Carl Gordon's profile

Carl Gordon Grubbs, alto, soprano and tenor saxophonist - composer, educator, recording artist is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received early extensive training from John Coltrane, who was married to his first cousin, Naima. Through his family, he was close to many of the history-making jazz musicians of the 1950's and 1960's. With his brother, Earl Grubbs, he formed The Visitors, a quintet that recorded four albums for the Muse record company in the early 1970's. Carl Grubbs is a former member of the Julius Hemphill Saxophone Sextet. This group toured the US and Europe performing two productions: Hemphill's Long Tongues: A Saxophone Opera, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Production: Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin: The Promised Land. Mr. Grubbs was a guest soloist at the Philadelphia performance of Reggie Workman's project, African Brass, a tribute to John Coltrane. The Carl Grubbs Quintet performs in major cities in the US. They have also performed in Bogota and Medellin, Columbia, South America and most recently completed a successful eight city tour of Brazil.
Carl Grubbs is the co-founder of Contemporary Arts Inc., a nonprofit arts organization whose purpose is to preserve the art form of jazz through performance and education. The organization's programs Summer Activity Extraordinaire (SAX): Music and Dance Camp has been held on the campus of Loyola College in Maryland for the past 10 years. The Summer Arts Academy: Music (Howard County) is new and provides music and dance education to youth ages 7 - 16.
Carl Grubbs is a member of the MSAC Arts in Education - Artist roster and the MSAC Touring Artist Roster. He has twice been awarded the MSAC Traditions Apprenticeship Award as a jazz master working with an apprentice to pass on the traditions of improvised music. He was selected by MSAC as a showcase artist during the 2006 PAE Conference in Baltimore City. In 2007, Carl Grubbs and Lafayette Gilchrist, under the auspicies of Contemporary Arts Inc. was awarded a Maryland Traditions Project grant to research and record artists that represent Maryland's Jazz Traditions. The artists will record their interpretation of the works of Eubie Blake, Chick Webb, Billie Holiday, Albert Daley and Carl Grubbs.
Currently Carl Grubbs is the Jazz Band Director at St. Paul School in Brooklandville, Maryland. He is the Middle School Jazz Band Director at Friends School. He is the director of the Jazz Band After school program at Bernard Harris Elementary School in Baltimore City.
With all of these activities in which he is involved Carl still performs in Baltimore City and other cities on the east coast of the US.

Discography
Inner Harbor Suite Revisited: A Tribute to Baltimore
Brother Soul, CIMP label, May 2006
Stepping Arount the Giant, CIMP label, 2003
Reflections, B&C Productions, 2002
Live at the BMA: Inner Harbor Suite, B&C Productions 1994
Live at the New Haven Lounge, B&C Productions 1993
Julius Hemphill, Fat Man and The Hard Blues, Black Saint, 1991
Odean Pope, Two Brothers, CIMP Label, 2002

Carl's recordings are available at Amazon.com, CD Baby.com, and local music outlets.

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