Rozelle Gayle

Rozelle Ivory Gayle, Jr. (February 24, 1919 – December 6, 1986) was an American jazz pianist, comic entertainer and actor.

Born in Chicago, he studied at the American Conservatory of Music before working as a pianist with Roy Eldridge's band, recording with them in 1943.[1][2] A follower of Art Tatum, he moved to southern California in 1948, and started performing as a solo act in clubs. In 1953 he had a residency in Santa Ana, California. A review in Jet magazine described his "boogie-to-Bach repertoire" and claimed he was being hailed as "the new Fats Waller".[2] He recorded several tracks for the Combo label in the mid-1950s, including some using the name Paul Preston.[1]

In 1958, he recorded the album Like, Be My Guest – An Evening With Rozelle Gayle for Mercury Records. The album combined jazz with hipster comedy.[3] He also recorded with Benny Carter in 1964.[1] He released a second album, Sex Cracks, on the Dooto label in 1967; the album was promoted as "America's maddest album yet", containing "super sidesplitting sex-humor galore!"[4] Gayle also acted in several movies, including The Devil's Daughter (1973), Coast to Coast, The Man with Bogart's Face (both 1980), and Honkytonk Man (1982).[5]

He died of cancer in Los Angeles in 1986, aged 67.[6]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bob Eagle, Eric LeBlanc, Blues: A Regional Experience, ABC-CIO, 2013, p.65
  2. 1 2 "West Coast Hails Pianist-Singer Called The 'New Fats Waller'", Jet, 3 September 1953, pp.56-57
  3. ↑ "Like, Be My Guest – An Evening With Rozelle Gayle", DustyGroove.com. Retrieved 16 September 2015
  4. ↑ Billboard, 13 May 1967, p.20
  5. ↑ Rozelle Gayle, IMdB.com. Retrieved 16 September 2015
  6. ↑ "Service Set Today for Entertainer Rozelle Gayle", LA Times, 11 December 1986. Retrieved 16 September 2015
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