| Birth Date: | 28 January 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Bexleyheath, Kent, England |
| Occupation: | Jazz critic, saxophonist, broadcaster |
| Education: | St Dunstan's College |
| Alma Mater: | Downing College, Cambridge |
Dave Gelly MBE (born 28 January 1938) is a British jazz critic. A long-standing contributor to The Observer, he was named Jazz Writer of the Year in the 1999 British Jazz Awards. Gelly is also a jazz saxophonist and broadcaster, presenting a number of shows for BBC Radio 2 including Night Owls for much of the 1980s.
Gelly was born in Bexleyheath, Kent, on 28 January 1938, and grew up in south London.[1] [2] He attended St Dunstan's College, Catford, and won a scholarship to read English under F. R. Leavis at Downing College, Cambridge.[3] Gelly played with Art Themen[4] and Lionel Grigson in the Cambridge University band, and from the mid-1960s co-led his own quartets and quintets with Frank Ricotti, with Jeff Scott, and with Barbara Thompson.[5] Gelly was a member of the New Jazz Orchestra, directed by Neil Ardley, which also featured Ian Carr, Jon Hiseman, Barbara Thompson, Mike Gibbs, Don Rendell, and Trevor Tomkins.Gelly was a teacher during the 1960s and 1970s at William Penn School, Dulwich.