Southside – Wardell Gray

A lively uptempo bebop song full of stop-and-start rhythms. Unlike many bebop songs of the ‘40s, this one has its own changes, not based on a standard.

Wardell Gray

February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955

Though sometimes overlooked, even to this day—perhaps due to his all-too-brief career or his extensive work in swing big bands —Wardell Gray was among the most important jazz musicians of the bebop era. He was one of the first tenor saxophonists, along with Dexter Gordon , Gene Ammons, and Lucky Thompson, to establish an original voice on the instrument in the bebop style. Read more...

4 songs available.