Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Clinton Joseph Houston was born on June 24, 1946 in New Orleans, Louisiana and spent his early childhood in Washington, D.C. before spending his adolescence in Queens, New York. At the age of 10, he began piano lessons and  started playing jazz in his early teens after hearing Cannonball Adderley on the radio. After being turned down for a pianist role in his high school band, he switched to the double bass.

He began playing in bands outside of high school, with Lenny White, George Cables, Billy Cobham, Steve Grossman and Charles Sullivan, all of whom grew up in the same neighborhood. In his early years, he played in a band called the Jazz Samaritans, playing Latin-style music at local parties and drawing inspiration from Art Blakey. At the age of 19, Clint won a Jazz Interactions competition, leading to an encounter with Paul Chambers who encouraged him to pursue his music further.

After high school, he went to the Pratt Institute, then transferred to Queen’s College to study music before eventually obtaining a degree in Graphic Art from the Cooper Union. During his higher education, on weekends he played alongside Cables and White at Slugs’ matinées. This led to them playing extensively with better-known artists. A founding member of musical co-operative Free Life Communications, Clint performed alongside Dave Liebman, becoming more immersed in the loft jazz scene of 1970s New York.

By 1972, Houston was playing alongside Joanne Brackeen in Stan Getz’ band. Their collaborations continued playing in New York clubs recording  on many of Brackeen’s early records. He went on to play with Roy Ayers, George Cables, Lenny White, Nina Simone, Roy Haynes, Sonny Greenwich, Don Thompson, Charles Tolliver, Woody Shaw, Pepper Adams, Slide Hampton, Frank Foster, and Roland Hanna. Bassist Clint Houston passed away on June 7, 2000.

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