{{Short description|American jazz guitarist (1942–2024)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Calvin Keys | image = | image_size = | landscape = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1942|2|6}} | birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|4|14|1942|2|6}} | death_place = Berkeley, California, U.S. | genre = Jazz, soul jazz | occupations = Musician, composer | instrument = Electric guitar | years_active = 1969–2024 | label = Black Jazz, Wide Hive | website = }}
'''Calvin Keys''' (February 6, 1942 – April 14, 2024) was an American jazz guitarist, known for the several albums he released for Black Jazz Records.<ref name=ALLMUSIC>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p93610|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic Discography]</ref>
Keys performed and recorded with Ray Charles, Ahmad Jamal, Jimmy Smith, John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Marshall, Sonny Stitt, Pharoah Sanders, Joe Henderson and Leon Williams.<ref>[http://www.totallyguitars.com/thelisteningpost/calvin-keys/ ''Calvin Keys''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228102535/http://www.totallyguitars.com/thelisteningpost/calvin-keys/ |date=February 28, 2013 }} at Totally Guitars. Retrieved 2013-01-25.</ref>
Keys died from a stroke in Berkeley, California, on April 14, 2024, at the age of 82.<ref>{{cite news |last=Meline |first=Gabe |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13955977/calvin-keys-jazz-guitarist-dies-obit-oakland |title=Calvin Keys, Jazz Guitarist With Endless Soul, Dies at 82 |publisher=KQED |date=2024-04-15 |accessdate=2024-04-15 |archive-date=April 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416190610/https://www.kqed.org/arts/13955977/calvin-keys-jazz-guitarist-dies-obit-oakland |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Discography== ===As leader=== * ''Shawn-Neeq'' (Black Jazz, 1971) * ''Proceed with Caution!'' (Black Jazz, 1974) * ''Criss Cross'' (Ovation, 1976) * ''Full Court Press'' (Olive Branch, 1985) * ''Maria's First'' (Olive Branch, 1987) * ''Standard Keys'' [live] (Lifeforce Jazz, 1992 [1997]) * ''Detours into Unconscious Rhythms'' (Wide Hive, 2000) * ''Touch'' (Olive Branch, 2000) compilation * ''An Evening With Calvin Keys'' [live] (Lifeforce Jazz, 2003) 2-CD * ''Calvinesque'' (Silverado, 2005) * ''Vertical Clearance'' (Wide Hive, 2006) * ''Hand Made Portrait'' (Silverado, 2007) * ''Electric Keys'' (Wide Hive, 2013) * ''Close Enough For Love'' (Lifeforce Jazz, 2015) * ''Simply Calvin'' (Lifeforce Jazz, 2022) * ''Blue Keys'' (Wide Hive, 2022)
===As sideman=== '''With Ahmad Jamal''' * ''Recorded Live at Oil Can Harry's'' (Catalyst, 1976) * ''Steppin Out with a Dream'' (20th Century Fox, 1976) * ''One'' (20th Century Fox, 1978) * ''Night Song'' (Motown, 1980) * ''Live in Paris 1996'' (Birdology/Dreyfus, 1999)
'''With others''' * Gene Russell, ''Talk to My Lady'' (Black Jazz, 1973) * Billy Brooks, ''Windows of the Mind'' (Crossover, 1974) * Doug Carn, ''Adam's Apple'' (Black Jazz, 1974) * Doug Carn, ''Higher Ground'' (Ovation, 1976) * Gene Russell, ''Listen Here'' (Ovation, 1976) * James Newton Howard, ''Dying Young'' (Arista, 1991) * Denise Perrier, ''I Wanna Be Loved'' (Chezz Perrier, 1996) * Dissent, ''Dissent'' (Wide Hive, 1999) * Azeem, ''Mayhem Mystics'' (Wide Hive, 2004)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.calvinkeysjazz.com/ Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731031759/https://www.calvinkeysjazz.com/ |date=July 31, 2021 }} *[http://www.jazzlists.com/SJ_Calvin_Keys.htm Calvin Keys discography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004222639/http://jazzlists.com/SJ_Calvin_Keys.htm |date=October 4, 2013 }} at Jazzlists *[http://www.widehive.com/artists/calvinkeys Calvin Keys Page at Wide Hive Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418061908/http://www.widehive.com/artists/calvinkeys |date=April 18, 2019 }} *[http://www.widehive.com/discography/electrickeys "Electric Keys" Page at Wide Hive Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120093915/http://www.widehive.com/discography/electrickeys |date=January 20, 2019 }} *[http://www.widehive.com/discography/verticalclearance "Vertical Clearance" Page at Wide Hive Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418024930/http://www.widehive.com/discography/verticalclearance |date=April 18, 2019 }} *[http://www.widehive.com/discography/detoursunconsciousrythms "Detours Into Unconscious Rythms(sic)" Page at Wide Hive Records] * {{discogs artist|Calvin Keys}} * {{imdb name|4009607}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keys, Calvin}} Category:1942 births Category:2024 deaths Category:American jazz guitarists Category:Black Jazz Records artists Category:African-American guitarists Category:Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:American male guitarists Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:Jazz musicians from California Category:Guitarists from California Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:American male jazz musicians Category:20th-century African-American musicians Category:21st-century African-American musicians