Eric Gale

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Eric Gale (b 20 September 1938, Brooklyn, New York - d 25 May 1994, Baja, California) was a leading American jazz and session guitarist.

Born of Barbadian parents, he became known first as a session musician in the 1960s, eventually appearing on an estimated 500 albums. Among the many artists he recorded with were Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Lena Horne, Quincy Jones, Grover Washington Jr., Herbie Mann, Esther Phillips, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Van Morrison, and Billy Joel.

The epitome of the guitarist's guitarist, he was also used for many R&B-oriented dates. From the early 1970s he recorded extensively on the CTI label, as a sideman, on his own records, and as part of the group Stuff. Among his own albums were Forecast (1975) and Ginseng Woman (1976).