Born: June 14, 1960 Primary Instrument: Drums
Gary Husband is one of a rare breed of musicians in that his expression is divided equally in his capacity as a drummer and a keyboardist of international repute. His classical roots, his quest and development in the improvisational, jazz and jazz/fusion areas - not to mention his tenure in the pop, rock, funk and blues circuits - are all evident inside Gary's distinct and far-reaching musical personality. His solo album and DVD output over the last few years has also reinforced his status as a critically acclaimed writer and arranger in the contemporary music world.
In 1999 he formed Gary Husband New Trio (with Mick Hutton, bass, and drummer Gene Calderazzo) leading from the piano and keyboards. Material from this period is best represented on the album Aspire - Gary Husband & Friends (Jazzizit). In the summer of 2003, Gary was awarded a highly coveted place on the Arts Council of England's Contemporary Music Network touring scheme to lead a hand-picked ensemble of world-class jazz musicians on a tour across the UK in March 2004. The project, entitled Gary Husband's Force Majeure, featured Grammy winning trumpeter Randy Brecker, bassist Matthew Garrison, keyboardist Jim Beard, trombonist and bass trumpeter Elliot Mason, Mahavishnu legend Jerry Goodman on electric violin, and the Armenian 'world' percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciyan. Gary composed, arranged and directed the band from the drum kit and piano, presenting a series of “evocations” inspired by musical pioneers such as Bjork, Burt Bacharach and John McLaughlin, and the BBC Radio 3 commissioned suite (Stone Souls). To coincide with the release of the group's highly-acclaimed 2-disk 5.1 Surround DVD package, the ensemble returned to the UK in March 2005 for a further series of concerts which included a wildly-received, sell-out week residency at London's Ronnie Scott's club.
Similar in concept and approach to his highly acclaimed piano CD release of 2001, The Things I See - Iinterpretations Of The Music Of Allan Holdsworth (Angel Air Records), Gary's new work (and fifth solo CD release) A Meeting Of Spirits - Interpretations Of The Music Of John McLaughlin is available from Alternity Records now.
Gary continues to devote a portion of his time to other artists' projects, new collaborations and educational programmes. His typically diverse range of associations (either playing keyboards, drums, or both) include (or have included) spells with artists such as Billy Cobham, Allan Holdsworth, Jack Bruce, Jeff Beck, Jonas Hellborg, Jim Mullen, Gary Moore, Lemon 'D', Randy Brecker/Bob Berg Quintet, Danny Gottlieb, Jason Smith Trio, Gongzilla, Andy Summers, Alan Skidmore, Aydin Esen, Geoff Keezer, Christian McBride, Chris Squire, Mark King's Level 42, Ray Russell, Hamburg's NDR Big Band and Mike Stern Group.
Gary recently recorded a 3-piece album project with Robin Trower and Jack Bruce (Seven Moons), toured with singer Al Jarreau (and Hamburg's NDR Big Band), recorded (recent ACT label release Blues In Mind) with the Christof Lauer Trio (featuring tuba player Michel Godard) and performed in July 2007 at the Chicago Eric Clapton Crossroads Festival with John McLaughlin, Matt Garrison and Vinnie Colaiuta. He is currently a member of John McLaughlin and his 4th Dimension group (playing both keyboards and drums) and has toured extensively with the band in the USA and Europe throughout 2007 and 2008.
His most recent project was an acoustic jazz 4-piece - Gary Husband's Drive, featuring saxophonist Julian Siegel, trumpeter Richard Turner and bassist Michael Janisch. (See reviews of the band on live performances and of the band's 2009 Abstractlogix Records album Hotwired.)
Gary Husband's new album - Dirty & Beautiful (Volume 1) is the first of a series of two all-star, internationally recorded projects. Volume 1 features guest star performances from John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, Jimmy Johnson, Jan Hammer, Robin Trower, Steve Topping, Steve Hackett, Laurence Cottle, Mark King and others. Husband is in the process of forming a three-piece entitled Gary Husband * Dirty & Beautiful Trio, to play live concerts and tours.
***** NEWS 19/12/09 *****
Gary's next project is in the works. Behind the drums and keyboards in a largely more fusion context (featuring friends and cohorts such as John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, Jimmy Johnson, Jerry Goodman, hopefully Jimmy Herring, Jack Bruce, James Genus, Robin Trower and many others) the album will be entitled Dirty & Beautiful.
***** NEWS 06/01/09 *****
Gary Husband and his propulsive new band Drive celebrate the release of 'Hotwired', their much-anticipated debut album on the Abstract Logix label.
Hear excerpts and on their Myspace website on http://www.myspace.com/garyhusband39sdrive
Hear more excerpts and order the album direct on http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/product.php?productid=24011
GARY HUSBAND & DRIVE
Debut Show Reviews - June 2007
“Gary Husband, the drummer with a double life as a very creative jazz pianist and composer, has turned up with a stunning group venture after a long silence - a characteristic that's getting to be his identifying mark. He played the Vortex as a solo pianist, and the second half as the hurricane drum force in his new quartet, Drive. The group blew the lid off, not least because Husband's drumming was such an astonishing mixture of rhythmic fluidity and raw power, recalling a cross between Miles Davis percussionist the late Tony Williams and a stadium fusion star like Dave Weckl. This is a band we'll be hearing a lot more from.”
John Fordham - The Guardian Newspaper, UK
“The quartet more than lived up to its name, propulsion coming not only from Husband's peerless bristling drums and Janisch's full-bodied, vigorous bass, but also from the terse soloing of Siegel and the flaring fluency of Turner, a real prospect given his youthfulness.”
Chris Parker
“Iron-lipped trumpet newcomer Richard Turner displayed a rich, fat tone, tenorist Julian Siegel had ideas galore, while Husband and US double-bassist Mike Janisch built redeeming passages of crackling ensemble swing.
And the drum solos were magnificent.”
Jack Massarik - London Evening Standard Newspaper, UK
The Guardian Newspaper lists the London Vortex debut of “Gary Husband's stunning Drive quartet” at London's Vortex Jazz Club as a resounding “Hit” of 2007 in their review article “The Magnificent 7”, Friday, 7th December 2007.
JOHN McLAUGHLIN
“Gary is one of my all time favourite drummers. And so I really wanted to have Gary on there (“Seven Moons” - Robin Trower/Jack Bruce 2008) because I knew he could add a lot to it, and he did. You don’t need to tell him a lot, he just knows what to do. And that’s my kind of drummer, you know?
JACK BRUCE
“That’s a different kind of drummer then anybody I ever worked with. Obviously Jack (Bruce) had worked with him before. And it was Jack that recommended him. I just think he has another dimension as well, Gary.”
ROBIN TROWER
“Gary's pretty much of an improvisational genius to me. It's like he's always coming up with new stuff; you never know what you're going to get from him. As far as I'm concerned, Gary's one of the greats. He's an amazing drummer, and he's always been special to me because the way he plays the drums within my music is about as close as you can get to the way that I “hear” it. It's always been like that, and I've known him since he was about eighteen. He is one of the most talented and original musicians I have ever had the pleasure of making music with.”
ALLAN HOLDSWORTH
“You should hear the tunes Gary writes, plus the way he plays. The guy's a genius. Gary's a three-dimensional man. I first heard him on an Allan Holdsworth recording in the early '80s. My impression was that this is where I'd like to be, in terms of my overall musical musical presentation through the drumset. Gary looks at music from a three-dimensional creative perspective, in that he's able to view a performance from the keyboardist's, guitarist's, and drummer's position. This means that what's played on the drumset is quite in sync with the musical information emanating from any of the three instruments working in a particular musical presentation ... and he does this rather effortlessly!”
BILLY COBHAM
“Gary is always moving forward as he plays. Even minimalist grooves are alive with purpose. He's the man”.
HANSFORD ROWE (GONGZILLA)
“I remember when I first saw him play, back in 1979, I knew there was something special about that guy. He's bad, man.”
DENNIS CHAMBERS
“The drummer I’ve been looking for all my life.”
ALAN SKIDMORE
“Gary is such a great drummer, and an equally great pianist!”
DAVE WECKL
“Who plays with more passion, heart and heat? Nobody!”
NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN
You don't have to watch Gary Husband at work for long to realise that he's the kind of artist who pours every personal resource he can tap into his intense and passionate music... Husband is now widely credited for the brilliant pianist he is. Remarkable virtuosity allied with sensitivity.
JOHN FORDHAM, THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER, UK
Multi-instrumentalist, multi-genre-busting musician Husband takes a plaintive piano stance on some interesting music composed by an able purveyor of electric fusion. The result is music as ethereal as Keith Jarrett's and grounded as Geoff Keezer's.
C. MICHAEL BAILEY, ALL ABOUT JAZZ, US, August 2001 (On The Things I See - Interpretations Of The Music Of Allan Holdsworth)
Primary Instrument:
Drums
