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Profiles In Music
Greg Abate

Greg is awesome in person! "When you see Greg perform, you can feel the frequencies vibrate through every cell of your body. It is a sexy high"--Andrea Clifton

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Greg Abate has received accolades for his performances at the JVC Festival in Manhattan and the Newport Jazz Festival in addition to the festivals at San Jose and Monterey. He has also performed at prestigous festivals inFrance, Spain and Canada. It is also noteworthy that he has performed and given jazz clinics for the past two years at The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. He has become a steady fixture in the New York club scene. Greg has also received wide acclaim at clubs in all the major cities. Occasionally, he teams up with Claudio Roditi or Richie Cole for some of these gigs. Innovations in jazz has been at the forefront of his musical abilities as a saxophonist and composer.His interpretation of bop, straight ahead jazz, and Brazillian music has been one step ahead of his contemporaries. You sense this at his live concerts, but that talent also flows from his many CDs. Greg toured for two years with Ray Charles in the seventies, then left to join The Artie Shaw Band under the direction of one of his mentors, Dick Johnson. Greg was asked to give a brief explanation of what some people call jazz And bop. He replied, "If someone is playing a lot of notes and it is not melodic, it sounds disjointed and is not real bop or jazz. I have been told that my music is logical and very melodic. You have to be yourself, but you must play melodically. There is no other way to play! I also love Brazillian music and always include some on my gigs." One of Greg's passions is to instill a desire for young people to make a commitment to jazz. That is why he conducts jazz clincs throughout the country.

On this page I'll include reviews of the shows I've seen by this band, both recently and in years past. I'll also include reviews that others send me. Here's an example of a format I might use:

Mission to Moscow Tour

Greg brought his unique jazz styling to Moscow, and introduced Russian jazz clubs to what is happening in the states. He then proceeded to The Republic of Georgia, and was featured saxophonist at the International Jazz Festival in Tbilisi. Abate is the perfect good will ambassador for the USA.

Greg's Gigs

Greg's Jazz Dates---- June 23, 24, & 25 The Elkhart Jazz Festival, Elkhart, IN---- June 30 Jazz Masters, Providence, RI--- July 12 to July 26 Guest artist, European tour with the Menlo Atherton High School Band--- August 2 Garden City Gazebo, Cranston, RI, 6:30-8:00pm--- August 3 The Towers, Narragansett, RI with guest Dick Johnson, 8:00pm--- August 12 Round Top Center for the Arts, Damariscotta, ME with Dick Johnson--- August 19 The Lobster Pot, Bristol, RI with Diamond Centofanti, 9:00pm---- August 25 The Odeum Theater, East Greenwich, RI, 8:00pm---- September 2 Chan?Woonsocket, RI, 8:00pm&10:00pm---- September 16 Cav, Providence, RI, 9:30pm---- September 23 Caf?80 Jazz, Hartford, CT, 9:30pm with Nick Brignola---- October 20,21,and 22 Texas Jazz Festival, Corpus Christi, Texas---- November 4 Butler Hospital, Providence, RI with Dan Moretti, 8:00pm---- November 11 Cav, Providence, RI, 9:30pm--- December 9 Cav, Providence, RI, 9:30pm--- December 10 The Sarasota Jazz Club Concert Series, Sarasota, FL----- 2001----- January 27, 01 Cav, Providence, RI, 9:30pm