[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 21, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING EDDIE GALE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 21, 2020

  Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a musical icon and 
celebrated community member, Eddie Gale, who passed away on July 10, 
2020. Since making his home in San Jose in 1972, he enriched many lives 
through his music and community involvement.
  An accomplished jazz musician and trumpeter, Eddie Gale, grew up in 
New York. He was the third of five children of Edward and Daisy 
Stevens. His young life was filled with music, from gospel at Rose Hill 
Baptist Church, to his Cub Scout's marching band where he played the 
bugle, to his lessons with jazz legend, Kenny Dorham. In the early 
1960s, Eddie Gale joined Sun Ra's Arkestra and released two Blue Note 
albums in 1968 and 1969. Throughout his career, he played alongside 
acclaimed jazz figures including John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Jackie 
McLean, Larry Young, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Max Roach.
  After moving to the West Coast, Eddie Gale started to focus on 
teaching and sharing music with local youths. He was an Artist in 
Residence at Stanford and San Jose State University. He also worked 
with Monroe Middle School, McClymonds High School, EastSide Arts 
Alliance, and Black Dot Artists Collective. To create spaces where 
music could thrive, he helped establish the Evergreen Youth Adult Jazz 
Society, the We're Jazzed! Youth/Adult Jazz Festival and the annual 
Concert for World Peace and Peace Poetry Contest.
  Mr. Gale was an important part of Bay Area music culture and was 
known as ``San Jose's Ambassador of Jazz.'' He was also named an 
Ambassador of Music, from the Association of World Citizens, San 
Francisco.
  His dedication to sharing music was well known in the Bay Area. He 
received the Jefferson Award for community service in the arts and 
received the Sankofa Award from the California Arts Council for 25 
years of service in the arts for training youth and adults in music. In 
the community, he coordinated the giveaway of trumpets and helped raise 
money for the Bay Area Jazz Musicians Self-Help Healthcare Project.
  Eddie Gale made a lasting impression on our community through his 
music and service to others. He is survived by his wife, Georgette, 
three of his siblings, his six children, 12 grandchildren and 11 great 
grandchildren. I enjoyed the many times I was able to talk with Eddie 
and to enjoy his music. I join Mr. Gale's family, colleagues, and our 
neighbors in expressing my great sense of loss and appreciation for the 
78 years he shared with us. He will be dearly missed but he leaves our 
community and world a better place.