Buddy Banks (bassist)

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Alvin "Buddy" Banks (* 15. January 1927 in St. Thomas ( Ontario ), Canada ; † 7. August 2005 in Las Vegas ) is an American double bassist of the Modern Jazz .

Live and act

"Buddy" Banks grew up in the United States. He played the clarinet in high school, then the piano; He came to Europe in 1948 as a soldier in the US Army who needed a bass player. The first recordings were made in Vienna with Thurmond Young; their ensemble entered u. a. in the Vienna Colored Club . In Lausanne he played with James Moody in 1949 ; in Paris he worked with Gerry Wiggins in 1950 , then lived in Switzerland, played with Bill Coleman in Bern , Belgium and in Le Havre . After having problems with his passport, he had to leave Switzerland in 1953 and moved to Paris , where he was one of the early bebop players and often participated in recording sessions. a. performed with American musicians living there as well as with local musicians, such as Hazel Scott , Buck Clayton , Lionel Hampton , Mezz Mezzrow , Mary Lou Williams / Don Byas , Albert Nicholas as well as Gérard Pochonet and André Persiany .

In 1954 Banks went on tours with Michel Attenoux and Sidney Bechet through Western and Central Europe. In the same year, Banks led a recording session in Paris ( Jazz de chambre ) with Bobby Jaspar , at which Roy Haynes , Bob Dorough and Jimmy Gourley set accents as a soloist on standards such as “ Yesterdays ” . In 1956 he joined the US Air Force to lead the Air Force Band and the Hickham Air Force Base Band in Hawaii . He was discharged from the Air Force in 1968 and then worked as a machinist in Pearl Harbor until 1985 . He also played as a bassist in various bands and in the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with Stanley Morgan's Ink Spots . In the 1990s he played in the band of saxophonist Gabe Baltazar .

Discographic notes

  • Buddy Banks Quartet: Jazz in Paris - Buddy Banks / Bobby Jaspar - Jazz de Chambre / (Emarcy, 1956) (with Bob Dorough )

literature

  • Howard Rye, Buddy Banks (Grove Jazz)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Banks, buddy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Banks, Alvin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American bass player
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Thomas, Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH August 7, 2005
Place of death Las Vegas