Bob Cunningham (musician)

Bob Cunningham (* 28. December 1934 in Cleveland , † 1. April 2017 in New York City ) is an American jazz - bassist and composer .

Live and act

Cunningham began his musical career in local bands in his hometown; In 1960 he went to New York City . In 1961 he played with Dizzy Gillespie , with whom he appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival , and took part in recordings by Bill Hardman and Eric Dolphy . He then worked with Ken McIntyre (1963), Walt Dickerson (1965), Frank Foster (1965/66), Junior Mance , Freddie Hubbard ( Backlash , 1966), the Jazz Composer's Orchestra (1968) and Gary Bartz (1969). In the early 1970s he played six years with Yusef Lateef ; At the end of the 1970s he began to work with his own formations in which u. a. Bernard Purdie , Alvin Queen and Melvin Sparks played. In 1985 he recorded the album Walking Bass for the Nilva Records label . 1982/83 he played a. a. with Phil Bowler , Rufus Reid , Fred Hopkins and Thurman Barker in the World Bass Violin Ensemble . As a composer, Cunningham worked several times with choreographers and writers. He wrote u. a. Music for the dance drama Musical Safari in Living Color .

Discographic notes

• Walt Dickerson: Impressions of a Patch of Blue (Verve, 1965)
• Frank Foster: Soul Outing! (OJC, 1966)
• Dizzy Gillespie: An Electrifying Evening with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (Verve, 1961)
• Jazz Composers Orchestra: Communications (JCOA, 1968)
• Ken McIntyre: The Complete United Artists Sessions (Blue Note, 1962/63)

literature

• Bielefeld catalog 1985, 1988 & 2002
• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
• Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .

Web links

• Web presence with discography

Remarks

1. ^ Obituary in Jazz Hot
2. ↑ Cunningham was a member of the Dolphy Quartet with Mel Lewis and Lalo Schifrin .