Oscar Pettiford was born on September 30, 1922, and died on September 8, 1960. He was an American jazz musician who played the double bass and wrote music. He was one of the first musicians to play in the bebop style. Christian McBride, a jazz bassist, said that Pettiford was probably the most important bass player of that bebop generation because he helped develop new ways to play the bass.

Early life

Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United States. His mother was of Choctaw heritage, and his father, Harry "Doc" Pettiford, was of Cherokee and African-American descent.

He grew up performing with his family's band, where he sang and danced before beginning to play the piano at age 12 and the double bass at age 14. Jamela Pettiford, a singer in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a family member of the Pettiford family, shared with Minnesota Public Radio in 2022 that the Pettiford family band traveled from place to place as musicians before settling in north Minneapolis.

Pettiford said he did not like how others played the bass, so he created his own style. Although he was praised by Milt Hinton at age 14, he stopped playing in 1941 because he believed he could not earn a living through music. Five months later, he met Hinton again, who encouraged him to return to music.

Career

In 1942, Pettiford joined the Charlie Barnet band. In 1943, he became more well-known after recording with Coleman Hawkins on his song "The Man I Love." Around this time, Pettiford also recorded with Earl Hines and Ben Webster. After moving to New York, Pettiford played with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Kenny Clarke at Minton's Playhouse in the early 1940s. This was where the bebop music style began to develop. In 1943, Pettiford and Dizzy Gillespie led a bop group. In 1945, Pettiford traveled to California with Hawkins and appeared in the movie The Crimson Canary, which had a jazz soundtrack. Josh White also performed in the movie. From 1945 to 1948, Pettiford worked with Duke Ellington, and in 1949, he performed with Woody Herman. Later, he mainly worked as a leader in the 1950s.

As a leader, Pettiford helped discover Cannonball Adderley. One of his musicians tricked him into letting Adderley, an unknown music teacher, play. Pettiford gave Adderley a chance to perform a difficult piece, and Adderley played impressively.

Pettiford is known as the first person to use the cello as a solo instrument in jazz. He first played the cello as a joke on his band leader, Woody Herman. During a double bass solo, Pettiford left the stage suddenly. Later, he returned with a cello and played the rest of the solo. After breaking his arm in 1949, Pettiford could no longer play the bass. He tried a cello a friend had lent him. He tuned it like a double bass but one octave higher. This allowed him to play while his arm was in a sling. He made his first recordings with the cello in 1950. The cello became his main instrument, and he continued to perform and record with it for the rest of his life.

During the 1950s, Pettiford recorded for labels such as Debut, Bethlehem, and ABC Paramount. In the mid-1950s, he played on the first three albums that Thelonious Monk recorded for the Riverside label. Between 1954 and 1958, Pettiford led groups such as sextets, big bands, and jazz orchestras. These groups performed at places like Birdland in Manhattan. He experimented with unusual instruments, such as French horns and harps. The reedist and composer Gigi Gryce worked with Pettiford to create arrangements for the orchestra's hi-fi albums.

In 1958, Pettiford moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, and began recording for European companies. After moving to Europe, he performed with European musicians like Attila Zoller and with other American musicians who had settled in Europe, including Bud Powell and Kenny Clarke.

Pettiford's influence on later bassists is widely recognized. His piece "Tricotism" is a well-known jazz bass composition. Many bassists from different generations, including Ray Brown, Milt Hinton, Rufus Reid, John Clayton, Bill Crow, and Yasushi Nakamura, have recorded it.

Death

Pettiford died in 1960 in Copenhagen, just before his 38th birthday, from a virus similar to polio.

Discography

• Bass Hits (Topaz Records, 1943–1946)
• The New Oscar Pettiford Sextet (Debut Records, 1953)
• Oscar Pettiford Sextet (Vogue Records, 1954)
• Oscar Pettiford (Bethlehem Records, 1954)
• Basically Duke (Bethlehem Records, 1954)
• Another One (Bethlehem Records, 1955)
• Oscar Pettiford Volume 2 (1956)
• The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi (ABC-Paramount Records, 1956)
• The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi Volume Two (ABC-Paramount Records, 1957)
• Discoveries (Savoy Records, 1952–1957 [reissued in 1986])
• Winner's Circle (Bethlehem Records, 1957) with John Coltrane
• Vienna Blues – The Complete Session (Black Lion Records, 1959) with Hans Koller, Attila Zoller, Jimmy Pratt
• The Complete Essen Jazz Festival Concert (Black Lion Records, 1960) with Coleman Hawkins, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke
• My Little Cello (Debut Records, 1960) also released as Last Recordings of the Late Great Bassist and Montmartre Blues
• First Bass (IAJRC, 1953–1960 [reissued in 2000])
• Blue Brothers (Black Lion Records, 1959–1960 [reissued in 1973])

• Ralph Burns and Leonard Feather: Winter Sequence (MGM Records, 1954)
• Kenny Burrell: Swingin' (Blue Note Records, 1956 [reissued in 1980])
• Art Blakey: Drum Suite (Columbia Records, 1957)
• The Birdlanders: Vol. 2 (OJC Records, 1954) with Kai Winding, Al Cohn, Tal Farlow, Duke Jordan, Max Roach, Denzil Best
• Sid Catlett: 1944–1946 (Classics Records)
• Teddy Charles: 3 for Duke (Jubilee/London Records, 1957)
• Jimmy Cleveland: Introducing Jimmy Cleveland and His All Stars (EmArcy Records, 1955)
• Earl Coleman: Earl Coleman Returns (Prestige Records, 1956)
• Chris Connor & John Lewis Quartet: Chris Connor (Atlantic Records)
• Miles Davis: The Musings of Miles (Prestige Records)
• Miles Davis: Miles Davis Volume 1 / Miles Davis Volume 2 (Blue Note Records, 1952–1954)
• Kenny Dorham: Jazz Contrasts (OJC Records, 1957) Afro-Cuban (Blue Note Records, 1955)
• Duke Ellington: Carnegie Hall Concert January 1946 (Prestige Records)
• Duke Ellington: Carnegie Hall Concert December 1947 (Prestige Records); 1947–1948 (Classics Records), 1949–1950 (Classics Records), Great Times! (OJC Records, 1950) (includes "Perdido," "Blues for Blanton")
• Tal Farlow: Jazz Masters 41 (Verve Records, 1955–1958); Finest Hour (Verve Records, 1955–1958)
• Leonard Feather: 1937–1945 (Classics Records)
• Dizzy Gillespie: 1945 (Classics Records)
• Urbie Green: East Coast Series Vol. 6 (Bethlehem Records, 1956)
• Jimmy Hamilton & The New York Jazz Quintet (Fresh Sound Records)
• Coleman Hawkins: Rainbow Mist (Delmark Records, 1944 [reissued in 1992]), The Hawk Flies High (OJC Records, 1957)
• Ernie Henry: Last Chorus (Riverside Records, 1956–1957)
• Woody Herman: Keeper Of the Flame (Capitol Records, 1948–1949)
• Earl Hines Trio: Fats Waller Memorial (Signature SI-l-lA/B etc.)
• Johnny Hodges: Caravan (Prestige Records, 1947–1951)
• Helen Humes: 1927–1945 (Classics Records)
• Milt Jackson: Ballads & Blues (Atlantic Records, 1956)
• Milt Jackson: Plenty, Plenty Soul (Atlantic Records, 1957)
• Milt Jackson: "Soul Brothers" (with Ray Charles) (Atlantic Records, 1958)
• Lee Konitz / Warne Marsh Quintet (Atlantic Records, 1955)
• Herbie Mann: Sultry Serenade (Riverside Records, 1957), Salute to the Flute (Epic Records, 1957)
• Helen Merrill: Helen Merrill (EmArcy Records, 1954), Dream of You (EmArcy Records, 1957)
• Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington (Riverside Records, 1955), The Unique Thelonious Monk (Riverside Records, 1956), Brilliant Corners (Riverside Records, 195