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Oscar Pettiford Archives

Set Released Covering Last Years of Jazz Great Oscar Pettiford’s Career
New Albums

Set Released Covering Last Years of Jazz Great Oscar Pettiford’s Career

Much of the work of late bebop pioneer Oscar Pettiford is now available in one package: The Classic Albums 1953-1960. The five disc set includes recordings made after the jazz double bassist began using the cello in earnest as his secondary instrument following an arm injury. The late Pettiford, who was a composer and bandleader as well, is known for...

Performance by Jazz Legend Oscar Pettiford Released 57 Years After the Show
New Albums

Performance by Jazz Legend Oscar Pettiford Released 57 Years After the Show

Newly unearthed modern jazz recordings from a Nov. 14, 1958 Hamburg, Germany performance by Oscar Pettiford Quartet have been released on the collection, We Get the Message. Pettiford, a highly influential double bassist/cellist, was known for saying that the center of his work was “to pass on the message.” Sadly, he was able to do so for only so long...

Oscar Pettiford and Attila Zoller: The Gentle Art of Love
Bass Videos

Oscar Pettiford and Attila Zoller: The Gentle Art of Love

I’m a sucker for jazz ballads on bass, so when Christopher Brydge shared this duo of Oscar Pettiford and Attila Zoller playing “The Gentle Art of Love,” I dropped everything to watch. The video is part of some rare footage from a TV program called “Black and White Show no. 2” which aired on June 15th, 1959. Pettiford, who is...

Oscar Pettiford’s “Lost Tapes” Released
New Albums

Oscar Pettiford’s “Lost Tapes” Released

By the 1950s, Oscar Pettiford had already made a name for himself as a force in the bebop movement and was working as a bandleader. But when the bass legend first arrived in Germany in 1958, he was lauded even more than he could believe. His signature style and use of bass as a solo instrument was extremely popular with...

Bottoms Up

A Look at Oscar Pettiford’s “Tricotism”

I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone for their encouraging words on my first column; John Goldsby shared that he and John Patitucci have recorded “Bohemia After Dark”, and I’d encourage folks to take a listen to their respective versions of the tune. Now, back to the show. In our second installment on Oscar Pettiford, we are going...

Bottoms Up: Melodies in Bass
Bottoms Up

Bottoms Up: Melodies in Bass

Hi, nice to meet all of you. I’m here to discuss melodies in the bass: bass lines as part of tunes and great melodies written by bass players, and maybe a few surprises thrown in. In this column I’ll be discussing one of the all time great bass players in history who also penned more than a few tunes that...