Onaje Allan Gumbs Explained

Onaje Allan Gumbs
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Name:Allan Bentley Gumbs
Birth Date:3 September 1949
Birth Place:New York City, US
Instrument:Piano
Genre:Bebop, hard bop, soul jazz, smooth jazz, fusion
Occupation:Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, lyricist
Years Active:1970s–2020
Label:18th and Vine, Ejano
Past Member Of:Obba Babatundé, Woody Shaw, Nat Adderley, Kenny Burrell, Buster Williams, Stanley Jordan, Angela Bofill, Betty Carter, Grady Tate, Jeffrey Osborne, Deneice Williams, Norman Connors, Sathima Bea Benjamin
Website:onajeallangumbs.com
Death Place:Yonkers, New York, US

Onaje Allan Gumbs (born Allan Bentley Gumbs, September 3, 1949 – April 6, 2020)[1] was a New York–based pianist, composer, and bandleader.[2] [3]

Early life and career

Gumbs was born in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City, to parents who had immigrated to the United States from the Caribbean. Gumbs' mother was from Montserrat, while his father, a New York City police officer, was from Anguilla. He was the nephew of Hubert Harrison's daughter-in-law.[4] As a child, Gumbs was fascinated by the film and television music of Henry Mancini. Gumbs graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia, and during his years there was a member of a student-organized jazz ensemble.[5]

In 1971, Leroy Kirkland introduced Gumbs to the Detroit guitarist Kenny Burrell, to whom Onaje gave a demo tape. The following day, Gumbs received a call to play with 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 the early 1970s, Gumbs replaced Nat Adderley, Jr. in a contemporary jazz ensemble called Natural Essence, which included during these years Buddy Williams and T. S. Monk (drums and percussion), bassist Alex Blake, and trombonist Earl McIntyre.

Gumbs adopted the name Onaje in the early 1970s; it means "the sensitive one".[6] He met his future wife, Sandra Wright, in 1971 during a short teaching engagement he took in Buffalo, New York. The two wed later in the decade and remained married until Gumbs' death in 2020.[5]

In the late 1970s, Gumbs recorded with Woody Shaw and worked as musical director for R&B singer Phyllis Hyman, Angela Bofill and Jeffrey Osborne.[7] [8] Later in his career he worked extensively with Ronald Shannon Jackson, and in 2013, following Jackson's death, Gumbs recorded a solo piano album consisting of improvisations on Jackson's compositions. Later in his life, he taught at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Manhattan and the Litchfield Jazz Camp in Connecticut.[5] DownBeat stated that his "association with the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York and his work with the Litchfield Jazz Camp in New Milford, Conn., allowed him to expand his vision and shape young minds."

Later life

On January 24, 2010, Gumbs suffered a stroke and was hospitalized for two days. In December of that year, he released an album in Japan entitled Just Like Yesterday. On the album, he was accompanied by Omar Hakim, Victor Bailey, Marcus McLaurine, William S. Patterson and Chuggy Carter. Any visible signs of the stroke had since vanished.

In February 2015, he was hospitalized for two weeks, though he was able to recover and return to composing and performance.

Onaje Allan Gumbs died on April 6, 2020, aged 70.[5]

Legacy

In 2022, De Kruif Place in the Bronx was co-named Onaje Allan Gumbs Way.[9] [10]

Discography

As leader

Year recordedTitleLabelPersonnel/Notes
1976OnajeSteepleChaseSolo piano
1980sBloodlife: Solo Piano Improvisations Based on the Melodies of Ronald Shannon JacksonEjano MusicSolo piano; released around 2014
1988That Special Part of MeZebra Records / MCA Records
1989?Dare to DreamZebraWith Roger Byam (tenor sax), Jef Lee Johnson and Kevin Eubanks (guitar), Oscar Carataya (bass), Buddy Williams (drums), Steve Thornton (percussion), Gerri Griffin and Dennis Collins (vocals)[11]
2000Return to FormHalf NoteWith Rene McLean (alto sax), Marcus McLaurine (bass), Payton Croslley (drums), Gary Fritz (percussion)
2004Remember Their InnocenceEjano MusicWith Sadao Watanabe (alto sax)
2006Sack Full of Dreams18th & VineWith Mark Shim (tenor sax), Bob DeVos (guitar), Marcus McLaurine (bass), George Gray (drums), Gary Fritz (percussion), Obba Babatunde (vocals)
2010?Just Like YesterdayPony Canyon

Main source:[12]

As sideman

With Nat Adderley

With T. K. Blue

With Betty Carter

With Norman Connors

With Carlos Garnett

With Toninho Horta

With Ronald Shannon Jackson

With Bennie Maupin

With Cecil McBee

With Mark Mosley

With Avery Sharpe

With Woody Shaw

With John Stubblefield

With Charles Sullivan

With Lenny White

Notes and References

  1. https://downbeat.com/news/detail/in-memoriam-onaje-allan-gumbs "In Memoriam: Onaje Allan Gumbs"
  2. Deluke, R. J. (March 20, 2007), "Onaje Allan Gumbs: Music Heard, And Felt", All About Jazz.
  3. Hogan, Ed, "Onaje Allan Gumbs", AllMusic.
  4. Web site: jefferybperry.net. Jeffery B.. Perry. Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918. February 2014. February 4, 2023.
  5. Web site: The New York Times. Russonello. Giovanni. Onaje Allan Gumbs, Ecumenical Pianist, Is Dead at 70. April 13, 2020. April 13, 2020.
  6. Harabadian . Eric . September 2014 . Grace and Sensitivity . DownBeat . 54 .
  7. Web site: Scott . Ron . 2016-01-15 . Onaje Gumbs, Cassandra's, Winter Marathon Jazzfest . 2022-07-12 . New York Amsterdam News . en-US.
  8. Web site: Return To Form : Onaje Allan Gumbs : CD Reviews : One Final Note . 2022-07-12 . www.onefinalnote.com.
  9. Web site: Street Co-Named for Bronx Jazz Great Onaje Allan Gumbs . 12 July 2022. Downbeat . September 28, 2023.
  10. Web site: Jazz Great and Buddhist Memorialized . 10 July 2022. World Tribune . September 28, 2023.
  11. Web site: Hogan . Ed . Onaje Allan Gumbs: Dare to Dream . AllMusic . November 27, 2018.
  12. Book: Cook . Richard . Richard Cook (journalist) . Morton . Brian . Brian Morton (Scottish writer) . . 2008 . 9th . . 978-0-141-03401-0 . 617 .