Onaje Allen Gumbs: Pianist, Composer, and Arranger Extraordinaire

As I post this, I am preparing to join a memorial event celebrating the life of Onaje Allen Gumbs.

I first met Onaje Allen Gumbs at New York City’s Blue Note Jazz Club during a tribute to the late singer Phyllis Hyman in July 1995. The event was hosted by Mercer Ellington, then leader and heir apparent to the conductorship of his legendary father’s Duke Ellington Orchestra. I was invited to sing because I had been under consideration as a male vocalist with the orchestra.

As we prepared for a celebration of Phyllis’ life and music, Mercer pointed me in Onaje’s direction and introduced the two of us. Earlier in Phyllis’s career, she and Onaje Allen Gumbs had a huge hit in collaboration with the great producer Norman Conners with Onaje’s arrangement of “Betcha By Golly Wow.” I was aware of Onaje’s stellar reputation throughout New York City as one of the finest all-around musicians and arrangers. When I asked him to accompany me, I said, “I want to sing Charlie Chaplin’s great song, ‘Smile’.” He smiled and said, “Good choice, what key?” After I uttered my key, “G Major,” from the downbeat after two measures of intro, I knew instantly I was about to experience something magical!

A singer can tell when he or she is accompanied by musicianship that resonates down deep in one’s spirit and pulse, making a special musical and human connection. With each ensuing performance, one always dreams of re-capturing that same magic. There have been other occasions when I’ve had an opportunity to sit in and jam or play with Onaje. And over the years each experience ignited the same energy, passion and beauty.

He was a profoundly sensitive soul. In fact, his name Onaje means “sensitive soul.” Onaje Allen Gumbs was a grounded musician who managed to communicate human experiences of love, pain, joy, hope with pure magic using his emotional depth and wide berth of overall musical excellence in his distinctive approach to the music. I was grossly disappointed when a major performance we were scheduled to play together had to be cancelled by The Central Park Conservancy  due to “Hurricane Irene,” which devastated much of Central Park as well as parts of the City.

I deeply regret his passing. His generous spirit and love of music and life will always be remembered. Thankfully we shall have his beautiful music and spirit to cherish.

Here is a tribute poem I wrote for Onaje’s birthday in 2018: