Gary Bartz

Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz at the 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam
Gary Bartz at the 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam
Background information
Born (1940-09-26) September 26, 1940 (age 86)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
GenresJazz, jazz fusion, bebop, hard bop, free jazz, spiritual jazz, soul jazz, jazz-funk, acid jazz
OccupationsMusician, composer, bandleader, educator
InstrumentsAlto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, keyboards, vocals, percussion
Years active1960s–present
LabelsMilestone, Prestige, P-Vine, SteepleChase, Candid, Atlantic, Blue Note, Mapleshade

Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards.

Biography

Bartz at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, California, July 2017

Bartz was first exposed to jazz as the son of the owners of a jazz nightclub in Baltimore. In 1958 he left Baltimore to study at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop. He worked as a sideman with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln before joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. In 1968, he was a member of McCoy Tyner's band, Expansions.

In mid-1970, he joined Miles Davis' band, performing live at the Isle Of Wight festival in August; and at a series of December dates at The Cellar Door club in Washington, D.C. Portions of these shows were initially released on the 1971 Live-Evil album, with the entire six performance/four night run eventually released in full on the 2005 Cellar Door Sessions box set. He later formed the band Ntu Troop, which combined jazz, funk, and soul.

Bartz was awarded a Grammy for "Best Latin Jazz Performance" for his work on Roy Hargrove's "Habana" at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, and for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group" for For McCoy Tyner's Illuminations at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.

Bartz was awarded the BNY Mellon Jazz 2015 Living Legacy Award, which was presented at a special ceremony at The Kennedy Center.

In 2019, Revive Music and Bartz celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his Another Earth album at Winter Jazzfest in New York City, alongside original member Pharoah Sanders.

He is Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Oberlin College.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Recording date Album title Label Year released Notes / Personnel
1967–05,
1967–06		 Libra Milestone 1968 Quintet: with Jimmy Owens, Albert Daily, Richard Davis, Billy Higgins
1968–06 Another Earth Milestone 1969 With Charles Tolliver, Pharoah Sanders, Stanley Cowell, Reggie Workman, Freddie Waits
1969 Home! Milestone 1970 Live. NTU Troop: with Woody Shaw, Albert Dailey, Bob Cunningham, Rashied Ali.
1970–11 Harlem Bush Music – Taifa Milestone 1971 NTU Troop: with Nat Bettis, Andy Bey, Harold White. Compilation in 1997.
1971–01- Harlem Bush Music – Uhuru Milestone 1971 NTU Troop: with Nat Bettis, Andy Bey, Ron Carter, Juini Booth. Compilation in 1997.
1972–10 Juju Street Songs Prestige 1972 NTU Troop: with Stafford James, Harvey Mason
1972–10,
1973–06		 Follow the Medicine Man Prestige 1973 NTU Troop: with Hector Centeno, Hubert Eaves III, Andy Bey
1973–07 I've Known Rivers and Other Bodies Prestige 1973 NTU Troop: with Stafford James, Howard King
1973–07 Altissimo Philips 1973 With Charlie Mariano, Jackie McLean, Lee Konitz, Joachim Kühn, Han Bennink, Palle Danielsson
1973–11,
1974–02		 Singerella: A Ghetto Fairy Tale Prestige 1974 NTU Troop: with Hector Centeno, Howard King, Hubert Eaves III, James Benjamin, Kenneth Nash, Maynard Parker
1975? The Shadow Do! Prestige 1975 With Hubert Eaves III, Michael Henderson, Reggie Lucas, James Mtume, Howard King
1976? Juju Man Catalyst 1976 With Curtis Robertson, Howard King, Charles Mims, Syreeta
1977 Love Song Vee-Jay 1977 With George Cables, Curtis Robinson, Howard King, Rita Greene
1977 Music Is My Sanctuary Capitol 1977 With Syreeta Wright, Mizell Brothers
1978? Love Affair Capitol 1978 With Wah Wah Watson, Dorothy Ashby, Welton Gite, Bill Summers, George Cables, Wade Marcus
1980? Bartz Arista 1980 With Howard King, Hubert Eaves III
1988–04 Monsoon SteepleChase 1988 Quartet: with Butch Lacy, Billy Hart, Clint Houston
1988–11 Reflections of Monk: The Final Frontier SteepleChase 1989 With Bob Butta, Geoff Harper, Billy Hart, Eddie Henderson
1990–03 West 42nd Street Candid 1990 Live. Quintet: with Claudio Roditi, John Hicks, Ray Drummond, Al Foster.
1990–11 There Goes the Neighborhood! Candid 1991 Live. With Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Ben Riley.
1991–06 Shadows Timeless 1992 With Benny Green, Christian McBride, Victor Lewis, Willie Williams
1993–06 Alto Memories Verve 1994 Co-led with Sonny Fortune. Also with Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Jack DeJohnette.
1994–01 Episode One: Children of Harlem Challenge 1994 With Larry Willis, Ben Riley, Buster Williams
1994–09 The Red and Orange Poems Atlantic 1994 Dave Holland, Mulgrew Miller, Eddie Henderson
1996? The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life Atlantic 1996 With Tom Williams, George Colligan, James King, Greg Bandy, Jon Hendricks, Cyrus Chestnut, Russell Malone, Dennis Chambers
1998–05 Live @ the Jazz Standard, Vol. 1: Soulstice OYO Recordings 1999 Live. With Barney McAll, Greg Bandy, Kenny Davis.
1999–10 The Montreal Concert DSM 2001 Live. Co-led with Peter Leitch.
2003–10 Continuum Act One Space Time 2004 With Jean Toussaint, Bill Mobley, Donald Brown, Essiet Essiet, Billy Kilson, Anga Diaz. Includes one live track.
2005? Soprano Stories OYO Recordings 2005 With James King, Greg Bandy, George Cables, John Hicks
2000–05,
2000–11,
2008–06,
2008–07		 Coltrane Rules: Tao of a Music Warrior OYO Recordings 2011 With Barney McAll, Greg Bandy, James King
2019 Night Dreamer Direct-to-Disc Sessions Night Dreamer 2020 With Maisha
3-7 June 2023 Where Rivers Meet Brownswood Recordings 2026 With Your Brother's Keeper

As sideman

With Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

With Donald Byrd

With George Cables

With Norman Connors

With Miles Davis

With Roy Hargrove

With Heads of State

With Phyllis Hyman

With Barney McAll

With Woody Shaw

With Malachi Thompson

With McCoy Tyner

With others

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. 1 2 "Artist: Gary Bartz". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  3. ↑ "Gary Bartz". All About Jazz. July 15, 2005.
  4. ↑ "1970 Miles Davis, part 2". The Music Aficionado. July 12, 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 - Miles Davis | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Gary Bartz". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Native Baltimorean Gary Bartz to Receive 2015 Living Legacy Award," Baltimore Jazz Alliance
  8. ↑ "Gary Bartz Previews 50th Anniversary 'Another Earth' Winter JazzFest Show With Pharoah Sanders". Pollstar.com. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  9. ↑ "Gary Bartz". Oberlin.edu. 28 October 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  10. ↑ "The Shadow Do! - Gary Bartz | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Shadows - Gary Bartz | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Live @ the Jazz Standard, Vol. 1: Soulstice - Gary Bartz | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Gary Bartz & Maisha - Night Dreamer Direct-To-Disc Sessions, by Gary Bartz & Maisha". Night Dreamer. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  14. ↑ Review of Your Brother’s Keeper & Gary Bartz – Where Rivers Meet, jazzviews.net, retrieved 26 July 2026
  15. ↑ "Where Rivers Meet, by Your Brother's Keeper & Gary Bartz". Your Brother's Keeper & Gary Bartz. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  16. ↑ "Artists - Smoke Sessions Records". September 26, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-09-26.
  17. ↑ "Say My Friend - The Rance Allen Group, Rance Allen | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2021.