Name Cal Massey Role Jazz trumpeter | Albums Blues to Coltrane | |
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Died October 25, 1972, New York City, New York, United States Similar People Fred Ho, Clifford Thornton, Archie Shepp, Beaver Harris, Julius Watkins | ||
Cal massey blues to coltrane 1961
Calvin "Cal" Massey (January 11, 1928 – October 25, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.
Contents
- Cal massey blues to coltrane 1961
- Cal massey these are soulful days 1961
- Early life
- Career
- Political life
- Compositions
- Tribute album
- Album
- References
Cal massey these are soulful days 1961
Early life
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Massey studied trumpet under Freddie Webster, and following this played in the big bands of Jay McShann, Jimmy Heath, and Billie Holiday. After that he mainly worked as a composer.
Career
In the late 1950s he led an ensemble with Jimmy Garrison, McCoy Tyner, and Tootie Heath; John Coltrane and Donald Byrd occasionally played with them. In the 1950s he gradually receded from active performance and concentrated on composition; his works were recorded by Coltrane, Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan, Philly Joe Jones, Horace Tapscott and Archie Shepp. Massey played and toured with Shepp from 1969 until 1972. He also performed in The Romas Orchestra with Romulus Franceschini.
Massey died from a heart attack at the age of 44 in New York City, New York. His son, Zane Massey (born 1957), is also a jazz musician.
Political life
Massey's political standpoint was radical and his work is strongly connected with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and '70s. The Black Panther Party were an inspiration for The Black Liberation Movement Suite which he created with Franceschini. The Suite was performed three times at Black Panther benefit concerts. Massey's ideology resulted in him getting blacklisted (or "whitelisted" according to Fred Ho) from major recording companies and only one album was recorded under his name.
Compositions
Some compositions by Massey:
Tribute album
Album
The compositions on the album are his. It was recorded at Nola Penthouse Sound Studio in New York City and distributed by Black Lion Records. The five-track album is described as "...a very honest session with real depth and a rewarding listen". It is the only album recorded under Massey's name.
Other musicians on the album are: