Eugene Joseph Wright (May 29, 1923 – December 30, 2020) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Career

Wright was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois. He was a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

ist at high school and led the 16-piece band Dukes of Swing in his 20s. He was largely self-taught on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

until his early 30s, when he studied privately with Paul Gregory and others. Walter Page was Wright's idol. He became more successful at the peak of the swing era, with bandleaders including

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

and

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first re ...

. Playing with

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

, after the swing era ended, he demonstrated his versatility in

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

with such musicians as

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

as well as in

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

with

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin music (genre), Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group mod ...

. He also played with

Lonnie Simmons Lonnie Simmons (December 12, 1944 – February 6, 2019) was an American record producer from Los Angeles, California. He was founder and president of the now defunct Total Experience Records. As a composer, he co-wrote several #1 R&B songs for ...

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R ...

, and

Arnett Cobb Arnett Cleophus Cobb (August 10, 1918 – March 24, 1989)
accessed July 2010. was an American tenor saxophonist, somet ...

in the late '40s and early '50s, then worked with

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

from 1952 to 1955, touring Europe with him. He played in the

Red Norvo Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His recor ...

trio in 1955 and toured Australia with them. He was featured in a film short with

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Nagasaki", "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "South ...

. Wright's highest profile association was with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which he joined in 1958. He remained with Brubeck until 1968, as part of the classic line-up with Paul Desmond and Joe Morello, and featured in the quartet's

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

" Take Five" and "

Blue Rondo à la Turk Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally d ...

". He recorded more than 30 albums with the group. Brubeck himself wrote that Wright "grounded the group", allowing them "to play other tempos and do polyrhythmic things and he wouldn’t budge from this grounded beat". In 1962, he performed in Dave and Iola Brubeck's jazz musical ''

The Real Ambassadors ''The Real Ambassadors'' is a jazz musical developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Dave and Iola Brubeck, in collaboration with Louis Armstrong and his band. It addressed the Civil Rights Movement, the music business, America's place in t ...

'', which featured vocals by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretati ...

; the work explored, through satire, the role of musicians as cultural ambassadors during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, and the racism Black jazz musicians often endured. When Wright joined the group, concert promoters would not allow a Black musician alongside the rest of the White quartet, but Brubeck would refuse to perform without him. After leaving Brubeck, Wright led his own ensemble on a tour of Black colleges in 1969 and 1970, then played with

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander OJ CD (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican American jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was in ...

's trio from 1971 to 1974. He became known as "The Senator" or "Senator Eugene Wright" among jazz musicians. Known for nimble soloing as well as providing rhythmic backing, he worked with many other musicians including Buddy Collette,

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born on August 28, 1928, in New York City, United States, and he received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, ...

, Gerald Wiggins,

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of " More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

, Dottie Dodgion, Jerry Dodgion, Lee Shaw, and

Dorothy Donegan Dorothy Donegan (April 6, 1922 – May 19, 1998) was an American classically trained jazz pianist and occasional vocalist, primarily known for performing stride and boogie-woogie, as well as bebop, swing, and classical. Biography Early li ...

. In his later life, Wright headed the jazz department at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

and the International Society of Bassists. He was the last surviving member of the classic Dave Brubeck Quartet line-up. He died at an assisted living facility in Los Angeles on December 30, 2020, at the age of 97.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Wright Groove'' ( Phillips, 1962)

As sideman

With

* ''Here Comes the Sun'' (MPS/BASF, 1972) * ''We've Only Just Begun'' (BASF 1972) * ''Perception!'' (MPS/BASF, 1974) With

* '' All Star Sessions'' (Prestige, 1956) * '' Soulful Saxophone'' (Chess, 1959) * '' Jug and Sonny'' (Chess, 1960) With

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

* '' The Dave Brubeck Quartet in Europe'' (Columbia, 1958) * ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' (Columbia, 1959) * '' Time Out'' (Columbia, 1959) * ''The Riddle'' (Columbia, 1960) * '' Brubeck and Rushing'' (Columbia, 1960) * '' Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein'' (Columbia, 1960) * ''Southern Scene'' (Columbia, 1960) * '' Brubeck à la mode'' (Fantasy, 1960) * '' Tonight Only!'' (Columbia, 1960) * ''Near-Myth'' (Fantasy, 1961) * '' Take Five Live'' (Columbia, 1962) * '' Time Further Out'' (Columbia, 1961) * ''

'' (Columbia, 1962) * '' Countdown—Time in Outer Space'' (Columbia, 1962) * '' Brandenburg Gate: Revisited'' (Columbia, 1963) * '' Bossa Nova U.S.A.'' (Columbia, 1962) * '' At Carnegie Hall'' (Columbia, 1963) * '' Time Changes'' (Columbia, 1964) * '' Jazz Impressions of Japan'' (Columbia, 1964) * '' Dave Brubeck in Berlin'' (CBS, 1964) * '' Jazz Impressions of New York'' (Columbia, 1965) * '' Angel Eyes'' (Columbia, 1965) * '' Anything Goes! The Dave Brubeck Quartet Plays Cole Porter'' (Columbia, 1965) * '' My Favorite Things'' (Columbia, 1966) * '' Time In'' (Columbia, 1966) * '' Jackpot!'' (Columbia, 1966) * '' Bravo! Brubeck!'' (Columbia, 1967) * '' Buried Treasures'' (Columbia, 1968) * '' The Last Time We Saw Paris'' (Columbia, 1968) * '' Brubeck in Amsterdam'' (Columbia, 1969) * ''Summit Sessions'' (Columbia, 1971) * '' 25th Anniversary Reunion'' (Horizon, 1977) With Buddy Collette * '' Man of Many Parts'' (Contemporary, 1956) * '' Everybody's Buddy'' (Challenge, 1958) With

* ''The Artistry of Buddy DeFranco'' (Norgran, 1954) * ''Pretty Moods'' (Norgran, 1954) * ''Takes You to the Stars'' (GNP, 1954) * ''In a Mellow Mood'' (Norgran, 1956) * ''Jazz Tones'' (Norgran, 1956) * ''Sweet and Lovely'' (Verve, 1956) * ''Cooking the Blues'' (Verve, 1958) With Paul Desmond * '' Take Ten'' (RCA Victor, 1963) * '' Bossa Antigua'' (RCA Victor, 1965) * '' Glad To Be Unhappy'' (RCA Victor, 1965) * '' Easy Living'' (RCA Victor, 1966) With

* ''The Modernity of Kenny Drew'' (Norgran, 1954) * ''The Ideation of Kenny Drew'' (Norgran, 1954) * '' Kenny Drew and His Progressive Piano'' (Norgran, 1956) With

* ''Genesis'' (Prestige, 1975) * ''

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a symmetrical pattern when viewed fro ...

'' (Prestige, 1957) * ''

Stitt's Bits ''Stitt's Bits'' is an album by saxophonist Sonny Stitt compiling tracks recorded in 1950 and released on the Prestige Records, Prestige label in 1958.

'' (Prestige, 1958) With

* ''Tjader Plays Tjazz'' (Fantasy, 1956) * ''Cal Tjader Quartet'' (Fantasy, 1956) * ''The Cal Tjader Quintet Live at Club Macumba San Francisco 1956'' (Acrobat Music, 2012) * ''Jazz at the Blackhawk'' (Fantasy 1957) * ''Cal Tjader'' (Fantasy, 1957) * ''Mas Ritmo Caliente'' (Fantasy, 1957) * ''Cal Tjader Goes Latin'' (Fantasy 1959) With Gerald Wiggins * ''The King and I'' (Challenge, 1957) * ''The Loveliness of You'' (Tampa, 1958) * ''Music from Around the World in 80 Days in Modern Jazz'' (London American, 1958)

References

External links

* * *
Eugene Wright Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Eugene 1923 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians Dave Brubeck Quartet members African-American jazz musicians American male jazz musicians American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Jazz musicians from Chicago