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George Rufus Adams (April 29, 1940 – November 14, 1992) was an American jazz musician who played tenor saxophone, flute and bass clarinet.He is best known for his work with Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Roy Haynes and in the quartet he co-led with pianist Don Pullen, featuring bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Dannie Richmond. He was also known for his idiosyncratic singing.

George Adams was born in Covington, Georgia, on April 29, 1940.He first started playing piano at the age of eleven and switched to tenor saxophone in high school. Later on, he went study at the Clark College and got lessons on flute by Wayman Carver. As a teenager, George Adams frequently gained performance experience by playing with local R&B bands. In 1961, he accompanied singer Sam Cooke on a tour. At this point, Adams was based out of Cleveland where he spent a great deal of time studying and working with organ trios alongside pianist and organist, Bill Doggett. The two men played a form of music that combined rhythm and blues with jazz. In 1968, he decided to expand his career and move to New York City to participate in the city's growing jazz scene. A year later, George Adams toured with Roy Haynes, playing with him until 1973. Shortly after, he performed with Art Blakey, before joining Charles Mingus' band. His partnership with Mingus lasted until 1976.

In 1979, Adams and Pullen began to co-lead a quartet with Dannie Richmond and bassist Cameron Brown. In December 1979, George recorded the album Paradise Space Shuttle with his personal quintet that featured pianist Ron Burton, drummer Al Foster, bassist Don Pate and percussionist Azzedin Weston.

Adams' contributions to his ensemble were best heard on Paradise Space Shuttle's title track. After a brief introduction, he enters the arrangement playing a disjointed and primal melody. He then plays a more traditional bebop figure before supplementing it with a strident motif. He continues to utilize several different textures throughout the song, such as multiphonics, blues riffs and phrased melodic devices. The result of all this is a performance that includes a multitude of saxophone history into four and a half minutes.

In 1980, Adams and Dannie Richmond recorded the album Hand to Hand for the Soul Note label. The album featured trombonist Jimmy Knepper, pianist Hugh Lawson and bassist Mike Richmond. In August 1980, Adams and Pullen recorded the album Earth Beams. The ensemble demonstrated its best on the album's title track. Adams' immediate performance provides a great deal of melodic presence throughout the song. George's deep resonance helps to thicken the harmonic quality of the song. The fundamentals of the ensemble are also anchored perfectly by Dannie Richmond.

In 1983, Adams started to expand on his career as a sideman by recording with trombonist Craig Harris on his album Black Bone. The following year, George recorded as a member of the Mingus Dynasty at the Village Vanguard. In April 1985, Adams and Pullen recorded the album Live at Montmatre, but wasn't released until 2000, and featured a guest appearance by guitarist John Scofield. The group is quite noteworthy on the song Well, I Guess We'll Never Know.

After a brief introduction from Richmond, the ensemble goes into a variation of Rhythm Changes with a different take on the bridge. The unison line of Adams and Scofield gives the overall melodic stance of the song more body and power. During his solo, Adams shadows Pullen's "sheets of sound" solo by performing with the same bravado and style. The addition of Scofield adds more of a foundation for George to work off of with the outcome being an even more confident melodic statement.

The following year, Adams and Hannibal Peterson recorded the album More Sightings for the Enja label. In 1987, George recorded the album Where Were You? with the group Orange Then Blue. It featured trumpeter Ken Cervenka, trombonist Peter Cirelli and French horn player Gunther Schuller, amongst others. He then became a member of the band Phalanx that same year,[3] alongside drummer Rashied Ali, bassist Sirone and guitarist James Blood Ulmer and released the album, Original Phalanx.

In 1988, Richmond died and the Adams/Pullen group briefly replaced him with drummer Lewis Nash, then disbanded. Adams then formed a new quartet with Cameron Brown, Hugh Lawson and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. The same year, George recorded an album of ballads and spirituals entitled Nightingale, alongside Lawson, Sirone and drummer Victor Lewis. The album features renditions of "What a Wonderful World", "Moon River", and "Ol' Man River." 1988 also saw the release of the Phalanx album, In Touch.

He died in New York at the age of 52 after an illness. He had been experiencing breathing difficulties for the last year.

Courtesy--wikipedia
- George Adams

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