David "Dave" Gelly MBE (born 28 January 1938) is a British jazz critic and musician. A long-standing contributor to newspaper The Observer, he was honoured at the 1999 British Jazz Awards as "Jazz Writer of the Year". Gelly is a jazz saxophonist and broadcaster, presenting a number of shows for BBC Radio 2 including Night Owls for much of the 1980s.
Biography Early life Gelly was born in Bexleyheath, Kent, on 28 January 1938, and grew up in south London.Chilton, John (ed.), "GELLY, 'Dave' David", in Who's Who of British Jazz: 2nd Edition, Continuum, 2004, p. 147."Authors: Dave Gelly", Jazz Journal. Retrieved 28 April 2019. He attended St Dunstan's College, and won a scholarship to read English under F. R. Leavis at Downing College, Cambridge."Cambridge Tripos Results", The Times, 23 June 1960.
Career Gelly played with Art Themen,Art Themen biography. David Taylor's British jazz website. Retrieved 28 July 2013. . George Walden and Lionel Grigson in the Cambridge University band, and from the mid-1960s co-led his own quartets and quintets with Frank Ricotti, with Jeff Scott, and with Barbara Thompson.Chilton, John (2004), Who's Who of British Jazz 2nd Edition, p. 147. Continuum, via Google Books. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
Gelly was a member of the New Jazz Orchestra, directed by Neil Ardley, which also featured Ian Carr, Jon Hiseman, Barbara Thompson, Mike Gibbs, Don Rendell, and Trevor Tomkins.
Gelly was also a teacher during the 1960s and 1970s at William Penn School, Dulwich.
Discography As leader/co-leader 2001: Strike A Light (Mainstem Records) As sideman 1968: Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe – The New Jazz Orchestra 1971: A Symphony of Amaranths – Neil Ardley 1973: Mike Taylor Remembered (with Jon Hiseman, Barbara Thompson, Ian Carr, Henry Lowther, Norma Winstone, Ron Mathewson, Stan Sulzmann, Alan Branscombe and Chris Pyne, among others) 2003: John Williams's Tenorama (Spotlite Records)
Publications The Giants of Jazz (Schirmer Books, 1986) with Miles Kington Masters of Jazz Saxophone: The Story of the Players and Their Music (2000) Stan Getz: Nobody Else But Me (2002) Being Prez: The Life and Music of Lester Young (Equinox, 2007) An Unholy Row (Equinox, 2014)
References
External links Official website