George Coleman
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NEA Jazz Master GEORGE COLEMAN is one of the greatest tenor saxophonists in music history. He has worked with the icons of the music including Ahmad Jamal, B.B. King, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Ray Charles.
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, which was an informal conservatory of music in the 20th century. He was taught how to play the alto saxophone in his teens by his older brother Lucian Adams, inspired (like many jazz musicians of his generation) by Charlie Parker. Among his schoolmates were Harold Mabern, Booker Little, Frank Strozier, Hank Crawford, and Charles Lloyd. As a teenager he would join B.B. Kings band, mastering the blues. In 1956 he and his good friend Booker Little moved to Chicago and the rest as they say is jazz music history. In Chicago he worked with Gene Ammons and Johnny Griffin. Max Roach would hire him in 1958 and he would move to the mecca of modern jazz, New York City. In 1963 he would join the Miles Davis Quintet along with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, recording the albums Seven Steps to Heaven (1963), A Rare Home Town Appearance (1963), Côte Blues (1963), In Europe (1963), My Funny Valentine, and Four & More, both live recordings of a concert at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City in February 1964. His solo on My Funny Valentine is widely considered one of the best saxophone solos in the history of jazz music.
From the 1960's until today George Coleman would continue to collaborate with icons of jazz music in addition to leading his own bands. His bands of the past few decades including his renowned quartet featuring musicians like the late great pianist Harold Mabern, bassist John Webber, and drummer Joe Fansworth have been regarded as the best Hard Bop groups in recent history.
Today, George Coleman is appearing at select engagements as a featured soloist and with his band.
The Critics Speak
"George Coleman's sax fulfills greatest of expectations." - Chicago Tribune
“Everything about saxophonist George Coleman’s The Quartet is perfect. You could give it five stars” - Downbeat Magazine
"At 80, he’s still one of the most fluent and inventive tenor saxophonists around. His style is commonly labelled as hard bop, but his tone is gentler and his improvisations more melodic. By some extraordinary alchemy, he turns quite abstruse harmonic ideas into tuneful phrases." - The Gaurdian (London)
“Greatness is assuredly the only word applicable to the player behind this samba-fied take of “I Wish You Love.” Coleman trips the light fantastic, plotting his phrases carefully and concisely, always mindful of the beat but slipping ahead and behind as each phrase dictates.” - Jazz Times
"In George Coleman's sort of jazz, displays of speed are essential. But so is density, weightiness, and soul. How he links up all those attributes is the story of hard bop." - New York Times
The Musicians Speak
"The great George Coleman." - Ahmad Jamal
"George played everything almost perfectly...He was a hell of a musician." - Miles Davis
Selected Honors and Awards
-NEA Jazz Masters Award (2015)
-Inductee Memphis Music Hall of Fame (2012)
-Jazz Foundation of America’s Life Achievement Award (1997)
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, which was an informal conservatory of music in the 20th century. He was taught how to play the alto saxophone in his teens by his older brother Lucian Adams, inspired (like many jazz musicians of his generation) by Charlie Parker. Among his schoolmates were Harold Mabern, Booker Little, Frank Strozier, Hank Crawford, and Charles Lloyd. As a teenager he would join B.B. Kings band, mastering the blues. In 1956 he and his good friend Booker Little moved to Chicago and the rest as they say is jazz music history. In Chicago he worked with Gene Ammons and Johnny Griffin. Max Roach would hire him in 1958 and he would move to the mecca of modern jazz, New York City. In 1963 he would join the Miles Davis Quintet along with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, recording the albums Seven Steps to Heaven (1963), A Rare Home Town Appearance (1963), Côte Blues (1963), In Europe (1963), My Funny Valentine, and Four & More, both live recordings of a concert at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City in February 1964. His solo on My Funny Valentine is widely considered one of the best saxophone solos in the history of jazz music.
From the 1960's until today George Coleman would continue to collaborate with icons of jazz music in addition to leading his own bands. His bands of the past few decades including his renowned quartet featuring musicians like the late great pianist Harold Mabern, bassist John Webber, and drummer Joe Fansworth have been regarded as the best Hard Bop groups in recent history.
Today, George Coleman is appearing at select engagements as a featured soloist and with his band.
The Critics Speak
"George Coleman's sax fulfills greatest of expectations." - Chicago Tribune
“Everything about saxophonist George Coleman’s The Quartet is perfect. You could give it five stars” - Downbeat Magazine
"At 80, he’s still one of the most fluent and inventive tenor saxophonists around. His style is commonly labelled as hard bop, but his tone is gentler and his improvisations more melodic. By some extraordinary alchemy, he turns quite abstruse harmonic ideas into tuneful phrases." - The Gaurdian (London)
“Greatness is assuredly the only word applicable to the player behind this samba-fied take of “I Wish You Love.” Coleman trips the light fantastic, plotting his phrases carefully and concisely, always mindful of the beat but slipping ahead and behind as each phrase dictates.” - Jazz Times
"In George Coleman's sort of jazz, displays of speed are essential. But so is density, weightiness, and soul. How he links up all those attributes is the story of hard bop." - New York Times
The Musicians Speak
"The great George Coleman." - Ahmad Jamal
"George played everything almost perfectly...He was a hell of a musician." - Miles Davis
Selected Honors and Awards
-NEA Jazz Masters Award (2015)
-Inductee Memphis Music Hall of Fame (2012)
-Jazz Foundation of America’s Life Achievement Award (1997)
