Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Curtis Counce was born in Kansas City, Missouri on January 23, 1926. Studying violin and tuba early on before settling on the string bass, he went on the road when he was 16, playing with the Nat Towles Band in Omaha.
After some freelancing, Counce moved to Los Angeles in 1945, working with Johnny Otis and making his recording debut the following year with Lester Young. During the ‘50’s he was a key member of the West Coast jazz scene, recording as a sideman with Shelly Manne, Lyle Murphy, Teddy Charles, Clifford Brown, and many others.
In 1956, Counce organized a quintet comprised of trumpeter Jack Sheldon, tenor saxophonist Harold Land, pianist Carl Perkins, and drummer Frank Butler. During a 15-month period, they recorded enough material to document their endeavor, all of which were originally released by Contemporary and fall stylistically between West Coast cool jazz and hard bop.
Changing personnel, the Curtis Counce Quintet recorded a final album for the Dooto label before breaking up in 1958. The bassist continued working in the Los Angeles area until his death on July 31,1963 from a heart attack.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Al McKibbon was born January 1, 1919 in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Detroit, Michigan from the age of two. Attending Cass Tech, the high school that gave the world jazz greats Gerald Wilson, J.C. Heard, Wardell Grey and other, Al focused his training on the bass, which at the time, the bass was coming into its own as a jazz instrument and replacing the tuba.
In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J.C. Heard, Coleman Hawkins, and as a singer with the Ted Bruckners band, replaced Ray Brown in Dizzy Gillespie’s band. He joined Miles Davis’ nonet in the Fifties recording with him as well as Earl Hines, Count Basie, Johnny Hodges, Thelonious Monk, George Shearing, and Cal Tjader, with whom McKibbon is credited with interesting Cal in Latin music while a member of Tjader’s group.
McKibbon, always highly regarded among his peers, was the chosen bassist for the “Giants of Jazz”, and continued to perform until 2004. In 1999, at age 80, he recorded his first album as a leader “Tumbao Para Los Congueros Di Mi Vida” and garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Performance.
Al McKibbon, double bassist, singer and self taught dancer, who played a Jacob Steiner bass made in 1650, best known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz, passed away on July 29, 2005.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Patitucci was born December 22, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York and began playing electric bass at ten, composing and performing at 12, playing the acoustic bass at 15 and a year later the piano. A family move to the West Coast allowed him to study classical music at San Francisco State and Long Beach State universities.
By 1980 John’s career moved him to Los Angeles where he began a successful career as a studio musician and jazz artist. His long list of credits include twelve albums as a leader and a sideman for the likes of B.B. King, Chick Corea, Joanne Brackeen, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Natalie Cole, Queen Latifah, Sting, Stan Getz, Astrud and Joao Gilberto, Henry Mancini, Danilo Perez, Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner and the list goes on and on.
In 1986 he was voted by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences as the Most Valuable Player on acoustic bass, he has won two Grammy Awards, he has reached number one on the Billboard Jazz charts and has won the reader’s polls: Best Jazz Bassist in Guitar Player Magazine’s and Best Jazz Bassist in Bass Player Magazine’s.
Patitucci has taught at music schools in several countries, was the Artistic Director of the Bass Collective, a school for bassists in New York City, is involved with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program and was appointed Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at City College of New York.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Mads Vinding, born December 7, 1948 in Copenhagen, Denmark, took up the basses as a child. By sixteen he was playing professionally becoming the house bassist at Copenhagen’s legendary Café Montmartre.
Along with the acoustic double bass, he has also refined his playing on the electric bass making him an outstanding artist and a sought-after soloist for his musical command and his maturity. Vinding has performed all over the world, produced several records and has been honored with numerous jazz awards such as the Ben Webster Prize, Palae Jazz Prize, Readers Polls and three Grammy Awards among others.
One of the “Aces of Basses” with more than 600 recordings to his credit as a sideman, Mads has performed or recorded with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Sonny Stitt, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Dizzy Gillespie, Dollar Brand, Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Renee Rosnes, Stan Getz, Hank Jones, Gary Burton, Quincy Jones, Monty Alexander, Don Byas, Toots Thielemans, Ben Webster and Dexter Gordon, just to name a few in a long list of jazz luminaries. He continues to perform, record, tour and produce.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Samuel Jones was born on November 12, 1924 in Jacksonville, Florida. He started his career playing in local bands but by 1953 he was playing with Tiny Bradshaw. Moving to New York City in 1955 he joined up with the groups of Kenny Dorham, Cannonball Adderley, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk. But it would be with the Cannonball’s quintet from 1959 to 1966 that would establish his reputation.
Pairing up with stellar drummer Louis Hayes, the association proved to be a benchmark rhythm section for being “in the pocket”. Jones went on to replace Ray Brown in the Oscar Peterson Trio from 1966 to 1970. After this tenure he teamed up with Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins.
Known for playing the bass and cello with impeccable technique he could also swing and groove with the best of them. Sam fronted his own bands and left a reputable recorded legacy as a leader, recording solo projects during the early sixties and released some wonderful sides for Riverside, where he was able to stretch out on some of his cello oriented pieces.
From 1977 to 1981 Jones remained very active both as leader and sought after session player with two of his landmark recordings “Something New” and Something In Common” being produced during this period. He has played with Bobby Timmons, Tiny Bradshaw, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans and Illinois Jacquet as well as many others who revolved around the New York City jazz scene that was fertile ground for his career.
Sam Jones, double bassist, cellist and composer of the jazz standard, “Del Sasser”, passed away on December 15, 1981 at the age of 57.