Calvin Keys

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title: "Calvin Keys" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1942-births", "2024-deaths", "american-jazz-guitarists", "black-jazz-records-artists", "african-american-guitarists", "musicians-from-the-san-francisco-bay-area", "american-male-guitarists", "20th-century-american-guitarists", "jazz-musicians-from-california", "guitarists-from-california", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "american-male-jazz-musicians", "20th-century-african-american-musicians", "21st-century-african-american-musicians"] description: "American jazz guitarist (1942–2024)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Keys" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American jazz guitarist (1942–2024) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Calvin Keys
birth_date
birth_place	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
death_date
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
::

| name = Calvin Keys | image = | image_size = | landscape = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | death_date = | 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.

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.

Keys died from a stroke in Berkeley, California, on April 14, 2024, at the age of 82.

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

References

1. [{{AllMusic
2. [http://www.totallyguitars.com/thelisteningpost/calvin-keys/ ''Calvin Keys''] {{Webarchive. link. (February 28, 2013 at Totally Guitars. Retrieved 2013-01-25.)
3. Meline, Gabe. (2024-04-15). "Calvin Keys, Jazz Guitarist With Endless Soul, Dies at 82". KQED.

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