As an artist, Eddie Grey has been considered a fore runner in the entertainment circles and specifically for his contribution to jazz in East Africa. His roots in music begin long before he first touched an instrument. He was born in what he describes as an ordinary family in a modest country side setting. Coming from a musical family, he spent most of his childhood enjoying the influences of jazz, soul and pop artists at the time. His greatest influence was of course Michael Jackson, not only for his musical composition but for his unique sound.
During his school years he came across the vocal band dubbed Accapella and Take six. He was completely intrigued by the ability of music to sound so simple but arranged so complexly. As many of his peers at the time, he formed an accapella group, sang bass and spent countless hours trying to break down the arrangement for his quartet. Arranging was difficult and soon he had to find a reference instrument. He recalls walking into his room one night and finding his brother playing Michael Jackson's man in the mirror on an acoustic guitar. This was the beginning of his secret affinity to his first instrument.
Eddie Grey touched guitar for the first time at his late father’s memorial and was surprised to find it in the living room the following morning. The rest he defines as a gradual relationship with guitar driven music with stand out influences such as Ali Farka Toure, Tabu Ley, Django, Wes Montgomery, Joe pass, George Benson, Jonathan Butler, Bebo Norman, Earl Klugh, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Loueke and many others.
In a bid to find his own voice in an already saturated industry, he leaned more towards harmonically rich arrangements laid under folk melodies from the different cultures in Kenya .He went on to perform in many of the revered jazz spots in Nairobi and around East Africa. As it were, his sound was quickly identified and he further performed in various jazz festivals alongside other great acts.
In early 2007 Eddie Grey made a studio demo titled Shades of Grey which he gave out to friends and family in a bid to share his original concepts. The feedback there after led him to re-write and arrange new tracks, which he officially released in January 2010 as NO TRAINS TO KIBERA. The album has since sold out twice and has made appearances on regional TV and on Africa’s popular talk shows featured on M-net.
Eddie Grey continues to inspire countless other young musicians by hosting guitar workshops in various university and music institutions most notably Kenyatta University, Brook house academy and the launch of the varsity jazz series at Daystar University.. He describes music as one of the powerful tools in communication. His passion can be seen as he represents musicians in various non profitable features including the recent UNICEF Haiti fundraiser among others.
Since 2010 Eddie Grey assembled a host of musicians through his musical expeditions round East Africa. The sounds picked across different regions influenced greatly the sound of his just concluded project. Stories by the lake. In this album he features Regional Artists such as
Mulatu Astatke (Ethiopia) Solange (Democratic Republic of Congo) Nali Rabeson (Madagascar) Winyo (Kenya) June Gachui (Kenya) Olith Ratego (Kenya) Kate Bingley (London)
The album took close to 2 years in its production and was launched in the first ever music event on the KICC helipad. " That was quite the experience for all that came. A first time event at the highest and most monumental building in Kenya. A piece of local history",-Eddie Grey.
Eddie Grey shows no sign of slowing down and with a couple of international shows lined up this year, he promises to deliver a piece of East Africa with him wherever he goes.
Many describe his music as a bridge between the soulful melodies from the Kenyan folk music and different colors from jazz and classical harmony.