ArtistInfo

Gary Wiggins

ts, sax, as, *1952 US
Musician of R&B/Soul
A.k.a. Gary Allen Wiggins

Born: 10 November 1952, Detroit is an African-American musician. Wiggins, known as "Detroit" Gary Wiggins, grew up in Detroit, where he has been a saxophonist since 1962 in the church community of the Winans Family. He was a member of the Jazz Band at Sacromento Community College. In 1970, he presented a first single with this band The Impacs which accompanied numerous R & B acts such as The Dramatics. He then worked for five years in California, where he performed with Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, Johnny Heartsman, Roy Brown, Big Mama Thornton, and other musicians. After a stay in Hawaii, where he studied with Q Martin, he moved to Chicago where he played in the bands of Lefty Dizz, Sugar Blue, Sunnyland Slim, Johnny Littlejohn and Pocketwatch Paul. Together with Christian Rannenberg, he founded the International Blues Duo in 1982, who recorded three albums and starred with Angela Brown, Valerie Wellington, Big Jay McNeely, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Copeland, Johnny Heartsman, Jeanne Carroll and Katie Webster. At the end of the 1980s, he founded the Detroit Gary Wiggins Group in Berlin, which appeared in numerous European jazz clubs. He has also made concerts with Sam Leigh Brown (Frank Popp Ensemble), Big Time Sarah, Angela Brown, Ingrid Arthur and Dorrey Lin Lyles from The Weather Girls, Queen Yahna, Jeanne Carroll, Maisha Grant, Arnett Cobb, Louisiana Red, Coray Bell , Guitar Crusher, Roy Gaines and operated the Blues Cafe Berlin in the 1990s. From 1995 onwards, he presented the show The Saxman and the Divas in Paris and appeared in numerous Parisian jazz clubs like the Caveau de la Huchette with Dany Doriz. He also gave concerts in Japan in the coming years. He also joined the band The Just No Posse and founded The Very Soulful Tenors Show (with Fuasi Abdul Khaliq and Ray Blue). He is also featured on albums by Lefty Dizz and Shock Treatment, Klaus Lage, Bobby McFerrin, Roy Gaines, Robert Covington, Angela Brown, The Gospel Messenger and EB Davis. He regularly performs at the Berlin Jazz-Club A-Trane, has appeared at the Lahnsteiner Bluesfestival several times and presented himself with Screamin Jay Hawkins at the North Sea Jazz Festival and in Greece. In 2001 he received the second prize at the Berlin Jazz and Blues Award.

Instruments

• Tenor sax
• Saxophone
• Alto sax
• Vocals

Genres

• R&B/Soul
• Blues
• Rock

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Acknowledgements

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