Billy Gault

[Rabshakeh]

The pianist who played with Jackie McLean in the 1970s, eg. on New York Calling.

Great stuff but I can't see much about him on the internet.

Does anyone know anything about Gault? Are there any other records of his that were particularly good? 

[mhatta]

JM's New York Calling is a hidden gem.  I also like his (possibly only) album as leader - When Destiny Calls (1975, SteepleChase).

Information on Gault is scarce (I remember that SteepleChase CD doesn't come with liner notes), but seems he was active as pianist/educator at least till 2012:

https://www.tunxis.edu/news/tunxis-events-scheduled-for-march-and-april/

"Khalim Zarif, an internationally-known jazz pianist who performed as a younger man under the name Billy Gault, has performed with jazz legend and educator Jackie McClean, among others. "

So he seems converted to Islam and worked as Khalim Zarif.

[felser]

4 hours ago, mhatta said:

  I also like his (possibly only) album as leader - When Destiny Calls (1975, SteepleChase).

I also like that one.  Not a lost classic or anything, but a good listen and imaginative music.

[Gheorghe]

He was also a great composer. There are some of his compositions on "Ghetto Lullaby" where he doen´t play (Kenny Drew is on it), but his compositions are great. 

Anyway, "Ghetto Lullaby" is one of my favourite Jackie McLean albums. Didn´t he also compose one tune on "Ode to Super", that one where Jackie McLean sings ? 

[JSngry]

https://site.tunxis.edu/podcasts/page/14/

Tunxis held their 4th Annual Jazz Night on April 11, 2012. The guest performer was Khalim Zarif who performed on keyboard and between sets, shared some of his experiences working as a professional jazz musician over the years. He was accompanied by a local group that features Kevin O’Neil on guitar.
Dr. Kevin O’Neil is the teacher of the Tunxis Jazz class and students in this class also performed as a group at Jazz Night.

13 hours ago, mhatta said:

So he seems converted to Islam and worked as Khalim Zarif.

That bow tie says it all.

An older, short, thread about the whole Cosmic Brotherhood band here:

 

[clifford_thornton]

Love New York Calling; have had When Destiny Calls a couple of times and could never get into it for whatever reason. My problem, not his!

[Rabshakeh]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

 

An older, short, thread about the whole Cosmic Brotherhood band here:

 

I'd missed this. Answers my question and more.

[JSngry]

Seems like maybe Jackie got most of that band one-off record deals...not Billy skinner, though, but enough to look like how When Columbia signed the Jazz Messengers as a group, the band members each got a record of their own...or something like that.

New York Calling is indeed a wonderful record, and hearing it in more or less real time was a very uplifting experience.

[Rabshakeh]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

When Columbia signed the Jazz as a group, the band members each got a record of their own...or something like that.

Is that a documented thing? Like Wu Tang.

[JSngry]

Thinking about it...might not have been the whole band, but there was some deal where "The Jazz Messengers" got a record, and then so did "Horace Silver" and "Art Blakey"...there's documentation of this deal somewhere, but I couldn't point you to it off hand, sorry.

[felser]

23 hours ago, JSngry said:

Thinking about it...might not have been the whole band, but there was some deal where "The Jazz Messengers" got a record, and then so did "Horace Silver" and "Art Blakey"...there's documentation of this deal somewhere, but I couldn't point you to it off hand, sorry.

And Donald Byrd (with Gigi Gryce) made two.  Don't know if that was also part of it