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The correct answer is Oscar Pettiford!
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photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
Oscar Pettiford at the Aquarium; New York, 1946
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Oscar Pettiford is considered the pioneer of the cello as a solo instrument in jazz, but was also known as a top bassist from the mid 1940’s until his unexpected death in 1960. He played on Coleman Hawkins’ 1943 “The Man I Love” session, and also recorded during that time with Ben Webster and Earl Hines. He jammed with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke and Thelonious Monk at Minton’s, and eventually played with Duke Ellington (1945-48), a few years after Jimmy Blanton’s death in 1942. He recorded extensively for a variety of labels during the 1950’s, and with the likes of Woody Herman, Gigi Gryce, Stan Getz and Bud Powell.
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Click here to visit Oscar Pettiford’s Wikipedia page
Click here to visit Scott Yanow’s biography of Pettiford on All Music
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Listen to the 1943 recording of Coleman Hawkins (with Oscar Pettiford) performing George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” [Kontor]
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Watch a clip of Oscar Pettiford, with Coleman Hawkins and Howard McGhee, from the 1945 film The Crimson Canary
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