John Gilmore

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

John Gilmore (1931 to 1995) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinettist and percussionist. He grew up in Chicago and played clarinet from the age of fourteen. He took up the tenor saxophone during his service in the air force, from 1948 to 1951. In 1952 he toured with the Harlem Globetrotters, in an ensemble with pianist Earl Hines. A year later he met pianist and bandleader Sun Ra, and that determined the rest of his career.

Music and breakthrough

For four decades Gilmore played and recorded almost exclusively with Sun Ra, first in a trio and then in the Sun Ra Arkestra. In the 1950s he led a band with Clifford Jordan, and in 1957 they recorded Blowing in from Chicago for Blue Note, with Horace Silver and Art Blakey among others in the rhythm section. He was also a sideman with Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Paul Bley, Andrew Hill and McCoy Tyner, among others. From 1964 to 1966 he played with Blakey's Jazz Messengers. After Sun Ra's death in 1993 he led the Arkestra until his own death.

Influence

Gilmore played both flexible, clear post-bop and abstract passages with shrill high squeals. John Coltrane, five years older, was impressed and took informal lessons from him in the late 1950s. Chasin' the Trane was inspired in part by Gilmore's sound. That he devoted his life to Sun Ra surprised some, because he could have become a big star. He saw Sun Ra's harmony as a logical continuation of bebop.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1957Blowing in From Chicago
• 1975Turning Point
• 1999For My Father & Frank

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• After Hours: Session 3^NL Reader