1. Oscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist and composer.
16 Facts About Oscar Pettiford
1. 2.
Oscar Pettiford was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom.
3.
Oscar Pettiford's mother identified as being of Choctaw descent, and his father Harry "Doc" Pettiford identified as half Cherokee and half African-American.
4.
Oscar Pettiford 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.
5.
Oscar 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.
6.
In 1942, Oscar Pettiford joined the Charlie Barnet band and in 1943 gained wider public attention after recording with Coleman Hawkins on his "The Man I Love".
7.
Oscar Pettiford recorded with Earl Hines and Ben Webster around this time.
8.
In 1945, Oscar Pettiford went with Hawkins to California, where he appeared in The Crimson Canary, a mystery movie known for its jazz soundtrack, which featured Josh White.
9.
Oscar Pettiford then worked with Duke Ellington from 1945 to 1948 and for Woody Herman in 1949, before working mainly as a leader in the 1950s.
10.
Oscar Pettiford is considered the pioneer of the cello as a solo instrument in jazz music.
11.
Oscar Pettiford first played the cello as a practical joke on his band leader Woody Herman.
12.
Later, after suffering a broken arm in 1949, Oscar Pettiford found it impossible to play his bass, so he experimented with a cello a friend had lent him.
13.
Oscar Pettiford recorded extensively during the 1950s for the Debut, Bethlehem, and ABC Paramount labels, among others.
14.
In 1958, Oscar Pettiford moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, and started recording for European companies.
15.
Oscar 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.
16.
Oscar Pettiford died in 1960 in Copenhagen, shortly before his 38th birthday, from a virus closely related to polio.