Onaje Allan Gumbs
Encyclopedia
Onaje Allan Gumbs is a New York-based pianist
, composer
, and bandleader
.
, Dizzy Gillespie
, Lalo Schifrin
, Gil Evans
, Miles Davis
, McCoy Tyner
and John Coltrane
. Onaje went on to study classical piano, composition, arranging and graduated with a degree in Education at the State University of New York at Fredonia in upstate New York.
, to whom Onaje gave a demo tape. The following day, Onaje received a call to play with Kenny Burrell at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. This work led to further performances with major jazz musicians such as bassist Larry Ridley
as well as The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra. During those early 70's, Onaje replaced Nat Adderley, Jr.
in a great contemporary jazz ensemble called Natural Essence. At that time in the course of two years, some the personnel of this group included drummer Buddy Williams
, bassist David Williams
, trombonist Earl McIntyre and on percussion, Thelonious Monk Jr
.
In 1972, in Buffalo, New York, Onaje met Norman Connors
, who hired him to act as arranger for the album Dark of Light. Onaje went on to contribute keyboard work for subsequent albums by Norman including the albums Love From the Sun, Saturday Night Special, You Are My Starsip, Invitation and Mr C. Onaje's sideman work soon included stints with Buster Williams
, Cecil McBee
, and Betty Carter
.
Toward the late 1970s, Onaje spent two years working in Woody Shaw
's band as pianist, arranger, and occasional composer, including the albums Rosewood, Steppin Stones and Woody III. During this time, the group won the Down Beat
Reader’s Poll for Best Jazz Group and for Best Jazz Album in 1978 for Rosewood.
Onaje's most recent sideman role is on Avery Sharpe
's 2009 album Autumn Moonlight; here Onaje's fresh approach to the piano and his skills as a composer ("Palace of the Seven Jewels" and "First Time We Met") are evident.
of SteepleChase
records, heard Onaje’s improvisations, and invited the pianist to record a solo piano project. Entitled Onaje, the album features standards such as "Giant Steps
," as well as some of Onaje's original compositions.
Onaje's interest in R&B is especially prominent in two of his solo recordings, That Special Part of Me (1988), and Dare to Dream (1991). That Special Part of Me also yielded Onaje's most enduring composition, entitled "Quiet Passion," which has remained on smooth jazz rotations for nearly 20 years.
In 2003, Onaje released a live album through Half Note records entitled Return to Form, recorded at the Blue Note jazz club in New York. He then released in 2004 a critically acclaimed project through his own label, Ejano, entitled Remember Their Innocence.
Most recently, Onaje recorded an album for 18th and Vine records entitled Sack Full of Dreams. While Remember Their Innocence was a studio-intensive project, Sack Full of Dreams was recorded with a live feel in the studio, using few takes. The film and stage actor Obba Babatundé
appears as guest vocalist on the title track.
Panasonic chose his song, Dare To Dream
, with lyrics by Charles Allen
, as the theme for their tenth anniversary celebration of Kid Witness News.
Onaje composed, arranged and performed the original score for the Showtime film, Override
, directed by actor and producer Danny Glover
.
Onaje scored an indie film schduled for release in 2011 entitled,"Indelible" directed by S C Gunn.
In 2006, Onaje was nominated for an NAACP Image Award
in the Outstanding Jazz Artist category for his independent project, Remember Their Innocence.
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
.
Early life
Born in Harlem, Onaje grew up in St. Albans, Queens, and started playing piano at age 7. Henry Mancini was one of his earliest and greatest influences from watching the TV shows "Peter Gunn" and "Mr Lucky" at age 8. Later, he studied at the Music and Art High School in Manhattan and was introduced by a classmate, Carl "Skip" Kirkland, to his father Leroy Kirkland, who had played with the Erskine Hawkins band, and who would come to mentor Onaje. During this time, he was playing in a Latin band, a big band and playing piano duets, and was also listening to records made by Motown and Blue Note, developing an interest in R&B that would influence his musical career as strongly as the straight-ahead jazz of Horace SilverHorace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
, Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
. Onaje went on to study classical piano, composition, arranging and graduated with a degree in Education at the State University of New York at Fredonia in upstate New York.
Professional career
In 1971, Leroy Kirkland introduced Onaje to the renowned Detroit guitarist Kenny BurrellKenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
, to whom Onaje gave a demo tape. The following day, Onaje received a call to play with Kenny Burrell at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. This work led to further performances with major jazz musicians such as bassist Larry Ridley
Larry Ridley
Larry Ridley is an American jazz bassist and music educator.-Biography:Ridley was born and reared in Indianapolis, IN. He began performing professionally while still in high school in the 1950s. Ridley studied at the Indiana University School of Music and later at the Lenox School of Jazz...
as well as The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra. During those early 70's, Onaje replaced Nat Adderley, Jr.
Nat Adderley, Jr.
Nat Adderley, Jr. is an American pop and rhythm and blues music arranger and pianist who spent much of his music career arranging for Luther Vandross. The scion of a famed jazz family, his father Nat Adderley was a composer and jazz cornet and trumpet player, while his uncle Cannonball Adderley ...
in a great contemporary jazz ensemble called Natural Essence. At that time in the course of two years, some the personnel of this group included drummer Buddy Williams
Buddy Williams
Harold "Buddy" Williams was an Australian country music singer and songwriter. He was the first Australian born to record country music in Australia, three years after the New Zealand born Tex Morton had made his first recording session here in Australia...
, bassist David Williams
David Williams
-Musicians:* David Williams , Aboriginal musician and artist* David Williams , Welsh bassist* David Williams , Welsh guitarist and bassist in Son of Dork...
, trombonist Earl McIntyre and on percussion, Thelonious Monk Jr
T. S. Monk
T. S. Monk is an American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader. He is the son of fellow jazz musician, Thelonious Monk.-Biography:...
.
In 1972, in Buffalo, New York, Onaje met Norman Connors
Norman Connors
Norman Connors is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, producer, and headliner, who has led some influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads.-Biography:...
, who hired him to act as arranger for the album Dark of Light. Onaje went on to contribute keyboard work for subsequent albums by Norman including the albums Love From the Sun, Saturday Night Special, You Are My Starsip, Invitation and Mr C. Onaje's sideman work soon included stints with Buster Williams
Buster Williams
Charles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
, Cecil McBee
Cecil McBee
Cecil McBee is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts." Allmusic called him "One of post-bop's most advanced and versatile bassists".-Biography:McBee...
, and Betty Carter
Betty Carter
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
.
Toward the late 1970s, Onaje spent two years working in Woody Shaw
Woody Shaw
Woody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage...
's band as pianist, arranger, and occasional composer, including the albums Rosewood, Steppin Stones and Woody III. During this time, the group won the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Reader’s Poll for Best Jazz Group and for Best Jazz Album in 1978 for Rosewood.
Onaje's most recent sideman role is on Avery Sharpe
Avery Sharpe
Avery Sharpe is an American jazz double-bassist.Sharpe began playing piano at age eight and also studied accordion in his youth. He learned both electric and acoustic bass as a teenager, then studied with Reggie Workman at the University of Massachusetts...
's 2009 album Autumn Moonlight; here Onaje's fresh approach to the piano and his skills as a composer ("Palace of the Seven Jewels" and "First Time We Met") are evident.
Solo Works
During Onaje's time with Nat Adderley (1976), the producer Nils WinterNils Winter
Nils Winter is a German long jumper.He finished seventh at the 2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships and the 2007 European Indoor Athletics Championships...
of SteepleChase
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
records, heard Onaje’s improvisations, and invited the pianist to record a solo piano project. Entitled Onaje, the album features standards such as "Giant Steps
Giant Steps (composition)
"Giant Steps" is a jazz composition by John Coltrane, first appearing as the first track on the album of the same name . The composition contains a rapid and improvised progression of chord changes through three keys shifted by major thirds, creating an augmented triad.-Title:The song title comes...
," as well as some of Onaje's original compositions.
Onaje's interest in R&B is especially prominent in two of his solo recordings, That Special Part of Me (1988), and Dare to Dream (1991). That Special Part of Me also yielded Onaje's most enduring composition, entitled "Quiet Passion," which has remained on smooth jazz rotations for nearly 20 years.
In 2003, Onaje released a live album through Half Note records entitled Return to Form, recorded at the Blue Note jazz club in New York. He then released in 2004 a critically acclaimed project through his own label, Ejano, entitled Remember Their Innocence.
Most recently, Onaje recorded an album for 18th and Vine records entitled Sack Full of Dreams. While Remember Their Innocence was a studio-intensive project, Sack Full of Dreams was recorded with a live feel in the studio, using few takes. The film and stage actor Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatunde
Obba Babatundé is an American actor of stage and screen, known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, a NAACP Image Award-nominated performance in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and a Tony Award-nominated role for his performance as C.C...
appears as guest vocalist on the title track.
Awards and Special Works
In 1986 Onaje received the Min-on Art Award "in recognition of his great contribution to the promotion and development of a new musical movement for people with the aim of the creation of Peace."Panasonic chose his song, Dare To Dream
Dare To Dream
Dare To Dream is the second studio album by the Serbian Irish folk/Celtic rock band Irish Stew of Sindidun, released on Saint Patrick's Day in 2008....
, with lyrics by Charles Allen
Charles Allen
Charles Allen may refer to:* Charles Allen , Canadian hurdler* Charles Allen , previously Chief Executive of ITV plc., and prior to that Granada plc.* Charles Allen , Massachusetts judge...
, as the theme for their tenth anniversary celebration of Kid Witness News.
Onaje composed, arranged and performed the original score for the Showtime film, Override
Override (short film)
Override is a 1994 American science fiction genre short film. It was the directorial debut of Danny Glover and starred Lou Diamond Phillips and Emily Lloyd...
, directed by actor and producer Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
.
Onaje scored an indie film schduled for release in 2011 entitled,"Indelible" directed by S C Gunn.
In 2006, Onaje was nominated for an NAACP Image Award
NAACP Image Award
An NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
in the Outstanding Jazz Artist category for his independent project, Remember Their Innocence.
Discography
- 1988: That Special Part Of Me
- 1991: Dare to Dream
- 1995: Onaje
- 2003: Return To Form
- 2005: Remember Their Innocence
- 2006: Sack Full Of Dreams
- 2010: Just Like Yesterday