Jazz Pianist Eddie Gip Noble Releases “In The Lite Of Things” | Avail Now

“That’s
the nature of artistic endeavors, ” Noble says. “You take what you love
and know best, and create something new out of it. I specifically
wanted this to be feel-good music that is melodic, light and buoyant,
and easy-to-listen-to.”

To put this music in historical
perspective, first go back to some of the Seventies sexy R&B artists
such as Teddy Pendergrass and Barry White, and remember the soulful
stylings of their bands, often with romantic string arrangements in the
background. Then, from the same era, take the jazz-rock electric-piano
sound as personified by Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Now have the
solos reflect not only those electric-fusion-days, but also some of the
acoustic-piano greats from the Fifties and Sixties (Oscar Peterson, Gene
Harris, Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck). Top it off with modern melodic
sensibilities developed from listening to a broad array of contemporary
recordings. These are the diverse elements smoothly brought together by
Eddie Gip Noble on his latest album. Often within a single song Noble
will play a solo on acoustic piano followed by another solo on electric
piano.

Noble’s two CDs, on Sonido Noble Records, can be purchased
online at his website (eddiegipnoble.com), major web-stores such as
amazon.com and cdbaby.com, and many digital download locations including
iTunes, Rhapsody and eMusic.

For the album In the Lite of
Things, Noble selected well-known, highly-charted hits (R&B, pop,
rock, jazz and country) from the past five decades and turned them into
instrumental smooth jazz. His wide-ranging song choices include
selections seldom heard in smooth jazz. The material comes from many
genres: rock (Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia”), British
pop (The Beatles’ “Blackbird, ” Peter Gabriel’s “Red Rain, ” Sting’s
Desert Rose, ” Tears for Fears’ “Shout”), R&B/pop (Michael Jackson’s
“This Girl is Mine, ” Vanessa Carlton’s “1, 000 Miles, ” Vanessa
Williams’ “Save the Best for Last”), jazz (Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and
Lucy”) and country (Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors, ” George
Strait’s “Run”). Noble also performs an original (“Don’t Want to Be
Alone Tonight”) co-written with Dee Dee McNeil (who has written for the
Supremes, the Four Tops and Gladys Knight) and sung by Zuri (whose
background includes Chaka Kahn, Brenton Woods, and Noble’s first album).
Another guest on the album is electric guitarist Jim Henken (Bette
Midler, Tony Bennett, Tammy Wynette), who adds a scorching solo on
“Linus and Lucy.”

Gip is one of the few musicians today with such
a wide-ranging history of playing with a huge list of top jazz, blues
and R&B artists, which is why it is a natural transition to bring
such a variety of styles into his own music. In addition to his role as
ace sideman for many stars over several decades, Noble spread his
influence even wider as a composer. He co-wrote the huge hit “Love
T.K.O.” for Teddy Pendergrass and also has had compositions recorded by
Etta James, Brothers Johnson, Hall & Oates, Bette Midler, Regina
Belle, The Nylons, Boz Scaggs, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and Pamela
Williams, among others. Noble’s current music has another link to the
classic sounds of Seventies soul: his co-producer David Williams, who
also plays drums and adds drum-programming on the album, was formerly
was the drummer with The O’Jays and Patti LaBelle.

Noble has
toured extensively playing in the bands of such R&B notables as
Brothers Johnson (serving as musical director as well), Gladys Knight
& The Pips, Patti Austin, Barry White, Shalamar, Mary Wells, the
Marvelettes, Teena Marie, The Drifters, The Platters, Brenton Woods,
Arpeggio, The Jones Girls, Mona Raye Campbell, Munyungo (Stevie Wonder,
Patti LaBelle), Ricky Minor (Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie), Tisha
Campbell (Lenny Kravitz), Gil Askey (Diana Ross, The Temptations) and
others. Gip also has played with top blues artists including Johnny
“Guitar” Watson (as his musical director), Etta James (as her musical
director), Albert Collins and blues-rocker Joe Walsh. In the studio
Noble has recorded with Watson, James, Randy Crawford, Noel Pointer,
Wayne Henderson, David Oliver, Womack & Womack, Shalamar, Stacye
Branche, Charles Brown, Amos Garrett and Hilliard Wilson.

In
addition, Noble has extensive credentials in the jazz field having
performed with Gerald Albright, Plas Johnson (Frank Sinatra, Ella
Fitzgerald), Rahmlee Michael Davis (Earth Wind & Fire, Ramsey
Lewis), Larry Gales (Thelonious Monk, Herbie Mann), Henry “The Skipper”
Franklin (Freddie Hubbard, Archie Shepp), Andy Simpkins (The Three
Sounds, Sarah Vaughan), James Gadson (Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders),
Pamela Williams (Teddy Pendergrass, Patti LaBelle), Linda Hopkins
(Jackie Wilson), Debra Laws (Dianne Reeves, Ronnie Laws), Ronald Muldrow
(Eddie Harris, Maceo Parker), Hilliard Wilson (Dionne Warwick, Paul
Taylor), Ernie Andrews (Harry James Orchestra, Gene Harris), and others.

Noble
has appeared in numerous films as an actor playing a musician – the
Clint Eastwood-directed “Bird” (the Charlie Parker biography), “City
Heat” with Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, “Animal House” in Chuck Berry’s
band, “Jo Jo Dancer” with Richard Pryor, “The Nutty Professor” with
Eddie Murphy, “Against All Odds” with Jeff Bridges, “All of Me” with
Steve Martin, “Inspector Gadget” and “What’s Love Got To Do With It”
(The Tina Turner Story). Gip also made appearances in television shows
such as “Dallas, ” “Knot’s Landing” and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s “12
Minutes of Fame” and “Watching Ellie.”

Born Gip Edward Noble, Jr.
in Chicago, his earliest musical memory is his father playing piano
frequently in their home. “My dad played a lot of jazz and standards,
and began giving me lessons when I was four. I lived at the corner of
43rd and South Park, and right there was the 400 Liquor Store that
played jazz loud all day long. I was too young to get into the clubs,
but I remember standing outside one listening to Smokey Robinson sing.”
Gip’s earliest influences were all the Motown pop-soul acts and the more
bluesy Etta James, Ray Charles and Bobby Blue Bland. “My life changed
when a friend gave me a record by The Three Sounds with Gene Harris on
piano, ” Gip remembers. “Then my jazz piano instructor turned me on to
Herbie Hancock which led me to a lot of other great jazz like Miles
Davis, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and Wayne Shorter.”

Noble
went into the Air Force and was stationed in Germany where he hung out
with members of the post’s military band and played in their
experimental jazz group before starting his own jazz trio to perform in
German clubs. Back in Chicago, Noble studied avant-garde jazz with Muhal
Richard Abrams (Dexter Gordon, Max Roach), president of the influential
Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Gip moved to Los
Angeles to further his musical pursuits and quickly became a
sought-after accompanist for top R&B and blues acts. In his spare
time, Noble put together jazz trios and quartets to play Southern
California gigs doing material by Chick Corea, Dave Grusin, Noel
Pointer, Earl Klugh, Lee Ritenour and other popular contemporary
jazzsters. “I always tried to be innovative with my arrangements and add
my own twist to them.”

Finally after many years of audiences
requesting an Eddie Gip Noble recording, he released his first album,
Love T.K.O., featuring smooth jazz performances of that famous tune as
well as a half-dozen other original compositions and some classics such
as “Trains & Boats & Planes.” The CD went Top 20 on the national
SmoothJazz.com chart.