Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) He received two Grammy nominations.
Biography
Tate was born in Hayti, Durham, North Carolina, United States.
Grady Tate's drumming helped to define a particular hard bop, soul jazz and organ trio sound during the mid-1960s and beyond. His slick, layered and intense sound is instantly recognizable for its understated style in which he integrates his trademark subtle nuances with sharp, crisp "on top of the beat" timing (in comparison to playing slightly before, or slightly after the beat).
The Grady Tate sound can be heard prominently on many of the classic Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery albums recorded on the Verve label in the 1960s. On Mark Murphy's album Living Room, Tate shares the vocals on a medley of "Misty" and "Midnight Sun". On the album Threesome, with Monty Alexander and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Tate sings words to Miles Davis's composition "All Blues", aggregated from a number of well-known and standard blues songs as well as to the jazz standard "Weaver of Dreams" (written by Victor Young).
He joined the faculty of Howard University in 1989. He was survived by his wife Vivian and son Grady, Jr.