Gloria Coleman born 24 July 1931

Gloria Coleman (July 24, 1931 - February 17, 2010) was an American organist, pianist, bassist and vocalist.  For many, the history of women on the jazz organ begins and ends with Shirley Scott. Though no other woman matched Ms. Scott’s prominence, there were others who deserved a piece of that small spotlight. One such woman was Gloria Coleman. 

Coleman was a New York native, who as a child studied the piano, violin and bass.  In fact, she began her career in 1952 as a bassist, playing with pianists in the Philadelphia and Chicago areas.  As her interest in the piano and organ grew, her work as a bassist decreased. She got tips from organ legends “Wild Bill” Davis and Jimmy Smith, which helped her develop her foot pedal technique, allowing her to work without a bassist; something Ms. Scott rarely did. She got tips from Smith while working at her organ technique at the famous Harlem nightclub Small’s.  

George Coleman

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.  Like Shirley Scott, Gloria Coleman married a well-known tenor saxophonist: in Ms. Coleman’s case it was George Coleman, a strong player in his own right, who gained most fame for being the “transitional tenor” between Coltrane and Shorter in Miles Davis’ quintet. Their union was musically fruitful, as they would work together, on and off, for the rest of Ms. Coleman’s life. 

To develop her piano technique, she and her husband practiced together in their home with Booker Little.  She composed and arranged 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).  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 honour Shirley and Stanley Turrentine’s youngest daughter.  

                             

Gloria Coleman recorded sporadically.  Her most well-known recording is her first as a leader; Soul Sisters which she made for Impulse in 1963, with Grant Green on guitar, Leo Wright on alto sax and a female drummer named Pola Roberts, who slipped back into obscurity right after this record, in spite of her capable performance.  Critics have called Soul Sisters an “underappreciated gem”. It certainly holds its own alongside the work that Scott, Smith, McDuff and others were doing at that time in the soul jazz idiom.  Green and Wright sound inspired on their solos and Ms. Coleman’s compositions are catchy. She also recorded a gem of an album in 1971, called Sings and Swings Organ, with trumpeter Ray Copeland, guitarist Ted Dunbar and others. 

Gloria returned the favour to Wright, sitting in on his Soul Talk album and composing the minor hit, “State Trooper”.  In more recent years, she recorded some memorable sides with Bobbi Humphrey (City Beat), Nat Simpkins (Cookin’ with Some Barbeque) and Hank Crawford (Groove Master). Coleman’s book Poems and Poetry includes entries about Eddie Jefferson, Horace Silver, Elvin Jones and Gene Ammons, and others. 

Her finest album IMO, also proved to be her last. 2008’s Sweet Missy was a sort of family affair, with George Coleman featured on tenor and her son, George Jr. on drums.  “Dr.” Lonnie Smith also makes a memorable guest appearance, playing piano alongside Gloria’s organ, on “Put ‘em in a Box, Tie ‘em with a Ribbon”.  It’s a very relaxed, but joyous album. The soloists are universally terrific (especially Ms. Coleman, who had grown exponentially over the years) and the band is tight and swinging. Her vocals on the album are frayed but ingratiating with a quality reminiscent of the great Etta Jones. 

Some of her last performances  were 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. 

She died in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, on February 17, 2010, aged 78. Gloria. She left us a musical legacy that is definitely worth exploring. 

(Edited from Curt’s Jazz Café & Women In Jazz)