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Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 22, 1935 but was raised in Detroit after the death of his mother. He began his music career as a youth playing the baritone horn, then switched to the tuba but by age 14 finally settled on the string bass in 1949. Through high school he trained with a Detroit Symphony Orchestra bassist, played classical music with the Detroit String Band, played with the Cass Technical High School Symphony and various other student groups that often had him playing the baritone saxophone.

Bassist Jimmy Blanton was Paul’s biggest influence but Charlie Parker and Bud Powell were his first influences. He admired Oscar Pettiford and Ray Brown, followed by Percy Heath, Milt Hinton and Wendell Marshall for their rhythm section work. It was Charles Mingus’ and George Duvivier’s technical prowess that gave him an understanding of their broadening of the jazz bass.

Chambers was invited to New York by Paul Quinichette and was soon touring and playing with George Wallington, J.J. Johnson, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Bennie Green, Thad Jones, Barry Harris and Kai Winding. In 1955 he joined the Miles Davis followed by Wynton Kelly and freelanced with many jazz greats throughout his short but impressive career.

Paul Chambers was a prominent figure and one of the most influential jazz bassists of the 1950s and 60s. His importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured by his impeccable time, intonation and virtuosic improvisations. He, along with Slam Stewart was first to perform arco or bowed features.

Over the span of his extremely short career Paul was a member of two of the jazz world’s most famous “rhythm sections”, the first with Red Garland and Philly Jo Jones, the second with Wynton Kelly and Jimmy Cobb. On January 4, 1969 he passed away of tuberculosis at the premature age of 33.

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