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.

Charles Mingus, also known as Charlie Mingus, was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and occasional pianist. He was also known for his activism against racial injustice. Mingus is highly ranked among the composers and performers of jazz, and he recorded many highly regarded albums. Dozens of musicians passed through his bands and later went on to impressive careers.

Milt Hinton born Milton John Hilton (Vicksburg, Mississippi, June 23, 1910; d. Queens, New York, December 19, 2000), "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist. Milt Hinton is one of the greatest jazz bassists to ever live. He has been nicknamed "The Judge" for his outstanding musical ability. Milt was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on June 23, 1910. He lived in Vicksburg until the age of eleven when he moved to Chicago, Illinois.

Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His unique sound and great swing have made him a long sought after studio man — his appearances on over 3,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinniger. He also has a large body of classical recorded work as well.

Rufus Reid (b. February 10, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in the New York area.

Gary Peacock (born 12 May 1935 in Burley, Idaho) is an American jazz double-bassist. After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessell, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio (with Paul Motian), and Albert Ayler's trio with Sunny Murray. There were also some live dates with Miles Davis, as a temporary substitute for Ron Carter.

Dave Holland (born October 1, 1946) is a jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representator of avant-garde jazz.

John Clayton, Jr. is a Grammy-winning American jazz and classical double bassist.

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.

Stanley Clarke (born 30 June 1951) is an American musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar as well as his numerous film and television scores.

John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz double bass and electric bass player, specializing in post-bop, jazz fusion and Brazilian jazz.

Mads Vinding is a Danish jazz double-bassist. He is an example of world-class Danish jazz musicians, and one of the 'aces of basses' with more than 600 recordings to his credit. Professional at age 16, Vinding became the house-bassplayer at Café Montmartre, the legendary jazz club in Copenhagen. He is the holder of an impressive list of engagements with a multitude of famous jazz masters. Mads Vinding has performed all over the world, produced several records, …

Charles Anthony Williams (born April 17, 1942 in Camden, New Jersey) is an American jazz bassist. Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing. He started his professional career in Philadelphia with Jimmy Heath, then played and recorded with the Gene Ammons/Sonny Stitt quintet (1960-61).

Curtis Counce (January 23, 1926 - July 31, 1963) was an American hard bop and West Coast jazz double bassist. The fruit of his 1956 studio collaboration with tenor great Harold Land, trumpeters Jack Sheldon and Gerald Wilson and pianist Carl Perkins was issued in 2007 on a double CD by Gambit Records. Counce died in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack.

Wellman Braud (January 25, 1891 - October 29, 1966) was a United States jazz string bass player. He is a Creole. His family sometimes spelled their last name "Breaux", pronounced "Bro". Born in St. James Parish, Louisiana, Braud came to New Orleans in his early teens. He was playing violin and string bass and leading a trio in venues in the Storyville District before 1910. He moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1917. In 1923 he went to London with the Plantation Orchestra, …

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.

George Murphy "Pops" Foster (May 19, 1892 - October 29, 1969) was a jazz musician best known for his vigorous playing of the string bass. He also played the tuba and trumpet professionally. Foster was born to Charley and Annie Foster on a plantation near McCall in Ascension Parish near Baton Rouge in south Louisiana. His family moved to New Orleans when he was about ten years of age.

Hank Van Sickle (born December 31, 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an electric and upright bassist currently living and working in Los Angeles, California. His father Rodney Van Sickle is a classically trained double bassist who graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music and played in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player. Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet (1967-1973), with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen. In the same period he also worked with the Norwegian singer Karin Krog and played in the rhythm section for visiting American musicians including Phil Woods, Dexter Gordon, Hampton Hawes, Johnny Griffin, Sonny Rollins, and Chick Corea.

Christopher Barry Wood is the Pasadena, California-born bass player for the avant-garde jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood. He uses both upright and electric basses. Born in Pasadena, California, Chris formed MMW in 1991 with John Medeski and Billy Martin. He recently collaborated with his brother Oliver Wood to form the The Wood Brothers. Their debut release is entitled "Ways Not To Lose"; it was recorded at Allaire Studios in Shokan, …

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.

Tom Abbs (c. Seattle, Washington, 1972) is an American multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker. He works primarily in the fields of jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation, and plays double bass, tuba, cello, violin, didgeridoo, and wooden flute, often playing several of these instruments simultaneously. Originally from Washington state, he has lived New York City since 1991, and is based in Brooklyn, New York. He attended The New School's Jazz and Contemporary Music program, …

Henry "Skipper" Franklin is an American jazz double-bassist born in Los Angeles, California in 1940 who is the son of jazz trumpeter Sammy Franklin. Franklin played on Hugh Masekela's 1968 number one single, "Grazing in the Grass," as well as with Masekela's band at the Monterey International Pop Festival in June of 1967. In addition, Franklin has played and recorded with Gene Harris & the Three Sounds, Hampton Hawes, Freddie Hubbard, Bobbi Humphrey, Willie Bobo, …

Walter Booker (December 17, 1933 - November 24, 2006) was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques. Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s. He played clarinet and alto sax in college with a concert band. In 1959 he began on bass while in the US Army, …

William Manuel "Bill" Johnson (August 10, 1874 - December 3, 1972), was an American jazz musician, considered the father of the "slap" style of string bass playing. Johnson claimed to have started "slapping" the strings of his bass (a more vigorous technique than the classical pizzicato), after he accidentally broke his bow on the road with his band in northern Louisiana in the early 1910s. Other New Orleans string bass players picked up this style, …

Richard Quentin 'Rick' Laird is a jazz musician, born on February 5, 1941. He is a bass player best known for his place in The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Laird was born in Dublin, Ireland. He played music from a young age and enrolled for guitar and piano lessons. He started playing jazz after moving to New Zealand at the age of 16 with his father. He played guitar in jam bands in New Zealand before buying an upright bass.

Jeff Johnson (born December 12, 1954) is a prolific American jazz bassist. He has led his own groups and worked with Jessica Williams, Hal Galper, Bud Shank, Chet Baker, Lew Tabackin, Barney Kessel, Charlie Rouse, and others. A sensitive accompanist, Johnson is sought-after by vocalists; he has accompanied Karrin Allyson, Tierney Sutton, Kendra Shank, Mark Murphy, Marlena Shaw and others.

Edward Bertram Garland (9 January, 1895 - 22 January, 1980) was a New Orleans jazz string bass player. He was commonly known as "Ed Garland", and sometimes "Montudie Garland" (a nickname he disliked). By about 1910, he was playing bass drum with brass bands, including Frankie Duson's Eagle Band. He then took up tuba and string bass (like many New Orleans bassists of the era, he doubled on the two instruments which filled similar roles in different types of bands).

Papa John Joseph (27 November, 1877 - 22 January, 1965) was an early New Orleans jazz string bass player. Joseph was born in St. James Parish, Louisiana and moved to New Orleans by 1906. He played with Buddy Bolden early on. Somewhat later he played in the Claiborne Williams band and the Original Tuxedo Orchestra. For years in mid life he worked professionally as a barber playing music occasionally on the side. He returned to music full time in his later years.