Onaje Allan Gumbs

Onaje Allan Gumbs (born Allan Bentley Gumbs, September 3, 1949 – April 6, 2020) was a New York–based pianist, composer, and bandleader.

Early life and career Gumbs was born in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City, to parents who had immigrated to the United States from the Caribbean. Gumbs' mother was from Montserrat, while his father, a New York City police officer, was from Anguilla. He was the nephew of Hubert Harrison's daughter-in-law. As a child, Gumbs was fascinated by the film and television music of Henry Mancini. Gumbs graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia, and during his years there was a member of a student-organized jazz ensemble.

In 1971, Leroy Kirkland introduced Gumbs to the Detroit guitarist Kenny Burrell, to whom Onaje gave a demo tape. The following day, Gumbs received a call to play with Burrell at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. This work led to further performances with major jazz musicians such as bassist Larry Ridley as well as The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra. During the early 1970s, Gumbs replaced Nat Adderley, Jr. in a contemporary jazz ensemble called Natural Essence, which included during these years Buddy Williams and T. S. Monk (drums and percussion), bassist Alex Blake, and trombonist Earl McIntyre.

Gumbs adopted the name Onaje in the early 1970s; it means "the sensitive one". He met his future wife, Sandra Wright, in 1971 during a short teaching engagement he took in Buffalo, New York. The two wed later in the decade and remained married until Gumbs' death in 2020. Later in his career he worked extensively with Ronald Shannon Jackson, and in 2013, following Jackson's death, Gumbs recorded a solo piano album consisting of improvisations on Jackson's compositions. Later in his life, he taught at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Manhattan and the Litchfield Jazz Camp in Connecticut.

Discography

As leader

Main source:

As sideman With Nat Adderley Don't Look Back (SteepleChase, 1976) Hummin' (Little David, 1976) With T. K. Blue Follow the North Star (JaJa, 2008) With Betty Carter The Betty Carter Album (Bet-Car Productions, 1976) With Norman Connors Dark of Light Love from the Sun Saturday Night Special You Are My Starship Invitation Mr. C Eternity With Carlos Garnett Black Love (Muse, 1974) With Toninho Horta Moonstone (Verve Forecast, 1989) Foot On The Road (Verve, 1994) With Ronald Shannon Jackson Decode Yourself (Island, 1985) With Bennie Maupin Slow Traffic to the Right Moonscapes With Cecil McBee Mutima (Strata-East, 1974) With Mark Mosley TLC (Mark Mosley, 2012) With Avery Sharpe Running Man (JKNM, 2011) Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman (JKNM, 2013) With Woody Shaw The Moontrane (Muse, 1974) Rosewood (Columbia, 1977) Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard (Columbia, 1978) Woody III (Columbia, 1979) With John Stubblefield Prelude (Storyville, 1978) With Charles Sullivan Genesis (Strata-East, 1974) With Lenny White Venusian Summer Big City