Gloria Coleman 

WOMEN IN JAZZ

  1. Toshiko Akiyoshi
  2. Geri Allen
  3. Andrews Sisters
  4. Angela Andrews
  5. Lil Harden Armstrong
  6. Dorothy Ashby
  7. Pearl Bailey
  8. Beverly Barkley
  9. Karen Briggs
  10. Ruth Brown
  11. Diane Cameron
  12. Betty Carter
  13. Joan Cartwright
  14. Kim Clarke
  15. Gloria Coleman
  16. Alice Coltrane
  17. Sasha Daltonn
  18. Dorothy Donegan
  19. Ella Fitzgerald
  20. Gloria Galante
  21. Rita Graham
  22. Jace Harnage
  23. Billie Holiday
  24. Bertha Hope
  25. Shirley Horn
  26. Lena Horne
  27. Alberta Hunter
  28. Jus' Cynthia
  29. Sandra Kaye
  30. Emme Kemp
  31. Vinnie Knight
  32. Lavelle
  33. Peggy Lee
  34. Abbey Lincoln
  35. Melba Liston
  36. Gloria Lynne
  37. Tania Maria
  38. Marian McPartland
  39. Carmen McRae
  40. Mabel Mercer
  41. M'zuri
  42. Sandy Patton
  43. Trudy Pitts
  44. Cheryl Porter
  45. Shirley Scott
  46. Nina Simone
  47. Bessie Smith
  48. Dakota Staton
  49. Carol Sudhalter
  50. Monnette Sudler
  51. Sarah Vaughn
  52. Dinah Washington
  53. Ethel Waters
  54. Mary Lou Williams

Gloria Coleman, organist, pianist, bassist and vocalist is a native of New York.  She studied the violin, piano and bass, and began her career in 1952 as a bassist with some great pianists, including Sarah McLawler, Myrtle Young in Philadelphia, and Sony Thompson in Chicago.  She has been associated through the years with Lou Donaldson, Willis Jackson, Etta Jones, Jack McDuff, Jimmy Scott, Sony Stitt, Matthew Gee, and Cecil Payne.  She played bass less frequently as she began to devote more time to and interest in the piano and organ.  

Ms. Coleman developed her own style on the Hammond Organ, following in the footsteps of both "Wild" Bill Davis, who used his left hand and feet to emulate the string bass sound, and Jimmy Smith, who added right hand solos that emulated horn lines, making it possible for the organist and drummer to create the full sound of the jazz band.  She got tips from Smith while working at her organ technique at the famous Harlem nightclub Small’s.  

In the early 1960s, after performing for a time as a pianist and organist with Tiny Grimes in Sherry’s, an Atlantic City club, she returned to Sonny Stitt’s band as his organist, performing at such New Your venues as the Village Gate.  An early organ combo featured Booker Ervin on tenor saxophone and Carmen Lacaria on drums.  Her husband, saxophonist George Coleman, played an important part in her musical career.  

To develop her piano technique, she and her husband practiced together in their home with Booker Little.  She writes and arranges her own music, as well as music for others.  Examples of Ms. Coleman’s songs written for or recorded by various artists include "You Make Me Want to Dance" (Joe Lee Wilson, Irene Reid), "I Got A Claim on Fame"  (written as a theme song for Irene Reid); and "There’s a Way" (Hank Crawford).  

Ms. Coleman has also written for Bobby Humphrey and 15 songs for Ernestine Anderson.  Many of her works are dedicated to friends and colleagues like Ike Quebec, Melba Liston, Grant Green and Shirley Scott. "Nicole’s Waltz" was written to honor Shirley and Stanley Turrentine’s youngest daughter.  Ms. Coleman’s book Poems and Poetry includes entries about Eddie Jefferson, Horace Silver, Elvin Jones and Gene Ammons, and others.  She recorded Soul Sisters (Impulse, 1963) with guitarist Grant Green, alto saxman Leo Wright, and drummer Polar Roberts. 

Other records featuring her playing and compositions include Soul Talk with Leo Wright (Atlantic Records); Gloria Coleman Sings and Swings (Mainstream), and albums with Hank Crawford, Nat Simpson, and Etta Jones. Ms. Coleman’s latest recording is Dancing on the Moon (Paradise Sounds).  Recent performances have been at such venues as the Monterrey Jazz Organ Festival in tribute to Shirley Scott, the Hot House in Oslo, Norway, in Stockholm, Sweden, Sutton’s in New York, and the Billie Holiday Jazz Festival in Brooklyn, where she was featured with her son, George Coleman, Jr. and his quartet.

Recordings and Links

Gloria Coleman - Verve Records

Organist Gloria Coleman made a pair of soul jazz albums for the Impulse label in the mid-'60s, neither of which is in print at the moment or has been ...
www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist. aspx?ob=per&src=prd&aid=6110 - 24k - Cached - Similar pages

Gloria Coleman Soul Sisters CD

Low prices on Gloria Coleman Soul Sisters CD music album and songs at CDUniverse, the Internets best online store, with reviews, track list, ...
www.cduniverse.com/search/ xx/music/pid/6670793/a/Soul+Sisters.htm - 13k - Cached - Similar pages

Gloria Coleman Discography and Songs at CD Universe

Low prices on Gloria Coleman music at CD Universe, the Internet's best music CD store, with top rated service, Gloria Coleman songs, discography, biography, ...
www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/ artist/Coleman,+Gloria/a/Gloria+Coleman.htm - 11k - Cached - Similar pages

Barnes & Noble.com - Music Search: Gloria Coleman

Search Results. We found 1 item for contributors: Gloria Coleman. ... View all titles on which Gloria Coleman contributed. ...
music.barnesandnoble.com/ search/results.asp?z=y&ctr=72192 - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

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