There's something about the rich dark beauty of his voice, or the exquisite subtlety of his phrasing, that makes you taste each word. It stops you in your tracks and moves you to a more intimate place. Gregory takes you on a guided tour of your own heart, as one admirer said.
He can infuse a simple song like Clementine with such freshness and intensity of feeling that audiences feel they have never heard the song before. Listen to their voices after a performance: poetry, beautiful, amazing, I never thought I'd hear such singing, wow! The finest professionals have called his voice beautiful, intense, powerful, extraordinary.
Song has taken Gregory from California to the South, New York, Europe and Israel, singing in venues ranging from the historic San Paolo church in Lucca, Italy, to Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater in New York. Everywhere he as acquired a new understanding of people, their language and their songs. And new admirers.
On his journey from a childhood singing gospel and spirituals in church, blues and Southern play songs on the front porch, Gregory has been relentless in the pursuit of the craft which his artistry required. He has sought out advice and instruction from the best: Gino Bechi, one of the premier Italian baritones of the twentieth century, and Giuseppe Baratti, an outstanding Italian tenor and Italian folk song artist; Betty Allen, a major African-American mezzo-soprano, whose portrait hangs in Carnegie Hall; Melvin Jordan, New York voice teacher; Jester Hairston, the preeminent specialist of his day in spirituals; William Farley-Smith, the arranger of African-American hymns for the Methodist Hymnal, and William Duncan Allen, mentor, accompanist and friend to many leading African-American artists of his time.
Gregory's performances encompass blues, gospel, jazz, spirituals, cabaret, Broadway, art songs, folk, roots, opera and many languages. To every song he brings an instinct for its heart and a love for its beauty. Gregory has said that he loves songs like Clementine because they are neglected beauties, forgotten and ignored. His compassion for the music permeates every style, every language, every performance, every heart.
Jon Bauer, Producer"
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© 2005 Gregory Hickman-Williams