Oklahoma Musicians

Musician

Wardell Gray

Jazz.com, a period Melody Maker profile and the dedicated Wardell Gray chronology identify Gray as born in Oklahoma City in 1921 and as a tenor saxophonist who moved to Detroit as a child.

Musical work

tenor saxophonist; clarinetist. Instruments recorded in the collection: tenor saxophone; clarinet. Genres: jazz; swing; bebop; blues.

Evidence and identity

Birthplace and instrument are supported by both a period source and modern reference/chronology sources.

Wardell Gray

Wardell Gray identity, Oklahoma City birth, tenor saxophone and relocation

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Melody Maker, 17 November 1951

Wardell Gray identity, Oklahoma City birth and instrument

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Wardell Gray biography and chronology

Wardell Gray birth and early Oklahoma/Detroit chronology

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Sources

  1. jazz.com/encyclopedia/gray-wardell-carl-wardell
  2. worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/50s/Melody-Maker-1951-11-17-S-OCR.pdf
  3. wardellgray.org/biography.html