# Grady Tate Dies: He played with Ray Brown, Gene Harris, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Stanley Turrentine … Video

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2017/10/11/grady-tate-dies-played-ray-brown-gene-harris-jimmy-smith-grant-green-stanley-turrentine-video/
- Published: 2017-10-11T15:55:04+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**“No one every made the beat sing and the melody swing with any more poetry and
power than Grady Tate.  Our music never had a better friend, and neither did I.”–
Todd Barkan, jazz record producer.**

The drummer and vocalist Grady Tate, a veteran of hundreds of jazz recording sessions,
died on Oct. 8, according to longtime colleague and producer Todd Barkan. He was
85 years old. Tate was a dual threat as a singer and a drummer, performing in the
latter role on many seminal LPs with the likes of Jimmy Smith, Oliver Nelson and
Wes Montgomery. Most closely associated with the soul-jazz style of the ’60s popularized
by Smith, Montgomery, Lou Donaldson and Stanley Turrentine, he also recorded about
a dozen albums as a leader, nearly all featuring his sultry baritone voice as well
as his stylish drumming.

Like many of his peers on the postbop scene, Tate was born in North Carolina and
was a product of the Great Migration. Raised in Durham, he was self-taught on drums
and performed at local churches as a singer.

[⌊Cover of "Master Grady Tate" album⌉⌊Cover of "Master Grady Tate" album⌉[

“Master Grady Tate” album by Grady Tate

In a bio on the Concord Music Group website, Tate said, “I was a good little singer,”
adding, “I wish we’d had technology the way it is today so I could have had some
of those recordings.” When Tate entered puberty, he lost the will and even ability
to sing. “It was such a devastating experience,” he recalled. “From the time I was
12 until I was 19, I would not open my mouth because I was totally frustrated by
that voice change. As a result, I never sang in high school.”

After a stint in the Air Force during the early 1950s, in which he played in bands
and did vocal arrangements, he came back to Durham for school but eventually relocated
to Washington, D.C., which would be his home off and on for many years. A subsequent
move to NYC brought him to the attention of Quincy Jones, Creed Taylor and other
producers, and he began a steady and lucrative career as a session player, primarily
on drums. Known for his crisp yet sensitive touch on the kit, Tate also did pop 
and R&B dates, recording with Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack, Phoebe
Snow, the McGarrigles, Paul Simon and Bette Midler.

In an interview with Gregory Thomas in 2008, Tate explained that he learned a lot
from backing other singers, including Peggy Lee. “Peggy was just sultry, not nasty
or rowdy,” he said. “I enjoyed playing with her. I guess I’ve tried to do some of
that with my singing. One of the reasons I’ve played with so many singers was to
see and learn what they were doing. You have to listen to all of the people who 
are successful at it. Find those that do it to the most of what you like. Key in
on that person, not to sound exactly like them, but to get the essence of their 
feeling.”

The scope of Tate’s credits reflects his flexible sound and approach. In addition
to a seven-year run as the drummer for the _Tonight Show_ band in the 1960s, Tate
also did several of the vocals for the wildly successful and influential series 
_Schoolhouse Rock!_, singing the lead on “I Got Six,” “Naughty Number Nine” and “
Fireworks.”

[⌊Cover of "Windmills of My Mind" album by Grady Tate ⌉⌊Cover of "Windmills of My
Mind" album by Grady Tate ⌉[

“Windmills of My Mind” album by Grady Tate

Tate also recorded and released about a dozen albums as a leader, frequently with
his deep and soulful voice at the forefront of the music. In a review of Tate’s 
2006 album, _From the Heart: Songs Sung Live at the Blue Note_ (Half Note): “Tate’s
rumbling baritone has often been likened, quite validly, to Johnny Hartman, Arthur
Prysock and Lou Rawls. Stylistically, though, he more closely resembles the great(
and, like Tate, significantly underappreciated) Bill Henderson.”

Michael Cuscuna, noted producer for  Mosaic Records and Blue Note Records, reflected
on Tate’s versatile career and distinctive persona. “I knew three Grady Tates, each
was kind and brilliant and somewhat at odds with each other,” said Cuscuna. “The
consummate, hard-swinging tasteful drummer who turned the heads of the musical giants
of the ‘60s was eclipsed by the skillful, spot-on studio drummer who gave every 
session its glue, its groove and its soul. By the end of the ‘60s, a tempered, controlled
vocalist with emotional depth and perfect delivery began to fight for Grady’s time.
So three exceptional talents shared the same body and mind. Those of us who were
lucky enough to work with one or more of them will forever miss his exceptional 
brilliance and the gracious decency that defined his persona.”

Later in his career, Tate added yet another dimension to his multi-faceted career
when he became a full-fledged educator, working as a professor in Howard University’s
jazz and music program beginning around 1989. In his conversation with Thomas, Tate
explained what he taught to drummers: “I tell them to bring a stack of recordings
by singers. And you pick out the things that are most important: the introduction,
the first chorus and how to go from the first to the second. And for drummers playing
with singers, you follow the singer; you don’t overplay, playing a damn solo while
they’re singing. You go _just_ beneath where the singers go.”

In that same conversation he offered this advice to singers: “Think very closely
about what you want, and go get it. It’s out here, so go get it. But always remember
that you can find people—musicians, arrangers—who are with you. They have to play
according to what you want, especially as regards dynamics, how soft and how loud.
And look like you’re having fun. If a musician wants to pretend that ‘this ain’t
nothin’,’ he can either get with it or he’s immediately released. Just go with me,
and everything will be cool. I want everybody to be comfortable and to have a good
time.”

Jeff Levenson, former jazz journalist and current record producer, saw the man and
his music as inseparable. “Grady’s music was alot like his personality—refined, 
classy, exhibiting impeccable taste and constraint,” wrote Levenson. “He took pride
in the architectural aspects of his drumming, no frills, nothing unnecessary. His
singing was like that, too – relaxed, no nonsense. He aimed, simply, to tell the
story.”

![Image result for Grady Tate](https://i0.wp.com/media.npr.org/assets/img/2009/10/
09/gradytate_custom-8d55e244901e2814df9e8f3abe8e39b19f4c4ae7-s1000-c85.jpg?w=640)

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