Bob Gallo

The Bob Gallo Quintet: Wake Up Call

by Michael P. Gladstone
January 4, 2007

Here's another quicksilver jazz guitarist with whom I've been unfamiliar. For years, Bob Gallo has provided music for TV's The Cosby Show and It's A Different World, as well as supporting Aretha Franklin. He has also appeared in the groups of Randy Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., Gerald Albright, Clark Terry, Dave Valentin and Jon Faddis. Gallo only has an obscure 1999 album on Cat's Paw (Windsong) to show for his troubles. You can currently hear the Gallo quintet on the ...

Bob Gallo: Wake-Up Call

by Glenn Astarita
August 15, 2006

When scoring and performing music for The Cosby Show and other TV shows, guitarist Bob Gallo projected a mild musical persona. But with this assertive Wake-Up Call, the antithesis of that notion, the guitarist unleashes his nearly mind-boggling chops.

On this studio session Gallo sports a debonair jazz demeanor, coupled with flashy dynamics and a speed-demon modus operandi that yields impressive results. Whether performing complex bop motifs or soft ballads, the artist excels when reformulating the respective melody ...