Also called Gale LaVant she is a studio harpist from Hollywood who featured on literally hundreds of recordings from the 1970s onwards.
Her performances include many appearances with studio orchestras and artists from all over the music spectrum such as Air Supply, Paul Anka, David Arnold, Patti Austin, Burt Bacharach, Elmer Bernstein, Michael Bolton, Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, George Fenton, Dan Fogelberg, David Foster, Crystal Gayle, Gloria Gaynor, Julio Iglesias, James Ingram, Gordon Lightfoot, Kenny Loggins, The Manhattan Transfer, Bette Midler, Ronnie Milsap, Maxine Nightingale, Harry Nilsson, Jean-Pierre Rampal, LeAnn Rimes, Minnie Riperton, Kenny Rogers, Buffy Sainte-Marie, John Sebastian, Tears for Fears, Sarah Vaughan and Andy Williams.
Making countless recordings, the albums she has performed on are far too numerous to mention but include Fandango by Herb Alpert, A Kind of Hush by The Carpenters, Rush by Eric Clapton, To See You by Harry Connick Jr., Alamo Bay by Ry Cooder, Anytime, Anywhere by Rita Coolidge, I’m Glad You’re Here With Me Tonight by Neil Diamond, Dark Horse by George Harrison, Greatest Hits and More by Engelbert Humperdinck, Drag by k.d. Lang, Showstoppers by Barry Manilow, Victory by The Jacksons, Isn’t It Romantic: The Standards Album by Johnny Mathis, Sounds…and Stuff Like That! by Quincy Jones, Playback by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Duets by Frank Sinatra, Great American Songbook by Rod Stewart, The Movie Album by Barbra Streisand, Gorilla by James Taylor, Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits and Friends Can Be Lovers by Dionne Warwick to name just a few.
In the movie industry she can be heard playing the harp on a myriad of soundtracks such as The Color Purple, Dick Tracy, Dying Young, Grease, The Interpreter, Panic Room,Signs and Still Breathing, she was the arranger of “Minuet” which features in Spider-Man 3 and she appeared at over a dozen Academy Award ceremonies where she says playing there is “the biggest honor in the world”.
Herb Alpert recordings
Angel (Juan Carlos Calderon)
Route 101 (Juan Carlos Calderon)
Glen Campbell Recordings
Southern Nights (Allen Toussaint)
David Foster recordings
O Holy Night (Adolphe Adam)
Interscope 0 7567 92295 2 6 (CD – The Christmas Album)
Vocals – Michael Crawford
Here is Herb Alpert performing “Manhattan Melody” from his Magic Man which Gayle performs on…
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp
- http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0505153/
- http://www.salviharpsinc.com/featured_harpist.htm
- http://www.vex.net/~paulmac/carpenter/albums/a_kind_of_hush_lp.html
- http://www.stillbreathing.com/themusic/cdtrack8.html
- http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6372174/a/Movie+Album.htm
- http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Gayle%20LaVant:1927077593
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022400511.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/entertainmentnews
- http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3xfwxqrgldfe~T4
- http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3xfwxqrgldfe~2~T40B
- http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3xfwxqrgldfe~3~T40B
- http://www.tijuanabrass.com/alpert/alpert2.php