Gary Bartz


Gary Bartz is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards.

Biography

Bartz was first exposed to jazz as the son of the owners of a jazz nightclub in Baltimore. In 1958 he left Baltimore to study at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop. He worked as a sideman with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln before joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. In 1968, he was a member of McCoy Tyner's band, Expansions.
In mid-1970, he joined Miles Davis' band, performing live at the Isle Of Wight festival in August; and at a series of December dates at The Cellar Door club in Washington, D.C. Portions of these shows were initially released on the 1971 Live-Evil album, with the entire six performance/four night run eventually released in full on the 2005 Cellar Door Sessions box set. He later formed the band Ntu Troop, which combined jazz, funk, and soul.
Bartz was awarded a Grammy for "Best Latin Jazz Performance" for his work on Roy Hargrove's "Habana" at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, and for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group" for For McCoy Tyner's Illuminations at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.
Bartz was awarded the BNY Mellon Jazz 2015 Living Legacy Award, which was presented at a special ceremony at The Kennedy Center.
In 2019, Revive Music and Bartz celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his Another Earth album at Winter Jazzfest in New York City, alongside original member Pharoah Sanders.
He is Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Oberlin College.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Joe Chambers
  • Urban Grooves
With the Rance Allen Group
  • Say My Friend
With Gene Ammons
  • Goodbye
With Roy Ayers
  • Stoned Soul Picnic
With Cindy Blackman
  • The Oracle
With Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
  • Soul Finger Bartz recording debut
  • Hold On, I'm Coming on one track left over from Soul Finger sessions
With Donald Brown
  • Sources of Inspiration
With Kenny Burrell
With Donald Byrd
  • Stepping into Tomorrow
  • Caricatures
With George Cables
  • Shared Secrets
  • Looking for the Light
With Norman Connors
  • Invitation
  • Slewfoot
  • This is Your Life
  • Love from the Sun
  • Dance of Magic: Live at the Nemu Jazz Inn
  • Romantic Journey
  • Saturday Night Special
With Miles Davis
  • On the Crest of the Airwaves
  • The Cellar Door Sessions
  • Live-Evil
  • Bitches Brew Live
  • Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4
  • Live in Europe: Volume One – recorded October 21/22 1971 – released September 2023
With Ray Drummond
  • Vignettes
With Antonio Hart
With Louis Hayes
  • The Crawl
With Heads of State
  • Search for Peace
  • Four in One
With Phyllis Hyman
With Barney McAll
With Jackie McLean
  • Ode to Super
With Grachan Moncur III
  • Exploration
With Alphonse Mouzon
  • Virtue
With Rare Silk
  • New Weave
With Max Roach
  • Members, Don't Git Weary
With Wallace Roney
  • A Place in Time
With Pharoah Sanders
  • Deaf Dumb Blind
With Woody Shaw
  • Blackstone Legacy
  • For Sure!
  • United
With Sphere
  • Sphere
With Charles Tolliver
With Bob Thiele Collective
  • Lion Hearted
With Leon Thomas
  • Precious Energy
With Malachi Thompson
  • Rising Daystar
  • Blue Jazz
With McCoy Tyner
  • Expansions
  • Cosmos
  • Extensions
  • Asante
  • Sama Layuca
  • Focal Point
  • Looking Out
  • Dimensions
  • McCoy Tyner and the Latin All-Stars
  • Illuminations
With Robert Walter
  • Spirit of '70
With Chip White
With John Lee & Gerry Brown
With The Midnight Hour
With Roy Hargrove