Grady Tate | en

Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 - October 8, 2017) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz drummer and singer with a distinctive baritone voice. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate has released many albums as leader and vocalist as well as lent his voice to a number of songs in the Schoolhouse Rock! series.

Tate was born in Hayti, Durham, North Carolina. In 1963 he moved to New York City, where he became the drummer in Quincy Jones's band.

Grady Tate's drumming helped to define a particular hard bop, soul jazz and organ trio sound during the mid-1960s and beyond. His slick, layered and intense sound is instantly recognizable for its understated style in which he integrates his trademark subtle nuances with sharp, crisp "on top of the beat" timing (in comparison to playing slightly before, or slightly after the beat). The Grady Tate sound can be heard prominently on many of the classic Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery albums recorded on the Verve label in the 1960s.

Tate was the drummer on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for six years. During the 1970s he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet. In 1981 he played drums and percussion for Simon and Garfunkel's Concert in Central Park.

As a sideman he has played with musicians including Jimmy Smith, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, and Wes Montgomery.

Among his most widely heard vocal performances are the songs "I Got Six", "Naughty Number Nine", and "Fireworks" from Multiplication Rock and America Rock, both part of the Schoolhouse Rock series. For the 1973 motion picture Cops And Robbers, Tate sang the title song, written by Michel Legrand and Jacques Wilson.

He has been on the faculty of Howard University since 1989.

Discography

As leader
1968: Windmills of My Mind (Skye)
1970: After the Long Drive Home (Skye)
1971: Feeling Life (Skye)
1972: She Is My Lady (Janus)
1975: By Special Request (Buddah)
1977: Master Grady Tate (Impulse!)
1991: TNT (Milestone)
1992: Body & Soul (Milestone)
2006: From the Heart: Songs Sung Live at the Blue Note (Half Note)

As sideman
1962: Charles Mingus – The Complete Town Hall Concert (Blue Note)
1963: Gary McFarland – The In Sound (Verve)
1964: Ben Webster – See You at the Fair (Impulse!)
1964: Lalo Schifrin – New Fantasy (Verve)
1964: Jimmy Smith – The Cat (Verve)
1964: Nat Adderley – Autobiography (Atlantic)
1964: Oliver Nelson – More Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!)
1964: Lou Donaldson – Rough House Blues (Argo)
1964: Cal Tjader – Soul Sauce (Verve)
1964: J. J. Johnson – J.J.! (RCA Victor)
1964: Budd Johnson - Off the Wall (Argo) - with Joe Newman
1965: Milt Jackson – Ray Brown / Milt Jackson (Verve) - with Ray Brown
1965: Johnny Hodges with Wild Bill Davis – Joe's Blues (Verve)
1965: Dorothy Ashby – The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby (Atlantic)
1965: Cal Tjader – Soul Bird: Whiffenpoof (Verve)
1965: Illinois Jacquet – Spectrum (Argo)
1965: Roland Kirk & Al Hibbler – A Meeting of the Times (Atlantic)
1965: Jimmy Smith – Organ Grinder Swing (Verve)
1965: Jimmy Smith – Monster (Verve)
1965: Lalo Schifrin – Once a Thief and Other Themes (Verve)
1965: Stanley Turrentine – Joyride (Blue Note)
1965: Gary McFarland and Clark Terry – Tijuana Jazz (Impulse!)
1965: Kai Winding – Rainy Day (Verve)
1965: Dave Pike – Jazz for the Jet Set (Atlantic)
1965: J. J. Johnson – Broadway Express (RCA Victor)
1966: Shirley Scott – Roll 'Em: Shirley Scott Plays the Big Bands (Impulse!)
1966: Eric Kloss – Love and All That Jazz (Prestige)
1966: Jimmy Smith – Got My Mojo Workin' (Verve)
1966: Jimmy Smith – Hoochie Coochie Man (Verve)
1966: Gábor Szabó – Gypsy '66 (Impulse!)
1966: Jimmy McGriff – The Big Band (Solid State)
1966: Kai Winding – More Brass, Dirty Dog (Verve)
1966: Oliver Nelson – Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle (Impulse!)
1966: Clark Terry – Mumbles (Mainstream)
1966: Oliver Nelson – Sound Pieces (Impulse!)
1966: Oliver Nelson – Happenings (Impulse!) - with Hank Jones
1966: Oliver Nelson – Encyclopedia of Jazz (Verve)
1966: Oliver Nelson – The Sound of Feeling (Verve)
1966: J. J. Johnson – The Total J.J. Johnson (RCA Victor)
1966: Johnny Hodges - Blue Notes (Verve)
1967: Kenny Burrell – A Generation Ago Today (Verve)
1967: Oliver Nelson – The Spirit of '67 (Impulse!) - with Pee Wee Russell
1967: Kai Winding – Penny Lane & Time (Verve)
1967: Oliver Nelson – The Kennedy Dream (Impulse!)
1967: Stan Getz – Sweet Rain (Verve)
1967: Johnny Hodges – Don't Sleep in the Subway (Verve)
1967: Herbie Mann – Glory of Love (A&M/CTI)
1968: Stan Getz – What the World Needs Now: Stan Getz Plays Burt Bacharach and Hal David (Verve)
1968: Kenny Burrell – Blues – The Common Ground (Verve)
1968: Hubert Laws – Laws' Cause (Atlantic)
1968: Roy Ayers – Stoned Soul Picnic (Atlantic)
1968: Eddie Harris – Plug Me In (Atlantic)
1968: Billy Taylor – I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free (Tower)
1968: Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis – Love Calls (RCA Victor)
1968: Johnny "Hammond" Smith – Nasty! (Prestige)
1968: J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding – Israel (A&M/CTI)
1968: Nat Adderley – You, Baby (A&M/CTI)
1968: Milt Jackson – Milt Jackson and the Hip String Quartet (Verve)
1968: Jimmy McGriff – The Worm (Solid State)
1969: Freddie Hubbard – A Soul Experiment (Atlantic)
1969: Billy Taylor – Sleeping Bee (MPS)
1969: J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding – Stonebone (A&M/CTI [Japan])
1969: Ron Carter – Uptown Conversation (Embryo)
1969: Hubert Laws – Crying Song (CTI)
1969: Lena Horne and Gábor Szabó – Lena & Gabor (Skye)
1969: Pearls Before Swine – These Things Too (Reprise)
1969: Quincy Jones – Walking in Space (A&M/CTI)
1969: Phil Woods – Round Trip (Verve)
1970: Johnny Hodges – 3 Shades of Blue (Flying Dutchman)
1970: Quincy Jones – Gula Matari (A&M/CTI)
1971: Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett and Mary Lou Williams – Giants (Perception)
1971: Pearls Before Swine – Beautiful Lies You Could Live In (Reprise)
1971: Quincy Jones – Smackwater Jack (A&M/CTI)
1972: Grant Green – The Final Comedown (Blue Note)
1972: Eric Kaz – If You're Lonely (Atlantic)
1972: Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones – Snake Rhythm Rock (Prestige)
1972: Houston Person – Broken Windows, Empty Hallways, Sweet Buns & Barbeque (Prestige)
1973: Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly (Atlantic)
1973: Leon Spencer – Where I'm Coming From (Prestige)
1973: Lou Donaldson – Sophisticated Lou (Blue Note)
1973: Marlena Shaw – From the Depths of My Soul (Blue Note)
1973: Bette Midler – Bette Midler (Atlantic)
1973: Shirley Scott – Superstition (Cadet)
1973: Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin' Simon (Columbia)
1974: Gato Barbieri – Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata (Impulse!)
1974: Jack McDuff – The Fourth Dimension (Cadet)
1974: Arif Mardin – Journey (Atlantic)
1975: Zoot Sims – Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers (Pablo)
1975: Jack McDuff – Magnetic Feel (Cadet)
1975: Hank Jones – Hanky Panky (East Wind)
1976: Etta Jones - Ms. Jones to You (Muse)
1976: Phoebe Snow – Second Childhood (Columbia)
1976: Houston Person – The Big Horn (Muse)
1977: Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Dancer with Bruised Knees (Warner Bros.)
1977: Billy Taylor – Live at Storyville (West 54)
1977: Houston Person – The Nearness of You (Muse)
1978: Clifford Jordan – The Adventurer (Muse)
1978: New York Jazz Quartet – Blues for Sarka (Enja)
1979: Red Rodney - The 3R's (Muse, released 1982)
1980: Willis Jackson - Nothing Butt... (Muse [rel. 1983])
1981: Grover Washington Jr. – Come Morning (Elektra) - with Tate on vocals
1982: Simon & Garfunkel – The Concert in Central Park (Warner Bros.)
1983: Michel Legrand – After the Rain
1983: Sadao Watanabe – Fill Up The Night
1986: Jimmy Smith – Go For Whatcha Know (Blue Note)
1988: Peggy Lee – Miss Peggy Lee Sings the Blues (Capitol)
1989: Maureen McGovern – Naughty Baby
1990: Dizzy Gillespie – The Winter in Lisbon (Milan)
1990: Bette Midler – Some People's Lives (Atlantic)
1990: Jimmy Smith – Fourmost: Recorded Live At Fat Tuesday's NYC (Milestone) - with Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell
1990: Jimmy Smith – Fourmost Return (Milestone [rel. 2001]) - with Stanley Turrentine and Kenny Burrell
1991: Bob Thiele Collective – Louis Satchmo
1992: John Hicks – Friends Old and New (Novus/RCA/BMG)
1992: Lalo Schifrin – Jazz Meets the Symphony (Atlantic)
1993: Lalo Schifrin – More Jazz Meets the Symphony (Atlantic)
1994: Oscar Peterson and Itzhak Perlman – Side by Side (Telarc)
1995: Lalo Schifrin – Firebird: Jazz Meets the Symphony No. 3 (Four Winds)
2007: Kenny Barron - The Traveler (Sunnyside)
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