured soloist in numerous Ellingtonian settings. He received the nickname "The Strolling Violins" from Ellington for playing solos while walking through the crowd.[6]
Gonsalves died in London a few days before Duke Ellington's death, after a lifetime of addiction to alcohol and narcotics.[7] Mercer Ellington refused to tell Duke of the passing of Gonsalves, fearing the shock might further accelerate his father's decline. Ellington and Gonsalves, along with trombonist Tyree Glenn, lay side-by-side in the same New York funeral home for a period of time.[8]
Gonsalves is buried at the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York

Discography

As leader/co-leader


With Duke Ellington

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