Biography

Gray was the youngest of four children and was born in Oklahoma City. He lived in Oklahoma during his early childhood. In 1929, he and his family moved to Detroit, Michigan.

In early 1935, Gray began attending Northeastern High School. Later, he was transferred to Cass Technical High School. He left in 1936, before finishing school. His brother-in-law, Junior Warren, helped him learn to play the clarinet when he was a teenager. However, after listening to Lester Young on a record with Count Basie, he decided to switch to the tenor saxophone.

Gray’s first music job was in Isaac Goodwin’s small band, which played at local dances. When he tried out for another job, Dorothy Patton, a young pianist who was forming a band at the Fraternal Club in Flint, Michigan, heard him and hired him. After a year there, he joined Jimmy Raschel’s band (Raschel had recorded music in the 1930s but did not record again). Later, he worked with the Benny Carew band in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Around this time, he met Jeanne Goings, and they had a daughter, Anita, who was born in January 1941.

Near the Congo Club was a place called the Three Sixes. A young dancer named Jeri Walker knew Earl Hines. When Hines’ band came to Detroit in late 1943, Jeri asked Hines to hire Gray to play the alto saxophone because there was no job for a tenor saxophonist. This was a big opportunity for Gray, as the Earl Hines Orchestra was well-known and had helped other famous musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Even though most of those musicians had left by then, playing with Hines was a valuable experience. In September 1945, Gray married Jeri Walker in Chicago.

Gray left Hines in late 1946 and moved to Los Angeles, California. Soon after arriving, he recorded his first session under his own name. It was a quartet session for Eddie Laguna’s Sunset label, and Wardell was supported by Dodo Marmarosa on piano. The session produced two songs: "Easy Swing" and "The Man I Love."

In Los Angeles, Wardell worked with Benny Carter, blues singer Ivory Joe Hunter, and a small group that supported singer Billy Eckstine on a West Coast tour. However, the main focus in Los Angeles was the clubs along Central Avenue, which were still busy after wartime spending boosted the area. Wardell played in after-hours sessions at clubs like Jack’s Basket Room, the Down Beat, Lovejoy’s, and the Club Alabama. His success in these sessions led Ross Russell to include him in a studio session for his Dial label.

In the Central Avenue clubs, Wardell had tenor saxophone battles with Dexter Gordon. Gordon later said, "There’d be a lot of musicians on the stand, but by the end of the session, it would wind up with Wardell and myself… His playing was very fluid, very clean… He had a lot of drive and a profusion of ideas." Their fame grew, and Ross Russell arranged for them to record a battle on "The Chase," which became Wardell’s first nationally known recording and is considered one of the most exciting jazz contests in history.

The success of "The Chase" helped Wardell gain more attention. He became more prominent in public sessions in and around Los Angeles, including jam sessions organized by disc jockey Gene Norman. He also performed at concerts at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the Shrine Auditorium, and other venues.

Besides working with a small band led by Al Killian, Wardell mostly worked in one-off sessions during 1947. However, around the start of that year, he was hired by Benny Goodman for a small group Goodman was forming as part of his interest in bebop. Goodman had been critical of bebop but told Metronome magazine, "If he’s bop, that’s great. He’s wonderful!"

Goodman’s new group included young Swedish clarinetist Stan Hasselgard and, initially, Teddy Wilson. The group opened at Frank Palumbo’s Click Club in Philadelphia in May 1948.

The group was not financially successful, and Goodman eventually ended it. However, by then, Wardell had become well-known on the East Coast. In late 1948 and early 1949, he worked with the Count Basie Orchestra and also recorded with Tadd Dameron and in quartet and quintet sessions with Al Haig. One of the quartet sessions included Gray’s own composition, "Twisted," which was later used for a best-selling vocalese version by Annie Ross.

Wardell left Basie in 1949 and returned to Benny Goodman. However, life in the Goodman band became less pleasant for him. His marriage to Jeri was also ending. Goodman was a difficult employer, and the constant traveling made Wardell unhappy. Recordings from this time show work by Wardell that is below his usual standards.

After leaving Goodman, Wardell rejoined Count Basie. Basie had broken up his big band due to economic pressures and formed a septet that included Clark Terry and Buddy DeFranco. Wardell was part of the Basie septet from 1950 to 1951. The only problem with working with Basie was the constant traveling, and Wardell eventually left to spend more time at home. This decision was understandable, though Basie’s rhythm section was a good match for Wardell’s style of playing. A side effect was that work for Black musicians in Los Angeles was limited, so Wardell still had to travel often for jobs. Despite this, life at home was good, and one of the few interviews he gave (to the British Melody Maker) showed he was happy.

In 1950, Gray played a live concert at the San Francisco Veteran’s Memorial Hall as a guest with Gerald Wilson’s band. This recording, captured in high fidelity stereo (the only such example in his discography), was released in 2006. Gray performed well during solo spots with small group support on "Nice Work if You Can Get It" and "Indiana," and with Wilson’s big band on the blues "Hollywood Freeway," where he traded choruses with Zoot Sims and Stan Getz.

Around this time, his recording sessions became less frequent, though a live session with Dexter Gordon, recreating the energy of Central Avenue, and a studio session with Art Farmer and Hampton Hawes, are strong examples of his playing.

However, there are signs of less engagement around 1951–1952, especially in a live session with Dexter Gordon in February 1952. It seems he may have become disillusioned with the music business. His ability to play at a high level was still evident in a live jam session at The Haig, but such sessions were rare. More typical work from this period was recorded on a session with Teddy Charles.

Around this time, Gray became involved with drugs. Friends said this was affecting him.

Discography

• Tenor Sax Favorites (Prestige PRLP 115, 1951) 10-inch LP
• Gene Norman Presents… The Chase and the Steeplechase (Decca DL 7025, 1952) 10-inch LP
• Jazz Concert with Wardell Gray All Stars (Prestige PRLP 128, 1953) 10-inch LP
• Los Angeles All Stars (Prestige PRLP 147, 1953) 10-inch LP
• Wardell Gray Memorial, Volume One (Prestige PRLP 7008, 1955)
• Wardell Gray Memorial, Volume Two (Prestige PRLP 7009, 1955)
• Way Out Wardell (Modern LMP 1204, 1956; Crown CLP 5004, 1957)
• Memorial Album (Prestige PR 7343, 1965) 2-LP
• Central Avenue (Prestige 24062, 1976) 2-LP
• Live in Hollywood (Xanadu 146, 1977)
• Wardell Gray & Dexter Gordon: The Chase And The Steeple Chase [Jazz Heritage Series, Vol. 37] (MCA 1336, 1980) reissue
• The Chronological Wardell Gray 1946-1950 (Classics, 2002)
• The Wardell Gray Story (Proper, 2003) 4-CD box set
• The Chronological Wardell Gray 1950-1955 (Classics, 2008)

• The Old Count and the New Count (Epic LG 1021, 1954) 10-inch LP
• Blues By Basie (Columbia CL 901, 1956)
• One O'Clock Jump (Columbia CL 997, 1957)
• The Octet Sounds (Ocium [Spain] OCM 0002, 2001) compilation

• Just Jazz All-Stars (Capitol H348, 1952) 10-inch LP
• Skin Deep (Norgran MGN 1046, 1955)

With Tadd Dameron Septet

• The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Vol. 2 (Blue Note BLP 1532, 1957)

• Undercurrent Blues (Capitol Jazz 72438 32086 23, 1995) compilation

• Frank Morgan (Gene Norman Presents /GNP 12, 1955)