Gary Meek was born in 1961 in
Encino, California. His father played piano recreationally. Meek attended
El Camino Real High School, where he was active in the music department on clarinet, saxophones and keyboard. After high school he attended Los Angeles Pierce College and subsequently enrolled in the
Dick Grove School of Music Professional Instrumental Program. Meek began his career in the early 1980s playing woodwinds in the big bands of the Los Angeles Jazz Workshop, and keyboards and woodwinds for local club dates, weddings and private parties. In the mid-'80s he toured with
Dionne Warwick, playing keyboards. In 1987, Meek began a two-decade association with Brazilian jazz artists
Airto Moreira and
Flora Purim. In 1990, joined by
Jose Neto, they formed
Fourth World. This band toured the U.S., Europe, Asia, South Africa and Eastern Europe for five years, releasing a live album in 1992, ''
Live at Ronnie Scott's''. Three years later, Meek joined Herb Alpert's world tour in support of Alpert's
Second Wind album. The following year, Meek toured the U.S. and Europe playing saxes, flute and keyboards for
Al Jarreau. Meek's first album as a leader and saxophonist, 1991's
Gary Meek, comprises 11 songs all written or cowritten by Meek. He has released four other solo projects to date, including
Time One, ''Live at Ronnie Scott's
, Good Friends
, and Step 7''. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Meek began several enduring collaborations, some with artists who contributed session work for his solo efforts. After keyboardist
Jeff Lorber appeared on
Gary Meek, Meek played for several Lorber albums, including the Billboard Top 5
West Side Stories in 1994. Meek's first studio work for bassist
Brian Bromberg, on 1997's
You Know That Feeling, led to several tours and albums including
Downright Upright, nominated for the "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" Grammy in 2007. In 2000, Meek played saxophone for
Green Day's album
Warning, which reached No. 4 on the U.S.
Billboard 200 and was
certified gold by the
RIAA. In 2003, Meek played woodwinds for the album
Playful Heart by guitarist and bossa nova pioneer
Oscar Castro-Neves. The release, named one of that year's best albums by Downbeat, included an arrangement of "Four Brothers" that Castro-Neves wrote to feature Meek on all the woodwind parts. Meek was later featured on Castro-Neves' 2006 album
All One. In 2002, Meek collaborated for the first time with drummer
Dave Weckl for the Dave Weckl Band album, "Live (and Very Plugged In)" and a subsequent world tour. He also played with Weckl for 2005's
Multiplicity, and with Weckl and keyboardist
Jay Oliver for
Convergence in 2012. In 2015, the Dave Weckl Acoustic Band released its debut album,
Of the Same Mind, and subsequently touring in Europe, Asia and the U.S. The band included Weckl, Meek, keyboardist
Makoto Ozone and bassist
Tom Kennedy. In 2017 Meek recorded
Originals which was listed in
Downbeat magazine's "Best Jazz Albums of 2018". Meek lives with his wife, Maureen, in the Monterey, California area, where he is a traveling clinician for the
Monterey Jazz Festival. He also teaches privately, sharing methods passed on to him by
Phil Sobel, his teacher of more than 25 years. Meek collaborates globally through Internet recording sessions, and travels to
Los Angeles for session work. He plays
Cannonball saxophones and
D'Addario reeds and mouthpieces. == Discography ==