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Biography
Onaje Allan Gumbs is one of the industry’s most respected and talented musical collaborators. He has worked for more than 30 years with an illustrious list of jazz,R&B and pop artists. In 1974, he created a special arrangement of “Stella By Starlight”for the New York Jazz Repertory Company as part of a concert honoring Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall. He followed that with performances on albums by such artists as Woody Shaw (Moontrane), Buster Williams (Pinnacle), Cecil McBee (Mutima) and Betty Carter (Betty Carter). In 1975, Onaje joined forces with trumpeter Nat Adderley and his quintet, contributing to the group’s releases on Atlantic and Steeplechase Records.
Nils Winter of Steeplechase, upon hearing Onaje’s solo improvisations, invited the young pianist to record a solo piano album entitled Onaje(1976). In 1978, the Woody Shaw Group, which Onaje contributed as pianist and as one of the composers, won the Down Beat Reader’s Poll for Jazz Group and for best jazz album, Rosewood. The album was later nominated for a Grammy. In 1985, Onaje lent his keyboard work and arrangement to "Lady in My Life" on guitarist Stanley Jordan’s enormously successful debut album, Magic Touch on Blue Note Records. This was the 1st jazz album in history to maintain the #1 spot atop Billboard Magazine’s jazz charts for more than 47 weeks.
