Jeri Gray:

Wardell Gray's second wife

Section One:

Abraham:
So, above production costs you'd feel comfortable if I paid you three hundred dollars?
Jeri:
O.K. look, suppose it goes there and it goes there and your money starts getting bigger and bigger and bigger, so what do you say...
Abraham:
So what are you saying, you want a cut now?
Jeri:
I'm by myself, I need help.
Abraham:
Are you saying you want a percentage over every thousand dollars? (laughter)
Jeri:
Let's say of over every three thousand.
Abraham:
Over every three thousand I make you want three hundred dollars extra?
Jeri:
Well you can give me a little bit more but I mean
Abraham:
That's ten percent.
Jeri:
Well..
Abraham:
You want ten....
Jeri:
Wouldn't you do that, wait a minute, this could be you over here you know.
Abraham:
No, well, I couldn't agree to that ten percent because I'm going to talk to a lot of people..
Jeri:
But a lot of people, they're not me...
Abraham:
That's true.
Jeri:
There's a difference. A lot of people they`re not me. I knew the other part. They knew the music, I know the other part.
Abraham:
O.K.
Jeri:
You can talk to me about parts that the other people don't know.
Abraham:
Well, I don't really want you to reveal any kind of intimate details, I mean I'm really asking I think a kind of general type of question.
Jeri:
O.K. so you just want me to stop right there.
Abraham:
I think that a flat fee would be fair because I can't say a percentage..not knowing..
Jeri:
O.K. you say a flat fee is good. So it's going to be just a flat fee and if you make money and if it's going to be all over, well let's go back to the five then. That's a flat fee.
Abraham:
O.K., so a flat fee of five hundred dollars, if I make a profit of how much? If I make five hundred dollar profit do you want my only five hundred dollars?
Jeri:
No, no, no, I'm not that cold blooded get out of here. O.K. let's say five thousand.
Abraham:
O.k., if I make five thousand dollars, you want five hundred dollars. That's it. It's agreed.
Jeri:
Gentleman's agreement. You see this hand that I'm shaking...
Abraham:
You're going to kick my ass..
Jeri:
I will cut it off (laughing)
Abraham:
O.K., but Jeri, so now for five hundred dollars, now we made an agreement for five hundred dollars, do you want that in writing.
Jeri:
Yes.
Abraham:
O.K. So I'll send you a letter.
Jeri:
Please. I want to know where you live in case
Abraham:
O.K. so Jeri where do you want to start with, any particular question?
Jeri:
Anything you want.
Abraham:
O.K., so, let's see. o.k. Jeri let's start with the questions about after all these years what lingers with you about Wardell?
Jeri:
I think his honesty. He was very very quiet. He had no problems. He was just a nice dude as far as I'm concerned. We never argued or anything like that and just, he was wonderful. A good man, you know? That's all I can say. The ten years that we lived together we were just, it was just there's never been anybody like him as far as I'm concerned.
Abraham:
Could you talk a little bit about his music, his playing, you said he had a good ear..
Jeri:
I don't think that anybody could ever swing like Wardell. Wardell could, he could really play. And what makes it better, when you're a dancer, if you do four bars you know that they're swinging..I'll never forget once he said to me Jerry, if you ever dance, dance with Art Blakey playing drums because he plays, he swings. Don't dance with Max Roach because he`s, he is a percussionist and Wardell could hear, the things he could hear inside and bring it out, was phenomenal. He was just, he was just a great musician. Just, yeah, it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing and that's what Wardell had. He could swing. I better talk quick because that tape is running.
Abraham:
Let's stop for a minute.

Section Two:

Jeri:
You've been asking many questions yes..
Abraham:
O.K. Jeri what about the notion about all the stories that existed about how Wardell died? Could you say something about that?
Jeri:
Well I don't think the stories that people have been talking about really knew. It was a bad death. Well I just want to say that Wardell died from a broken neck. He didn't die from overdose of drugs, he died because he was left in the desert with his neck broken. And that's about all I can say.
Abraham:
You told me a couple of stories, some anecdotes about what Count Basie said about Wardell that no one can fill his chair.
Jeri:
He came to me and said to me Jeri, nobody will ever fill Wardell's chair. And that knocked me out, I mean because there was Frank West and Frank Foster and Eddie LockJaw Davis and all that. For him to say that, that really kind of knocked me out and I was telling you also about how when I was dancing at Small's Paradise, and he came into the club, and the wire got out ahead of him that he was with Benny Goodman and he said" I wish somebody would ask me is Benny Goodman with me". And I'll never forget that because I never would have thought of that. I don't remember how long he stayed because when I came back he wasn't with Benny Goodman no more.

Section Three:

Abraham:
So Jeri, why do you think that Wardell isn't recognized and known as much as perhaps other players of his generation. I mean he was such a great player, what do you think is the reason for that?
Jeri:
I think it's the time. They weren't doing many recordings then and you don't have too much of Lester Young recordings. You don't have too many of Chu Berry's recordings. I think the time was bad for Wardell. They just weren't recording at the time. And I don't remember if he was strong enough for people just to pick him out and say we're going to do an album here or something like that, at that time. And it was just not the right time and he didn't live long enough for him to get his own groups and record and to say something. He died too young, he died too fast to be completely recognized because I still don't think there was anybody that swung like him. I mean you had your Paul Quinichette but Wardell could play. It just was bad timing. He didn't live long enough for people to really know this man. Because he was fantastic. Playing-wise, as a human being, he was just a nice nice dude. That's all I can say. Just tragic that he died the way he did. Because right now if he was alive he'd still be playing as good or better. The wisdom would have been there and everything. Too much too soon I guess he just died too quick. It's tragic.
Abraham:
Can you talk a little bit more about that wisdom. When you say that wisdom, what are you referring to?
Jeri:
He was a perfectionist as far as his music was concerned. Like I said, Wardell could play,he could hear paint dry. He knew where he was coming from and sometimes it's amazing to listen to his sound and the way he would play something it would all come out from here. I mean I don't see how he could think so fast to get the, what he was talking about coming out of that horn. I mean he was just, he was too much. He was just too much.