Al McKibbon
Al McKibbon | |
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Al McKibbon, Lucky Thompson and Hilda A. Taylor at the Three Deuces, New York, 1948 Photo: William P. Gottlieb. | |
Background information | |
Born | 1919 |
Died | 2005 |
Genres | Jazz |
Instruments | Double bass |
Al McKibbon (January 1, 1919 – July 29, 2005) was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz.
In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J. C. Heard, and Coleman Hawkins, he replaced Ray Brown in Dizzy Gillespie's band, in which he played until 1950. In the 1950s he recorded with the Miles Davis nonet, Earl Hines, Count Basie, Johnny Hodges, Thelonious Monk, George Shearing, Cal Tjader, Herbie Nichols and Hawkins. McKibbon was credited with interesting Tjader in Latin music while he played in Shearing's group.
McKibbon has always been highly regarded (among other signs of this regard, he was the bassist for the Giants of Jazz), and continued to perform until 2004. In 1999, at age 80, he recorded his first album in his own name, Tumbao Para Los Congueros De Mi Vida (Blue Lady Records), which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Performance. McKibbon's second album, Black Orchid (Nine Yards Music), was released in 2004 and was recorded at Icon Recording Studios, Hollywood, California. The album was recorded and mixed by studio owner Andrew Troy and Assistant Engineer - Aaron Kaplay, 2nd Assistant Engineer - Pablo Solorzano. He also wrote the Afterword to Raul Fernandez' book, Latin Jazz, part of the Smithsonian Institution's series of exhibitions on jazz.
Discography
As sideman
With Nat Adderley
- To the Ivy League from Nat (1956)
With Robert Stewart (saxophonist)
- The Movement (Exodus, 2002)
With Lorez Alexandria
- Alexandria the Great (Impulse!, 1964)
- More of the Great Lorez Alexandria (Impulse!, 1964)
With Sonny Criss
- Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool) (Prestige, 1968)
With Dizzy Gillespie
- The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Bluebird, 1937-1949, [1995])
- Carter, Gillespie Inc. (Pablo, 1976) with Bennie Carter
With Coleman Hawkins
With Johnny Hodges
- Castle Rock (Norgran, 1951 [1955])
With The Jazz Crusaders
- Chile Con Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
With Charles Kynard and Buddy Collette
- Warm Winds (World Pacific, 1964)
With Thelonious Monk
- Genius of Modern Music: Volume 2 (1955)
- The Giants of Jazz (Atlantic) with Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt and Kai Winding
With Randy Newman
- 12 Songs (1970)
With The Night Blooming Jazzmen
- The Night Blooming Jazzmen (1971)
With Herbie Nichols
- The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 (1955)
- The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 2 (1955)
- Herbie Nichols Trio (1956)
With Shuggie Otis
- "Here Comes Shuggie Otis" (1969)
With George Shearing
- Latin Escapade (1956)
- On the Sunny Side of the Strip (1960)
With George Shearing and Dakota Staton
- In the Night (1958)
With Billy Taylor
- Piano Panorama (Atlantic, 1952)
With Jack Wilson
- The Jack Wilson Quartet featuring Roy Ayers (Atlantic, 1963)
References
- San Jose Mercury News report of death 30 July 2005
- Googled cache of Bassland article retrieved 18 June 2005
- Allmusic.com article on Al McKibbon
- http://extratv.warnerbros.com/cmp/presentations/99_grammy/ retrieved Aug. 5, 2005
- Frenandez, Raul. Latin Jazz: The Perfect Combination/La Combinacion Perfecta (Chronicle Books, 2002).