This artist grew up in a family that not only loved music but lived from it. His father, Martin Gabriel, who died in the early '30s, was a well-known musician in New Orleans. Since some of Percy Gabriel's siblings also played instruments, a family band was in the offing when some of the hard-working performers were still in their adolescence. Beginning in the '30s, Percy Gabriel was branching out on his own in a city teeming with jazz action, at that point performing on tenor sax as well as bass. He had a trio with brother Clarence Gabriel, following which Percy joined a band led by Kid Rena. His next employer was Harold Dejan, whose main gigs were on boats sailing between New Orleans and New York.

The idea to jump ship and stay in the Apple occurred to many a jazzman in these circumstances. Gabriel did just that, adjusting to a new life in Harlem working with players such as Bob Robinson. He also went on tour in Florida with Jack Sneed, a vocalist whose name sounds like it was invented by comedian W.C. Fields. Gabriel next showed up back in his hometown, playing there in a variety of outfits including ensembles led by Hubert Leary, Papa Celestin, and Sidney Desvigne. Don Albert pulled him west to Texas for a stint in a territorial band, after which he once again returned to New Orleans, this time starting up his own group.

But Gabriel was not bound to stay in one place blowing his horn, or rather thumping his bass. He was on to Chicago, on tour with Kansas City jazz maestro Jay McShann, on the West Coast laying down something of a funkier beat with Jesse Price, and then back in New Orleans once again. In the late '40s he gigged with players such as Lucky Millinder and Paul Barbarin, continuing to follow a muse rooted in classic New Orleans jazz. Detroit turned out to be this player's stomping ground in the '50s. His brother Martin Gabriel, Jr., a clarinetist, joined him there in order to co-lead a combo called Gabriel's New Orleans Jazz Band. In the '60s and '70s both brothers were working regularly out of the Motor City. In his old age Percy Gabriel became a valuable resource for music historians, providing anecdotes from eras when he admitted to working for only a dollar a night. Players on the frequently lame, underpaid Detroit scene probably had to reread these articles to make sure Gabriel wasn't talking about modern times. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi