Jack Gregg is an American jazz

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

player. He grew up in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, where he started playing the bass at the age of 15. In 1961 he joined the

Claude Thornhill Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You". Early years Thornhill was the son of J. Chester Thornhill ...

Orchestra and toured with the band for two years. In 1964 he moved to New York City, where he studied with

Frederick Zimmermann Frederick Zimmermann (May 18, 1906 – August 3, 1967) was an American double bassist and teacher. He played in the New York Philharmonic from 1930 to 1966 and taught at the Juilliard School, Mannes School of Music, Columbia University, Manhattan ...

and played in

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

's band. He played in a trio led by harpist Daphne Hellman. In addition to jazz, their repertoire ranged from "the baroque of Bach, Scarlatti, Corelli and Couperin through the lush music of Tchaikovsky, Strauss and Debussy, to arrangements of contemporary composers such as the Beatles and

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is an American retired singer-songwriter. She was one of the first female artists in the United States to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 ...

. In 1971 Gregg,

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

, Bob Moses,

Harold Vick Harold Vick (April 3, 1936 – November 13, 1987) was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Biography Harold Vick was born on April 3, 1936, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. At the age of 13, he was given a clarinet by his uncle, Prince Rob ...

and

Juma Santos Juma Santos, also known as Jumma Santos (December 27, 1948 – September 1, 2007) was a percussionist known for his extensive work over four decades with African music, Caribbean music, jazz, fusion and R&B artists. Born James R. Riley, he wa ...

formed

Compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

, a

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

band. Compost made two albums for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, '' Take Off Your Body'' in 1971 and ''Life is Round'' in 1973. In an interview in 2000

Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...

recalled that he had given his acoustic bass to Gregg in 1971, after having switched to electric bass. In 1976 Gregg left the United States and subsequently lived in Europe, eventually settling in Paris. He toured with

Gunter Hampel Gunter Hampel (born 31 August 1937) is a German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist, and composer. He became dedicated to free jazz in the 1960s, developing a record label (Birth Records) and working with Jeanne Lee, ...

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongsi ...

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...

, and

Joe Lee Wilson Joe Lee Wilson (December 22, 1935 – July 17, 2011) was an American jazz singer from Bristow, Oklahoma, who lived in Europe since 1977. Biography Part African-American and part Creek Native American, John Fordham"Joe Lee Wilson obituary: El ...

, among others, and has appeared on many recordings. He played on

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist and songwriter. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering dee ...

's recording ''Golden Lady'', which was recorded in Paris in 1980 while Gregg was touring as part of Marion Brown's

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...

. In 2005 he visited

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

to play at the

B 018 B 018, also pronounced in French B Zero Dix-Huit, is a nightclub that was established in 1994 in Beirut, Lebanon. History In the 1980s while Lebanon was still amidst war, Naji Gebran believed in music as therapy to ease the stress of the war. He ...

nightclub in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. While there he met

Walid Gholmieh Walid Georges Gholmieh (; 1938 – 7 June 2011) was a Lebanese conductor and composer. He was the director of the '' Le Conservatoire libanais national supérieur de musique'' or The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music. He was consider ...

and

Ziad Rahbani Ziad Rahbani (, born 1956) is a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He is the son of Fairouz, one of Lebanon and the Arab world's most famous singers, and Assi Rahbani, one of the founders of modern Arabic music ...

and in the same year he moved to Beirut, where he set up the double bass program at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music and played in the

Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra L’Orchestre Symphonique National du Liban (The Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra) was founded in late 1999 in Beirut under the guidance of Dr. Walid Gholmieh and the management of the Conservatoire Libanais (Lebanese National Higher Conservato ...

. Gregg, pianist Arthur Satyan and drummer Steve Phillips formed a trio called ''Three Wheel Drive'' that played "authentic jazz" in Lebanon from 1996 until 2004. In 2005 Gregg returned to Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Jack Living people American jazz double-bassists American expatriates in France 1938 births