Free-jazz great Eddie Gale dies aged 78

Eddie Gale, a pioneering jazz trumpeter, best known for his outstanding work in the free jazz realm, had died aged 78, The Mercury News reports. Gale got a front-row seat with the finest bebop jazz musicians of the early era, including Bud Powell and trumpeter Kenny Dorham. A fast learner, he soon found himself in jam sessions with the likes of drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach and saxophonists Illinois Jacquet, Sonny Stitt, and Jackie McLean. In the early ’60s, a 20-something Gale connected with Sun Ra, and he ended up touring and recording with Ra’s Arkestra throughout the ’60s and ’70s. As a bandleader, he cut the “visionary” late ‘60s albums 'Ghetto Music' and 'Black Rhythm Happening' for Blue Note.