Born and raised in Los Angeles, Albright became a sought-after session player, recording with Les McCann, pal Patrice Rushen, Howard Hewett, Rodney Franklin, Atlantic Starr, DeBarge and others before landing his first solo recording deal at Atlantic and releasing 1987's Just Between Us.
Over the years Albright has remained a go-to session musician for top pop, R&B, and jazz artists. His credits include work with Jeffrey Osborne, Quincy Jones, Anita Baker, Peabo Bryson, Whitney Houston, Patti LaBelle, Teena Marie and many others. He has also been featured in a number of TV bands, including the Grammy Awards, American Idol, and others.
Albright explained that he is greatly inspired by gospel music: "I've had the pleasure of playing with a lot of gospel artists over the years: BeBe & CeCe Winans and the Winans and Helen Baylor and I've backed up Yolanda Adams, and just several artists in different situations. It's just a music that really moves me, I'm very, very touched by gospel music."
Of the many magic moments he's had on stage, he treasures a memory of playing alongside President Bill Clinton at a private Democratic fund-raising event held at the Los Angeles home of singer-songwriter/producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. At the event, Clinton approached Albright and commented on his eye-catching saxophones: "Then he takes the mouthpiece cap off and he starts blowing some notes out of my horn. He starts playing some old standard, jazz standard, and he says, 'Come on, Gerald, let's play together.'So I pick up the soprano and here we are playing -- I can't remember the tune, I really wish I could, but anyway. Then the musicians start walking back up on stage and then it turns out to be this 10 to 15-minute jam session with the president. And people got some shots of it and were gracious enough to mail them to me and I was just so appreciative. Definitely something to tell the grandkids."
Albright has also released a total of 10 solo albums, including the March 2006 release, New Beginnings. Albright explained that he likes to keep a mix of musical styles on the set: "I try to make it palatable for smooth jazz radio because I have a lot of traditional jazz in me, I have a lot of blues, R&B. And the smooth jazz thing is just kinda this new thing that's happened in recent years. I consider myself, if I had to categorize myself, as a contemporary jazz artist, which to me kinds brings a union together between traditional jazz and R&B."
By: Janine Coveney
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