- Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden (born August 6, 1937) is a jazz double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Haden is also known for his signature lyrical bass lines and is one of the most respected jazz bassists and jazz composers today. - Ray Brown
Raymond Matthews Brown (October 13 1926-July 2 2002) was an American jazz double bassist. Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one. With a vacancy in the high school jazz orchestra, he took up the double bass. - Christian McBride
Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors. In the jazz community, McBride is widely considered to be one of the best bassists of his generation. McBride has performed and recorded with a huge number of jazz legends, including Diana Krall, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, … - William Parker
William Parker (b. Bronx, New York City, New York, January 10, 1952) is an American free jazz double bassist. As a bassist, Parker is possessed of a formidable technique, albeit an unconventional one. Unlike a great many jazz bassists, Parker was not formally trained as a classical player, though he did study with Jimmy Garrison, Richard Davis, and Wilbur Ware and learned the tradition. Parker is one of few jazz bassists who regularly plays arco. - Scott Lafaro
Rocco Scott LaFaro was an influential jazz bassist. Born in Newark, New Jersey, LaFaro grew up in a musical family (his father played in many big bands). He started on piano while in elementary school, began on the bass clarinet in Junior High School, changing to tenor saxophone when he entered High School. He only took up the double bass the summer before he entered college, since learning a string instrument was required for music majors. - Paul Chambers
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a leading jazz bassist of the 1950s and 1960s. His importance can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his nearly perfect intonation, time and virtuosic improvisations. - Lynn Seaton
Lynn was born in Tulsa , Oklahoma , July 18, 1957. He began studying classical guitar at age seven, switching to string bass at age nine. While studying music at the University of Oklahoma , he began working the clubs around the state. In September of 1980, Lynn relocated to Cincinnati , Ohio to join the Steve Schmidt Trio and the Blue Wisp Big Band. - Steve Swallow
Steve Swallow (b. October 4, 1940) is a jazz bass guitarist and composer born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. As a child, Swallow studied piano and trumpet before turning to the double bass at age 14. While attending a prep school, he began trying his hand in jazz improvisation. In 1960 he left Yale, where he was studying composition, and settled in New York City, playing at the time in Jimmy Giuffre's trio along with Paul Bley. - Eddie Gomez
Edgar "Eddie" Gomez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz Double bassist born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, perhaps most notable for his work done with the Bill Evans trio from 1966 to 1977. Gomez emigrated with his family at a young age to the United States of America and grew up in New York. He started on double bass in the New York City school system at the age of eleven and at age thirteen went to the "New York City High School of Music and Art". - Oscar Pettiford
Oscar Pettiford (Okmulgee, Oklahoma, 30 September, 1922 - Copenhagen, Denmark, 8 September, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop. Pettiford's mother was Choctaw and his father was half Cherokee and half African American. Like many African Americans with Native American ancestry, his Native heritage was not generally known except to a few close friends (which included David Amram). - Eberhard Weber
Eberhard Weber (born January 22nd, 1940 in Stuttgart, Germany) is a double bassist and composer. As a bass player, Weber is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, minimalism and ambient music, and are regarded as characteristic examples of the ECM Records sound. - Keter Betts
Keter Betts (July 25,1928-August 6, 2005) was an American jazz double bassist. Born William Thomas Betts in Port Chester, New York, he was nicknamed "Keter", a short form of the word "mosquito". Many better-known musicians (Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Nat Adderley, Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd, etc.), recognizing Keter's talent, invited him to perform with them professionally. - Marc Johnson
Marc Johnson, born in Omaha, Nebraska on 21 October 1953, is an American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader. Schooled at University of North Texas along with Lyle Mays, Johnson toured with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd in the late 1970s. After a year, the 25-year old Johnson was hired by Bill Evans in 1978, and remained in Evans's trio until the pianist's death in 1980. Johnson's first record under his own name for ECM, recorded in 1985, was "Bass Desires", … - Art Davis
Art Davis (born December 5, 1934) is a double-bassist, best known for his work with jazz musicians including John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach. As a busy New York session musician, he recorded with many pop artists and has also worked in classical symphony orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Art Davis is now a professor at Orange Coast College. Davis also holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. - Percy Heath
Percy Heath, (April 30, 1923 - April 28, 2005), was a jazz musician, most famous for his 40+ years as the double bass player for the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ). He is the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Tootie Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath also worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk. At the age of 81, he released his first album as bandleader through the Daddy Jazz label. - Richard Davis
Richard Davis (born April 15, 1930) is an American double bass player who has been a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1977, after establishing himself for twenty-three years in New York City. He teaches bass, jazz history, and improvisation. In the course of his career he hayuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus worked no where but was still splaying his instruments in both the classical field and as a jazz bassist all over the world, … - Alphonso Johnson
Alphonso Johnson (born 1951 in Philadelphia, PA) is a jazz bassist who has been influential since the early 1970s. - George Mraz
George Mraz is a jazz bassist and alto soxophonist. He attended the Berklee College of Music in 1970. He can be heard on Time Stream: Toshiko Plays Toshiko and Bossas & Ballads - The Lost Sessions. He also was a member of Oscar Peterson's group as well as performed with both Stan Getz and Chet Baker. - Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen was a Danish jazz bassist known for his impressive technique and an approach that could be considered an extension of the innovative work of Scott LaFaro. The "great Dane with the never-ending name", Pedersen was known simply as NHØP among many jazz fans. He was born in Osted near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand. As a child, Pedersen played piano. - Henry Grimes
Henry Grimes (born November 3, 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a jazz double bassist. After completely disappearing from the jazz music scene in 1965, he was rediscovered over 30 years later in 2002. Grimes trained at The Juilliard School, and established a reputation as a versatile bassist in the mid 1950s. He recorded or performed with Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Anita O'Day, Benny Goodman and many others. - Jimmy Garrison
Jimmy Garrison (March 3, 1933 - April 7, 1976) was an American jazz double bassist best known for his long association with John Coltrane from 1961 - 1967. He formally joined Coltrane's quartet in 1962 as a replacement for Reggie Workman and appears on many Coltrane recordings, including "A Love Supreme", & "My Favorite Things". During live performances of music by John Coltrane's group, … - Cecil McBee
Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935) is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (Second Edition, ed. Colin Larkin, 1995) as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts." McBee was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 19 May 1935. He studied clarinet at school, but switched to bass at the age of 17, and began playing in local nightclubs. - Jimmy Blanton
Jimmy Blanton (October 5 1918-July 30 1942) was an influential American jazz double bassist. Blanton originated melodically conceived pizzicato bass solos. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Blanton originally learned to play the violin, but took up the bass while at Tennessee State University, performing with the Tennessee State Collegians from 1936 to 1937, and during the vacations with Fate Marable. - Jay Leonhart
Jay Leonhart (born December 6 1940, Baltimore, Maryland) is a noted bassist and songwriter working in jazz and popular music. He has performed with diverse artists including Judy Garland, Carly Simon, Bucky Pizzarelli, Sting, and Frank Sinatra. Leonhart is noted for his clever songwriting often laced with dry humor, and his compositions have been recorded by such notable artists as Blossom Dearie, Lee Konitz and Gary Burton. - Leroy Vinnegar
Leroy Vinnegar was an American jazz bassist, known for his mastery of walking bass. Born in Indianapolis, the self-taught Vinnegar established his reputation in Los Angeles during the 1950s and '60s. His trademark was the rhythmic "walking" bass line, a steady series of ascending or descending notes, and it brought him the nickname "The Walker". Besides his jazz work, he also appeared on a number of soundtracks and pop albums, notably Van Morrison's 1972 album, … - Ben Allison
Ben Allison (c. 1966) is an American jazz double bassist and composer born in New Haven, Connecticut. He performs with the groups Peace Pipe, New Quartet, Medicine Wheel, the Kush Trio, and the Herbie Nichols Project (which he co-leads with pianist Frank Kimbrough). At the age of 25 he formed the Jazz Composers Collective, a New York City nonprofit organization, serving as that organization's Artistic Director and Composer-in-Residence. - Cleveland Eaton
Cleveland Eaton is an American jazz double bassist from Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. His most famous accomplishments are substantial playing stints with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and later with the Count Basie Orchestra. His entertaining style and deep knowledge of jazz tradition have earned him great respect in the jazz community. Cleveland Josephus "Cleve" Eaton II was raised with an intense comprehensive musical background. - Jamey Aebersold
Jamey Aebersold (born July 21, 1939) is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator. His "Play-A-Long" series of instructional book and CD collections, the first of which was released in 1967, are an internationally renowned resource for jazz education. As of 2006 more than 120 of these collections have been published by Aebersold, who currently teaches musical improvisation at the University of Louisville. He is also an adept pianist, bassist, and banjoist. - Peter Kowald
Peter Kowald was a German free jazz musician. A member of the Globe Unity Orchestra, and a touring double-bass player, Kowald collaborated with a large number of European free jazz and American free-jazz players during his career, including Peter Brötzmann, Irène Schweizer, Karl Berger, Conny Bauer, Wadada Leo Smith, Günter Sommer, William Parker, Barre Phillips, Joëlle Léandre, Lauren Newton and Evan Parker. He also recorded a number of solo double-bass albums, … - Reggie Workman
Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist. He was a member of jazz groups led by Gigi Gryce, Roy Haynes and Red Garland. In 1961, Workman joined the John Coltrane Quartet, replacing Steve Davis. He was present for the saxophonist's legendary "Live at the Village Vanguard" sessions, and also appeared with a second bassist (Art Davis) on the 1961 album, "Ole Coltrane". - Wilbur Ware
Wilbur Ware (September 8, 1923 - September 9, 1979) was a jazz double-bassist known for his hard bop percussive style. Born in Chicago, Ware taught himself to play banjo and bass. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt and Roy Eldridge. In the 1950s, Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco. He is best known for his work with the Thelonious Monk quartet in 1957-58. In 1969, Ware played with Clifford Jordan, Elvin Jones and Sonny Rollins. - Mark Dresser
Mark Dresser (b. 1952) is an American virtuoso double bass player and composer. He has performed and recorded with many of the luminaries of "new" jazz composition and improvisation. For ten years he performed with the Anthony Braxton Quartet, as well as diverse groups led by Ray Anderson, Tim Berne, Anthony Davis, Gerry Hemingway, John Zorn, and others. He has made over sixty recordings. He has received grants from New York Foundation for the Arts and Meet the Composer, … - Slam Stewart
Leroy Eliot 'Slam' Stewart (1914-1987) was an African American jazz bass player whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass (arco) and simultaneously hum or sing an octave apart. He was originally a violin player before switching to bass - Barre Phillips
Barre Phillips (born 1934 in San Francisco) is a jazz and free improvisation bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he migrated to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972 he has been based in southern France. During the 1960s he recorded with (among others) Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Archie Shepp, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz and Marion Brown. Phillips' 1968 recording of solo bass improvisations, issued as "Journal Violone" in the USA, … - Kyle Eastwood
Kyle Eastwood is a jazz musician and the son of actor-director Clint Eastwood and Maggie Johnson. He was born on May 19, 1968 in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Carmel, California. He studied film at the University of Southern California for two years before embarking on a music career. After becoming a session player in the early '90s and leading his own quartet, he released his first solo CD, "From There to Here", in 1998. - Steve Brown
Steve Brown (1890 - 15 September, 1965) was a jazz musician best known for his work on string bass. Like many of his fellow New Orleans, Louisiana bassists, he played both string bass and tuba professionally, as the two instruments fill similar roles in different types of bands. Brown was the younger brother of trombonist Tom Brown, and in his youth played with his brother's band in New Orleans. He was born with the name Theodore Brown, … - James Last
James Last (born Hans Last on April 17, 1929 in Bremen) is a German composer and big-band leader. - Malachi Favors
Malachi Favors (born August 22, 1927 in Lexington, Mississippi; died 2004 in Chicago) was a noted American jazz bassist best known for his work with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. He primarily played the double bass, but also played the electric bass guitar, banjo, zither, gong, and other instruments. At some point he added the word "Maghostut" to his name and because of this he is commonly listed as "Malachi Favors Maghostut." Musically he is most associated with bebop, … - Pierre Michelot
Pierre Michelot was a French bebop and hard bop double bass player. Born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, Michelot studied piano from 1936 until 1938, but switched to playing bass at the age of sixteen. Through his career he played with Rex Stewart (1948), Coleman Hawkins, Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli, Don Byas, Thelonious Monk, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Bud Powell (in a trio with Kenny Clarke), Zoot Sims, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, … - Lonnie Plaxico
Lonnie Plaxico (b. 4 September 1960) is an American jazz bassist. Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen (playing both double bass and bass guitar). His first recording was with his family's band, and by the time he was twenty he had move to New York City, where he had stints playing with Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Junior Cook, and Hank Jones.
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