Randle Gelispie, "Randy" or "Uncle G", is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...

, and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. Born in 1935 in

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, Randy Gelispie began playing drums at a young age. He played clubs while still in his teens, technically illegal for him to even be there inside some of them. Everyone around knew who he was though, and there are stories of police even helping him carry his equipment. Always mentored and protected by the older musicians around him, Randy met and/or heard almost every major jazz musician, from the peak years of jazz history in America. Gelispie is currently teaching at the Jazz Studies drum department at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

College of Music. He came to MSU before the formation of the Jazz Studies program in 1991, to work with a combined Arts and Music department. Former Lincoln Center bassist, Rodney Whitaker, upon founding the jazz studies program, brought Gelispie on as one of the first professors in this major jazz education department. At that time, Gelispie had been a professional jazz drummer since he started playing with a 10-piece band in the ninth grade in Ohio. He traveled for over thirty years, beginning with

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

. He later joined

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/ hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of hi ...

, who Randy heard as a teenager. He also played with

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Ge ...

Lou Donaldson Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily i ...

, and

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

. In the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

area, he has performed with Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie,

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

, Oliver Jones, O. C. Smith,

Al Hibbler Albert George Hibbler (August 16, 1915 – April 24, 2001) was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blue ...

, and

Geri Allen Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh ...

. In addition, Gelispie played drums with blues musicians, including

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

, and

Big Maybelle Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single "Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. Childhood and musical background Born in J ...

. Locally, where he lives in Lansing, Michigan, he has played with a vast number of jazz musicians, some who come to MSU as visiting instructors in the Jazz Studies Department. Friends and collaborators include Donald Walden,

Marcus Belgrave Marcus Batista Belgrave (June 12, 1936 – May 24, 2015) was an American jazz trumpet player from Detroit, born in Chester, Pennsylvania. He recorded with numerous musicians from the 1950s onwards. Belgrave was inducted into the class of 2017 ...

, Perry Hughes,

Rodney Whitaker Rodney Whitaker (born February 22, 1968) is an American jazz double bass player and educator. Biography Born in Detroit, Whitaker attended Wayne State University, and studied with Robert Gladstone, principal bass with the Detroit Symphony Orc ...

Gary Schunk Gary may refer to: * Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;U ...

Rick Roe Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

Marion Hayden Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

, Bill Heid, and

Andrew Speight Andrew Speight (23 March 1964 – 1 December 2022) was an Australian-born American jazz saxophonist. His band, the Andrew Speight Quartet, won the 1999 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album with their self titled album. Speight had previously fronted ...

. In 2013, Gelispie was named Jazz Alliance of Mid-Michigan "Honoree," at an event in Lansing, MI. See short film created for that event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRSCKLxZbx8&list=PLh_fFODr0hsW6ZmHEt1M_OkCNTaHPvWWU&index=3

Discography

With

*'' Night Letter'' (

Prestige Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett ...

, 1969) With

Gene Ludwig Gene Ludwig (September 4, 1937 – July 14, 2010) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues organist, who recorded as a leader as well as a sideman for Sonny Stitt, Arthur Prysock, Scott Hamilton, Bob DeVos, and Leslie West, and others. Ludwig ...

*''Organ Out Loud'' (

Mainstream Records Mainstream Records was an American record company and independent record label founded by producer Bob Shad in 1964. Mainstream's early releases were reissues from Commodore Records. Its catalogue grew to include Bob Brookmeyer, Maynard Fergus ...

, 1964) *''The Hot Organ'' (Time Records, 1967) *''Back on the Track'' (Loose Leaf, 1998) *'' Young Guns'' (HighNote, 2014) with

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...

With Donald Walden *''A Portrait of You '' (Fanta-Si Music, 1992) With Bill Heid *''This is My Rifle'' ((Westside, 1996)) *''Bop Rascal'' (

Savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

, 1997) *''Wet Streets'' (Savant, 1999) *''Dark Secrets'' (Savant, 2000) *''Da Girl'' (Savant, 2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gelispie, Randy American jazz musicians Musicians from Akron, Ohio Living people Michigan State University faculty Jazz musicians from Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)