CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Larry Gray is a highly regarded bassist who has played with many legends of jazz music. But playing on the “Made in Chicago” project with drummer Jack DeJohnette, with whom he is about to embark on a European tour, is “a career high.”
Gray, a professor of jazz studies at the University of Illinois School of Music, was tapped by DeJohnette to play with him at the 2013 Chicago Jazz Festival.
“For a bass player to be called by Jack DeJohnette, one of the greatest drummers in jazz history, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Gray said.
A live recording of the Chicago Jazz Festival performance, titled “Made in Chicago,” was released this spring, and the “Made in Chicago” ensemble played a concert at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis in March to celebrate the release of the recording.
The group (minus woodwind player Henry Threadgill, who is busy with his own projects) leaves the second week of July for Europe, where they’ll play the North Sea (Netherlands), Gent (Belgium), Molde (Norway) and Budapest (Hungary) jazz festivals. After their return, the complete group (including Threadgill) will play the Newport (Rhode Island) Jazz Festival on Aug. 1.
DeJohnette brought together three musicians he played with early in his career in Chicago, and who were founding members of the Association of Advancement for Creative Musicians, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Although Gray has not been part of the AACM, he has played with DeJohnette before, the first time for a six-night gig at the Jazz Showcase in 1994.
“We have a great connection. Playing with him has been incredible,” Gray said of DeJohnette.
“I just have a deep personal affinity for Jack DeJohnette, for his musical presence,” Gray continued, describing him as open, with a wide-ranging focus. “He likes to go in so many different directions. It’s really about the music being played and what’s appropriate to it. It’s essential to not have any kind of agenda.”
Gray has a varied musical repertoire himself. His first instrument as a child was the accordion. He also learned guitar and piano, and didn’t take up the bass until he was 20. He later studied cello.
He continued to study classical music even while playing jazz because he didn’t want to get pigeonholed in Chicago’s eclectic musical environment. Cellist Karl Fruh and Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal bass Joseph Guastafeste were his primary mentors.
As a student, Gray was principal bass of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, also played on several occasions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and was the featured bassist in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of “Amistad.”
He also has played extensively at the Jazz Showcase and “just soaked it all up. It was my school, my chance to connect with the best musicians in Chicago.”
Gray is part of two long-standing jazz trios: the Larry Coryell Trio, with Larry Coryell on guitar and Paul Wertico on drums; and, from 1998-2010, the Ramsey Lewis Trio. He plays with numerous other jazz musicians, as well as leading his own trio and recording his compositions on five solo CDs.
The music played by the “Made in Chicago” group is largely free improvisation, and rehearsals for the upcoming tour were about the musicians tuning into one another, and the give-and-take of the group.
“The reflexes of this group are really finely tuned,” Gray said. “It’s not about the paper (composition) so much, like trying to bring a classical score to life. We’re trying to bring each other to life. It’s really in the moment.”
Editor’s note: To reach Larry Gray, email lwgray@illinois.edu.
Click here to listen to a solo bass performance by Larry Gray, from a concert by the Larry Gray Trio.
