Todd Coolman (born July 14, 1954) is a jazz

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

and a retired tenured Professor of Music at the Jazz Studies Program in the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. He is also the former Artistic Director of the Skidmore Jazz Institute. JamesMoody

Coolman grew up in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

. In 1978 he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He has since then performed with

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

, Gerry Mulligan,

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doubl ...

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charle ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...

, Slide Hampton,

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

, Tommy Flanagan, and countless others. He is probably best known for his 26-year association with the James Moody Quartet. Coolman has recorded with numerous jazz musicians in many contexts and has also released four recordings under his own leadership: ''Tomorrows'' (1990), ''Lexicon'' (1995), ''Perfect Strangers'' (2008) and ''Collectables'' (2016). In 1999, Coolman won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Album Notes for ''Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968''. In 2011 an album on which he played, James Moody's ''

Moody 4B ''Moody 4B'' is an instrumental album released by jazz musician James Moody (saxophonist), James Moody. The album was released in 2010 on IPO Recordings, Moody's fifth release on the label, and was produced by Michael Patterson, Bill Sorin was exe ...

'', won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group. He has written two method books related to jazz bass playing: ''The Bass Tradition'' and ''The Bottom Line''. In 1997, Coolman received a Ph.D. in Music and the Performing Arts from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

. He lives in Denville, New Jersey.

Discography

As leader

* ''Tomorrows'' (BRC, 1990) * ''Lexicon'' ( Double-Time, 1995) * ''Perfect Strangers'' ( ArtistShare, 2008) * ''Collectables'' ( Sunnyside, 2016)

As sideman

; With James Moody * ''Moving Forward'' (1988) * ''Sweet and Lovely'' (1989) * ''Young at Heart'' (1996) * ''Moody Plays Mancini'' (1997) * ''Homage'' (2004) * ''Our Delight'' (2008) * ''Moody 4A'' (2009) * ''Moody 4B'' (2010) ; With Michael Dease * Bonafide (2018) ; With

Hal Galper Harold Galper (born April 18, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer. Biography He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Galper studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz wh ...

Trio * ''Invitation to a Concert'' (1990) * ''Live at Port Townsend '91'' (1991) ; With

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and Rhythm and blues, rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on ...

* ''

Blue Head ''Blue Head'' is a live album by saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman's Quartet plus Clifford Jordan recorded at the 5th Annual Riverside Park Arts Festival in 1989 and released on the Candid label.Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

; With Rob Schneiderman * ''

Radio Waves Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz ( GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (s ...

'' (1991) * ''Glass Enclosure'' (2008) ; With

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

* '' Monterey Moods'' (2007) * ''Detroit'' (2009) ; With others * ''Made in Japan'',

(1982) * ''Advance'', Bobby Watson (1984) * ''Chicago Fire'',

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

(1987) * ''After Hours'', John Campbell (1988) * ''Holiday for Swing'', Buddy DeFranco/

(1988) * ''Live in Paris '92'', Ahmad Jamal (1993) * ''Sincerely, George & Ira Gershwin'' (1997) * ''Gone with the Wind'', Buddy DeFranco (1999)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coolman, Todd Living people Grammy Award winners American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists 1954 births Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni People from Denville, New Jersey Musicians from Gary, Indiana State University of New York at Purchase faculty Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Double-Time Records artists Sunnyside Records artists ArtistShare artists