Bass Melodies

Discographies show Rafik playing two sessions with Rahsaan Roland Kirk in 1963. Pianist Harold Mabern was on both sessions. Two other NYC musicians who were friends of ours, trumpeter Virgil Jones and drummer Walter Perkins, also recorded with Rafik and Kirk then, but both are deceased.

Bassist Buster Williams is an iconic musician whose trademark sound and styling are present on over 300 recordings to date. Williams, known for his ability to simultaneously be insistent yet supportive, has been the bassist of choice for legends including Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock, Mary Lou Williams, Hank Jones and even Ron Carter (in his two-bass "Piccolo" quartet). His prolific contributions in the recording studio range from dates with Nancy Wilson and Betty Carter to Art Blakey, Woody Shaw, Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis.

Cecil McBee has been on the jazz scene for many years; he always plays marvelously in any style. Cecil is a true master of bass lines. His ballad accompaniment is exceptional, and studying and comparing his base lines on several recordings of his beautiful ballad Close To You Alone is a mind-opening experience.

Widely known as one of the most virtuosic bassists to come out of the 1970s, Charles Fambrough made his mark on the jazz scene when he started playing with Grover Washington, Jr.'s band in 1970. Getting the recognition he deserved from this gig, he joined McCoy Tyner and later joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Fambrough was known for his fearless conviction to whatever style of music he was playing, which led to a successful career in the Latin jazz world as well, performing with Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, and Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band. Fambrough was also known for his compositional skills, bringing many of his tunes into the band of the great musicians he played with. He is one of the great jazz musicians to have come out of Philadelphia.

Daryl Johns was born in the Bronx and began playing bass at age seven with encouragement from his father, drummer Steve Johns, and his mother, saxophonist Debbie Keefe. Johns has studied with Chip Jackson and Dave Santoro. He has attended the Jazz in July program, the Vermont Jazz Center, and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. Johns sits in regularly around the New York area with musicians including Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Randy Brecker. He also performs throughout New York and New Jersey with a trio of his peers. Johns was featured on a Fox television segment called “12-Year-Old Jazz Prodigy."

David Friesen picked up the bass at age 19 when he began studying with a member of the Seattle Symphony while he was serving in the army. His career picked up in the 1970s when he toured with notable bandleaders such as Joe Henderson, Marian McPartland and Billy Harper. David has recorded over 65 CDs as a leader and co-leader.

Heralded by pianist Cedar Walton as the "brightest star on jazz piano's horizon," David Hazeltine is considered to be one of jazz's premier pianists as well as composer-arrangers. With a mantra to "swing as much as humanly possible," David's style is infused with influences of Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Buddy Montgomery, Barry Harris and Cedar Walton while still retaining his own fiercely individual voice. Hailing from Milwaukee, David made his professional debut on the organ when he was just thirteen years old.

Saxophonist Lucky Thompson is one of the great musical treasures of jazz. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, but was raised in Detroit, Michigan. He played in local groups with Hank Jones, Sonny Stitt and others. In August, 1943, when he was 19, he left Detroit with Lionel Hampton's Orchestra, eventually arriving in New York City. Still a teenager, his first recording date was with Hot Lips Page on March 18, 1944. Later in 1944 he started recording with both Lucky Millinder and Count Basie.

A lauded name on the jazz scene since the tender age of 17, Geoffrey Keezer is one of the best-loved pianists today. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Geoff took up the piano at age three and quickly showed himself to be a prodigy. As an eighteen-year-old freshman at Berklee College of Music in 1989, he was invited to join Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, launching his talents into the spotlight. The year before, his mentor James Williams encouraged him to record his debut album, the well-received "Waiting In The Wings." His career continued to take off in the early 1990s with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl of Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue (conducted by John Mauceri).

Revered for his impeccable intonation, inventive accompaniment and complete mastery of the bass's technical demands, George Mraz is one of the greatest bassists of the last fifty years. Mraz has such profound ears that he has been chosen by some of the greatest musicians in history: Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan to name but a few.

An important performer but decidedly less celebrated than deserved, Jimmy (James Bryant) Woode was a formidable presence in rhythm sections of bands lead by numerous jazz icons. A partial and curtailed list presents Sidney Bechet, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and for five years Duke Ellington.

Bassist Jon Burr's credits go on for miles. At the age of 16 Charles Mingus asked him to sit in on bass at the Village Vanguard. He has worked alongside many of the jazz giants while cultivating his own unique sound. His early discography includes recordings and performances with Buddy Rich, Chet Baker, Hank Jones, vocalists Eartha Kitt and Rita Moreno, and a five year tour with Tony Bennett and numerous Broadway credits.

One marker of bassist Michael Formanek's creativity and versatility is the range of distinguished musicians of several generations he's worked with. While still a teenager in the 1970s he toured with drummer Tony Williams and saxophonist Joe Henderson; starting in the '80s he played long stints with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Fred Hersch and Freddie Hubbard. (As a callback to those days, Formanek recorded with hardbop pianist Freddie Redd in 2013).

Oscar Pettiford's mother was Choctaw and his father was half Cheokee and half African American, making for an interestingly rich musical background. He grew up singing and playing piano in a family band before eventually switching to the bass at the age of 14. Pettiford was strongly influenced by the great Milt Hinton who helped convince Pettiford that if he continued to pursue music, he would make a successful career from it. Performing with Dizzy Gillespie helped Pettiford become recognized as one of the first bassists in the bebop world.

Bassist Paul Chambers was a leading rhythmic force in the 1950s and 1960s. He became one of the signature bassists in jazz history. Born in Pittsburgh but raised in Detroit, Chambers initially took up the baritone horn as a child. He followed suit with the tuba and didn't become interested in the string bass until 1949. Listening to Charlie Parker and Bud Powell and studying under a bassist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Chambers began making headway in small bars of Hastings Street area and doing club jobs with Kenny Burrell, Thad Jones and Barry Harris. He did classical work in a group called the Detroit String Band, a rehearsal symphony orchestra.

Clifton "Skeeter" Best was an American jazz guitarist. Best played in Philadelphia from 1935 to 1940, recording with Slim Marshall and Erskine Hawkins. In 1940, he joined Earl Hines's orchestra, playing with him until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1942. After the war, he played with Bill Johnson from 1945 to 1949.

Wilbur Little was a wonderful bassist who came of age in the early 1950s under the prime influences of Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford and Ray Brown. With his beat of swinging splendor and sense of harmonic and rhythmic daring, Little was able to contribute strongly in such well known recording sessions as Bobby Jaspar's "Blues for Tomorrow," Tommy Flanagan's "Overseas," J. J. Johnson's "Live at Café Bohemia."

Yuriy Galkin was born in Russia into a family of musicians. He started to play classical piano at the age of 7, picked up electric bass by the time he was 15, and after only a few months of self-teaching he was able to play professionally. He became interested in jazz and was influenced by a number of great bassists including Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, Dave Holland, Niels Pedersen and John Patitucci. His imagination fueled by those great artists, Yuriy started practicing double bass and dedicated himself to the world of jazz music.