Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

ist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the

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 ...

idiom. Jazz bassist Christian McBride called Pettiford "probably the most important bass player of that bebop generation in terms of creating new language for the bass."

Early life

Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United States. His mother identified as being of

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

descent, and his father Harry "Doc" Pettiford identified as half

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

and half

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. He grew up playing in the family band, in which he sang and danced before switching to piano at the age of 12, then to double bass when he was 14. Jamela Pettiford, a singer in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, and a descendant of the Pettiford family, told

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, KNOW-FM, News & Information, KSJN, YourClassical MPR and KCMP, The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper ...

in 2022 that the Pettiford family band traveled itinerantly for a time as road musicians before settling in north

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. Pettiford is quoted as saying that he did not like the way people were playing the bass, so he developed his own way of playing it. Despite being admired by the likes of Milt Hinton at the age of 14, he gave up in 1941 because he did not believe he could make a living. Five months later, he once again met Hinton, who persuaded him to return to music.

Career

In 1942, Pettiford joined the

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 ...

band and in 1943 gained wider public attention after recording with

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

on his " The Man I Love". Pettiford also recorded with

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

around this time. After he moved to New York, he was one of the musicians (together with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

, Kenny Clarke) who in the early 1940s jammed at Minton's Playhouse, where the music style developed that was later called bebop. Pettiford and

led a bop group in 1943. In 1945, Pettiford went with Hawkins to California, where he appeared in ''The Crimson Canary'', a mystery movie known for its jazz soundtrack, which also featured Josh White. He then worked with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

from 1945 to 1948 and for

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

in 1949, before working mainly as a leader in the 1950s. As a leader, he inadvertently discovered

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

. After one of his musicians had tricked him into letting Adderley, an unknown music teacher, onto the stand, he had Adderley solo on a demanding piece, on which Adderley performed impressively. Pettiford is considered the pioneer of the cello as a solo instrument in jazz music. He first played the cello as a practical joke on his band leader Woody Herman. In the middle of a

solo, Pettiford surprised everyone by abruptly exiting the stage; soon thereafter, he further surprised Herman and the rest of his bandmates by returning to the bandstand with a cello, on which he played the remainder of his solo. Later, after suffering a broken arm in 1949, Pettiford found it impossible to play his bass, so he experimented with a cello a friend had lent him. Tuning it in fourths, like a double bass, but one octave higher, Pettiford found it possible to perform during his rehabilitation (during which time his arm was in a sling), and made his first recordings with the instrument in 1950. The cello thus became his secondary instrument, and he continued to perform and record with it throughout the remainder of his career. He recorded extensively during the 1950s for the Debut,

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, and ABC Paramount labels, among others. During the mid-1950s, he played on the first three albums that Thelonious Monk recorded for the Riverside label. Between 1954 and 1958, Pettiford also led sextets, big bands, and jazz orchestras which played dates in Manhattan venues like Birdland, where he continued to explore unusual instrumental voicing including French horns and harp. The reedist and composer

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing ...

collaborated with Pettiford on the novel arrangements for the orchestra's hi-fi albums. In 1958, Pettiford moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, and started recording for European companies. After his move to Europe, he often performed with European musicians, such as

Attila Zoller Attila Cornelius Zoller (June 13, 1927 – January 25, 1998) was a Hungarian jazz guitarist. After World War II, he escaped the Soviet takeover of Hungary by fleeing through the mountains on foot into Austria. In 1959, he moved to the United Sta ...

, and also with other Americans who had settled in Europe, including

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...

and Kenny Clarke. Pettiford's influence on bassists of later generations is frequently noted; his composition "Tricotism" is a standard piece of jazz bass repertoire, and has been recorded by bassists from several different generations, including Ray Brown, Milt Hinton, Rufus Reid, John Clayton, Bill Crow, Yasushi Nakamura, and others.

Death

Pettiford died in 1960 in Copenhagen, shortly before his 38th birthday, from a virus closely related to polio.

Discography

As leader

* ''Bass Hits'' (Topaz, 1943–46) * '' The New Oscar Pettiford Sextet'' (Debut, 1953) * '' Oscar Pettiford Sextet'' (Vogue, 1954) * '' Oscar Pettiford'' (Bethlehem, 1954) * '' Basically Duke'' (Bethlehem, 1954) * '' Another One'' (Bethlehem, 1955) * ''Oscar Pettiford Volume 2'' (1956) * '' The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi'' (ABC-Paramount, 1956) * '' The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi Volume Two'' (ABC-Paramount, 1957) * ''Discoveries'' (Savoy, 1952-57 986 * '' Winner's Circle'' (

, 1957) with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

* ''Vienna Blues – The Complete Session'' (Black Lion, 1959) with Hans Koller,

, Jimmy Pratt * ''The Complete Essen Jazz Festival Concert'', (Black Lion, 1960) with

, Kenny Clarke * '' My Little Cello'' (Debut, 1960) also released as ''Last Recordings of the Late Great Bassist'' and ''Montmartre Blues'' * '' First Bass'' (IAJRC, 1953-60

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* ''Blue Brothers'', (Black Lion, 1959-60 973

As sideman

* Ralph Burns and

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

: '' Winter Sequence'' (MGM, 1954) *

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

: '' Swingin''' (Blue Note, 1956 el. 1980 *

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

: '' Drum Suite'' (Columbia, 1957) * The Birdlanders: Vol. 2 (OJC, 1954) with Kai Winding, Al Cohn, Tal Farlow,

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

, Max Roach,

Denzil Best Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Best was born in New York City, into a musi ...

* Sid Catlett: '' 1944–1946'' (Classics) * Teddy Charles: ''3 for Duke'' (Jubilee/London,1957) * Jimmy Cleveland: '' Introducing Jimmy Cleveland and His All Stars'' (EmArcy, 1955) * Earl Coleman: '' Earl Coleman Returns'' (Prestige, 1956) *

Chris Connor Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009), was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Sh ...

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Quartet: ''Chris Connor'' (Atlantic) *

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

: '' The Musings of Miles'' (Prestige) * Miles Davis: '' Miles Davis Volume 1''/'' Miles Davis Volume 2'' (Blue Note, 1952–54) * Kenny Dorham: '' Jazz Contrasts'' (OJC, 1957) ''

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

'' (Blue Note, 1955) * Duke Ellington: ''Carnegie Hall Concert January 1946'' (Prestige) * Duke Ellington: ''Carnegie Hall Concert December 1947'' (Prestige); ''1947–1948'' (Classics), ''1949–1950'' (Classics), ''Great Times!'' (OJC, 1950) (includes " Perdido", "Blues for Blanton") * Tal Farlow: ''Jazz Masters 41'' (Verve 1955–58); ''Finest Hour'' (Verve, 1955–58) *

: ''1937–1945'' (Classics) * Dizzy Gillespie: ''1945'' (Classics) * Urbie Green: ''East Coast Series Vol. 6'' (Bethlehem, 1956) * Jimmy Hamilton'' & The New York Jazz Quintet'' (Fresh Sound Rec.) *

: '' Rainbow Mist'' (Delmark, 1944 992, '' The Hawk Flies High'' (OJC, 1957) * Ernie Henry: ''Last Chorus'' (Riverside, 1956–57) *

: ''Keeper Of the Flame'' (Capitol, 1948–49) *

Trio: ''Fats Waller Memorial'' (Signature SI-l-lA/B etc.) *

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

: ''Caravan'' (Prestige, 1947–51) * Helen Humes: ''1927–1945'' (Classics) *

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

: '' Ballads & Blues'' (Atlantic, 1956) * Milt Jackson: '' Plenty, Plenty Soul'' (Atlantic, 1957) * Milt Jackson: "Soul Brothers" (with Ray Charles) (Atlantic, 1958) * Lee Konitz / Warne Marsh Quintet (Atlantic, 1955) *

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

: '' Sultry Serenade'' (Riverside, 1957), '' Salute to the Flute'' (Epic, 1957) *

Helen Merrill Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1929) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording ''Helen Merrill (album), Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown on EmArcy), was an immediate success and associat ...

: ''

'' (Emarcy, 1954), '' Dream of You'' (Emarcy, 1957) *

: '' Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington'' (Riverside, 1955), '' The Unique Thelonious Monk'' (Riverside, 1956), '' Brilliant Corners'' (Riverside, 1956) * Phineas Newborn, Jr.: '' Here Is Phineas'' (Atlantic, 1956) * Joe Newman &

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: '' Locking Horns'' (Rama, 1957) * Leo Parker: ''Prestige First Sessions: Volume 1'' (Prestige, 1950) * Red Rodney: Red Rodney (ONYX 1957) *

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

: '' Deeds, Not Words'' (Riverside, 1958) *

Joe Roland Joe Roland (May 17, 1920 – October 12, 2009) was an American jazz vibraphone, vibraphonist. Roland began as a Clarinet, clarinetist, attending the Institute of Musical Art (later known as the Juilliard School) from 1937 to 1939. He started on x ...

: ''

Joltin' Joe Roland ''Joltin' Joe Roland'' is an album by jazz vibraphonist Joe Roland which was released on the Savoy Records, Savoy label in 1955. The album was originally released as two 10-inch LPs recorded at three sessions, two from 1950 and 1954 released as ' ...

'' (Savoy, 1955) *

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

: '' Freedom Suite'' (Riverside, 1958) * Charlie Rouse: '' Les Jazz Modes'' (Dawn, 1956) * Sahib Shihab: '' Jazz Sahib'' (Savoy, 1957) *

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 ...

: '' Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones'' (Roost, 1955) *

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the ...

: '' Great Times!'' (Riverside, 1950) *

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

: ''The Art Of Tatum'' (ASV, 32-44) * Clark Terry: '' Clark Terry'' (EmArcy, 1955) * Lucky Thompson: ''Accent on Tenor Sax'' (FSR, 1954) * Lucky Thompson: ''Tricotism'' (Impulse, 1956) * George Wallington: ''The George Wallington Trios'' (Prestige, 1952–53) *

Julius Watkins Julius Watkins (October 10, 1921 – April 4, 1977) was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the ''Down Beat'' critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Mis ...

: '' Julius Watkins Sextet'' (Blue Note, 1954–55)

References

External links

"NPR's Jazz Profiles, Oscar Pettiford: Bass Beyond Bop"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettiford, Oscar 1922 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American cellists 20th-century American double-bassists African-American jazz musicians American jazz cellists American jazz double-bassists American male jazz musicians Bebop cellists Bebop double-bassists Bethlehem Records artists Black Lion Records artists Duke Ellington Orchestra members American male double-bassists Manor Records artists People from Okmulgee, Oklahoma DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members