Grassella Oliphant

Grassella Oliphant (September 1, 1929 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz drummer. Oliphant backed Ahmad Jamal in 1952 and Sarah Vaughan in the late 1950s, Other artist he worked with included Gloria Lynne and Shirley Scott. He released two soul jazz albums as a leader on Atlantic Records in the 1960s. The Grass Roots, released in 1965, saw Oliphant working with saxophonist Harold Ousley, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, and bassist Ray McKinney. His 1968 release The Grass Is Greener featured John Patton on organ, Grant Green on guitar, Clark Terry on trumpet, and Major Holley on bass, in addition to Ousley. The Grass Is Greener has been repeatedly sampled by hip hop artists. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.