Gigi Gryce

Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce
Background information
Birth name	George General Grice Jr.
Also known as	Basheer Quisim
Born	(1925-11-28)November 28, 1925 Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
Died	March 14, 1983(1983-03-14) (aged 57) Pensacola, Florida
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, arranger, composer, educator
Instrument(s)	Alto saxophone, flute
Website	www.gigigryce.com

Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.

While his performing career was relatively short, much of his work as a player, composer, and arranger was quite influential and well-recognized during his time. However, Gryce abruptly ended his jazz career in the 1960s. This, in addition to his nature as a very private person, has resulted in very little knowledge of Gryce today. Several of his compositions have been covered extensively ("Minority", "Social Call", "Nica's Tempo") and have become minor jazz standards. Gryce's compositional bent includes harmonic choices similar to those of contemporaries Benny Golson, Tadd Dameron^[1] and Horace Silver. Gryce's playing, arranging, and composing are most associated with the classic hard bop era (roughly 1953–1965). Composer of softer, more poetic music who discovered a friendly environment in Hard-Bop. ^[2] He was a well-educated composer and musician, and wrote some classical works as a student at the Boston Conservatory. As a jazz musician and composer he was very much influenced by the work of Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.^{[3][page needed]}