Towards The Sun by Michael Gregory

Among Michaels early influences were Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Son House, Joni Mitchell and Igor Stravinsky. His father exposed him to Wes Montgomery, Mahalia Jackson, Les Paul, Mary Ford, and early George Benson, and Michael's musical destiny began to take shape.Progressive improvised music composer and trumpeter, Wadada Leo Smith, influenced Gregory to look beyond the boundaries of rock, folk and mainstream jazz, and soon Michael was playing avant-garde music with Smith and such other notables as pianist Anthony Davis, saxophonists Julius Hemphill, David Murray and Oliver Lake. During this period, Gregory notes, "I learned that it was ok to try different things, to experiment. If I had a song that was going one way, it was all right to make it go in another direction or to add diverse elements. I've allowed myself to be creatively and stylistically liberated." Gregory produced a series of stand out creative music recordings, including "Clarity, Circle, Triangle, Square", "Karmonic Suite", "Gifts" and "Heart and Center". Rolling Stone magazine raved, "By the time (Gregory) was twenty-one he was already one of the most original jazz guitarists to emerge since the sixties." Michael's unique style and innovations have changed the face of jazz guitar and influenced many other very well known guitarists and musicians in many genres of music. As had David Bowie and others before him, Michael changed his name in 1982, to Michael Gregory, to avoid confusion with another artist who shared his name. It was during this period that Michael's career began to take off. Living in New York, he soon became known as a master guitarist who could transcend musical genres with ease, who could also sing, write songs and produce recordings.Gregory worked with Mick Jagger, Steve Winwood, Walter Becker, Nona Hendryx, and in 1983, signed with Island records and recorded his first pop/rock album "Situation X" with master-producer and Chic guitarist, Nile Rogers and bassist Bernard Edwards. Singer, Al Jarreau, quickly picked up and recorded one of Michael's songs from the album, "No Ordinary Romance" for his "L is for Lover" (released 1986 Warner Brothers Records). Gregory went on to record and produce more crisp, pop recordings, including "What To Where" 1987 (BMG/RCA Records), "RED" (GOLDEN Records) 2000 and "Towards the Sun" (GOLDEN Records) 2003, however all of his music remains firmly rooted in progressive creative sensibilities and a fertile stylistic amalgam.Michael is a vibrant, politically involved, communally and spiritually active artist. He has initiated and participated in many events, to benefit food pantries, the homeless, victims of natural disasters, ongoing programs to aid inner-city youth and various other charitable efforts. He is actively concerned with spreading the word about the peak oil situation, the need for political changes here at home, ending poverty, energy conservation, organic farming, global warming and the urgency of moving towards alternative and renewable sources of energy.Michael continues to amaze audiences with his exceptional performances. He performs with fiery aplomb. He is fertile and relevant as an innovative jazz guitarist and as a potent singer/songwriter. He is currently composing, writing, producing, teaching, collaborating and touring (solo and with various ensembles).

Performed and/or Recorded With

Julius Hemphill, Mick Jagger, Oliver Lake, Will Calhoun, David Murray, Pheeroan aKLaff, Bernard Edwards, Jabali Billy Hart, Buster Williams, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Winwood, Walter Becker, Kenwood Dennard, Anthony Davis, Jack Dejohnette, Anton Fig, Melle Mel, Omar Hakim, Jerome Harris, Eddie Henderson, David Sancious, Louie Rozier, Marcus Miller, Willie Croes, Elisa Rego, Nile Rodgers, Raymond Jones, Gene Calvin Weston, Jerry Marotta, Mark Helias, Jay Hoggard, Nona Hendryx, Ed Blackwell, Steve Thorton, Anthony Jackson, Gary Bartz, Tony Thompson, Sammy Figueroa, Kermit Driscoll, Marty Ehrlich, Karl Berger, Ingrid Berger, Henry Threadgill, Baikida Carroll, Carlos Santana, Vernon Reid, Anthony Braxton and many others. Check out some recent MG guitar tracks at http://www.myspace.com/zhoskymusic

Recordings (selected)

"TOWARDS THE SUN" - GOLDEN Records

"RED"- GOLDEN Records

"THE WAY WE USED TO DO" - Tiptoe, Mesa/Bluemoon /Enja Records

"WHAT TO WHERE" - RCA/BMG Records

"SITUATION-X" - Island Records

"COWBOYS, CARTOONS AND ASSORTED CANDY" - Enja Records

"HEART AND CENTER" - Arista Records

"GIFTS" - Arista Records

"KARMONIC SUITE" - IAI Records

"CLARITY, CIRCLE, TRIANGLE, SQUARE" - ESP Records

"WILDFLOWER LOFT JAZZ SERIES" - Knitting Factory Records

WITH OTHERS:

'16 ELEPHANTS" - STEPHEN ALLEN

"SNEAKING INTO MY DREAMS" - DAVID WEIDENFELD

"SHINE" - OLIVER LAKE

"LIFE DANCE OF IS" - OLIVER LAKE

"HOLDING TOGETHER" - OLIVER LAKE

"ZAKI" - OLIVER LAKE

"WILDFLOWER LOFT JAZZ SERIES" W/ANTHONY BRAXTON

"WILDFLOWER LOFT JAZZ SERIES" - W/OLIVERLAKE

"THE HEAT" - NONA HENDRYX

Video/Concert (Selected)

Appeared on MTV, PBS and other video networks,

"Can't Carry You" from "Situation-X" on Island Records.

"Adventures in Success" w/Will Powers and Meatloaf for Island Records.Cabarets and theater performances with Ntozake Shange, Jessica Hagedorn, and Thulani Davis-Jarmon

(Joseph Papp's Shakespeare Public Theater) NYC

Appeared in "Moving Beyond the Madness" curated by playwright, George Wolfe (New York Public Theater).

Various venues USA, Canada, Japan, Europe,

too numerous to list

Reviews (Selected)

"Michael Gregory's high tenor voice calls to mind Smokey Robinson, Sting or Ben Harper as it flows with his guitar riffs...He doesn't back away from the difficult and sometimes raw themes connected with love and loss. Lays bare the sinews of human emotion. Gregory's honesty and hypnotic sound mixes are unabashedly mellow."

--The Advocate

"A highly distinctive and beautiful CD of originals...his own unique style that synthesizes jazz, pop and soul...filled with romantic longing and smoldering passion...he creates a new musical genre that could be called New Age R&B."

--Music Revue

"One of the most lyrical musicians working today...singularly personal and arresting and one of contemporary music's few genuine poets... Gregory's daring, darting vocal is so serene yet intense that one is hard-put naming a contemporary vocalist of similar grace and power."

--Down Beat

"Take Bowie's sophistication, add Prince's flamboyance, and mix with plenty of originality. Michael Gregory writes crisp, vibrant songs, and sings them like it's a matter of life and death."

--Trouser Press

"Gregory's voice recalls vintage Prince, Curtis Mayfield and Aaron Neville...There's little doubt that Gregory remains a stringman supreme."

--Sunday Republican

"At a certain point Gregory comes spinning out of an emotional wringer, and takes a beautifully berserk guitar solo. The dynamics are unbeatably exhilarating."

--Record

"Gregory has that rare combination of virtuosity and versatility, able to play the guitar whiz...then slip easily into hugely commercial cuts. Michael Gregory is, quite simply, the business."

--Q

"By the time he was twenty-one he was already one of the most original jazz guitarist to emerge since the Sixties."

--Rolling Stone

"Gregory may be a songwriter first - but he's a songwriter with a guitar in his hand !"

--Guitar Player

"The songs...realize Michael Gregory's own theoretical musings about the fertile musical possibilities created when applying blues and jazz sensibilities to rock."

--Spin

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