Charlie Gabriel

A member of one the esteemed New Orleans' jazz families, Charlie Gabriel is a venerated saxophonist, clarinetist, and singer. Following his early years in New Orleans in the 1940s, Gabriel came into his own in Detroit where he played with J.C. Heard, Lionel Hampton, and many Motown luminaries. He eventually returned to New Orleans and in 2006 joined the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In 2022, he made his long-awaited solo debut with Eighty Nine. Born in 1932 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Gabriel grew up in a musical family the son of New Orleans drummer and clarinetist Manny Gabriel. He is also the great-grandson of bassist Narcesse Gabriel and grandson of cornetist Martin Gabriel. By age 11, he was playing in his father's Eureka Brass Band, as well as gigging with players like Kid Howard, Kid Sheik, Jim Robinson, and George Lewis. As a teenager, he moved with his family to Detroit, where he continued to perform as a member of his father and uncle Percy Gabriel's ensemble. More gigs followed, including work with Motown regulars like Joe Hunter and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and as a member of drummer J.C. Heard's band. At various times, he also led his own bebop quintet, recorded at Motown, and toured with such luminaries as Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. In 2006, Gabriel became a member of the storied New Orleans institution the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Along with regular touring, he has appeared on several of the group's acclaimed albums, including That's It, So It Is, and A Tuba to Cuba, albums that found the group mixing Crescent City jazz traditions with funk, Latin, and Afro-Cuban sounds. In 2022, Gabriel released Eighty Nine, the first-ever solo album in his 70-plus-year career. An intimate standards album, it featured Gabriel alongside Preservation Hall bassist and bandleader Ben Jaffe, guitarist Joshua Starkman, drummer Walter Harris, and percussionist Djallo Djakate.
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