Earl May

Last updated

Earl Charles Barrington May (September 17, 1927 - January 4, 2008) was an American jazz bassist. He was "one of the most prodigious and prolific bassists of the postwar era". [1]

Contents

Early life

May was born in New York City on September 17, 1927. [2] As a child, he played the drums, and changed to the acoustic bass at the age of 14. [1] He "played left-handed on an instrument strung for a right-handed player". [2]

Later life and career

Until 1951, May had a job in insurance while playing in clubs at night. [1] During this period, he played with Miles Davis, Lester Young, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, and Mercer Ellington. [1] [2] He was also taught by Charles Mingus in the early 1950s. [2] Through most of the 1950s he played in a trio with Billy Taylor, and also worked in the late 1950s with John Coltrane and Chet Baker. [2]

From 1959 to 1963 he played behind vocalist Gloria Lynne, and in the 1960s he also worked with Dave McKenna, Herman Foster, Shirley Scott, Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Mann, Mose Allison, and Earl Hines. [2] In the early 1970s he began playing electric bass in addition to the double-bass, and played in that decade with Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Hartman, Joe Newman, Archie Shepp, Frank Foster, Mickey Tucker, and Ruby Braff. [2]

In the 1980s he did work with musicals both on Broadway and on tour, including Sophisticated Ladies and Big Deal , in addition to work with George Benson early in the decade and Charles Brown later in the decade. [2] Credits in the 1990s and 2000s included work with Dave Van Ronk, Doc Cheatham, Benny Waters, Marlena Shaw, Irvin Stokes, a trio with Jane Jarvis and Benny Powell, Eddie Locke, Charles McPherson, and the international tour of the Statesmen of Jazz. [2] May died of a heart attack in New York City on January 4, 2008. [1]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Mose Allison

With George Benson

With Carmen Bradford

With Charles Brown

With John Coltrane

With Lou Donaldson

With Jean DuShon

With Frank Foster

With Johnny Hartman

With Jane Jarvis

With Herbie Mann

With Billy Mitchell

With Charlie Rouse

With Shirley Scott

With Marlena Shaw

With Sonny Stitt

With Irvin Stokes

With Billy Taylor

With Dave Van Ronk

With Benny Waters

Related Research Articles

Jerome Richardson was an American jazz musician and woodwind player. He played the soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass saxophone, soprano clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, western concert flute, soprano flute, alto flute, tenor flute, and bass flute. He played with Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Kenny Burrell, and later with Earl Hines' small band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Wess</span> American saxophonist, flutist, composer and arranger (1922–2013)

Frank Wellington Wess was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic Scott Yanow described him as one of the premier proteges of Lester Young, and a leading jazz flutist of his era—using the latter instrument to bring new colors to Basie's music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Ammons</span> American jazz tenor saxophonist

Eugene "Jug" Ammons, also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R&B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Pettiford</span> American jazz musician and composer (1922–1960)

Oscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Higgins</span> American jazz drummer

Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Taylor</span> American drummer

Arthur S. Taylor Jr. was an American jazz drummer, who "helped define the sound of modern jazz drumming".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Heath</span> American drummer

Albert "Tootie" Heath is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Stitt</span> American jazz saxophonist

Sonny Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording more than 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern because of his tendency to rarely work with the same musicians for long despite his relentless touring and devotion to jazz. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style, particularly when performing on tenor saxophone and even occasionally baritone saxophone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al McKibbon</span> American jazz double bassist

Al McKibbon was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Taylor</span> American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster, and educator

Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Workman</span> American jazz double bassist

Reginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey.

Joseph Dwight Newman was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator, best known as a musician who worked with Count Basie during two periods.

Julius Watkins was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the Down Beat critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Miscellaneous Instrument.

James "Osie" Johnson was a jazz drummer, arranger and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Duvivier</span> American jazz double-bassist

George Duvivier was an American jazz double-bassist.

Benjamin M. Tucker was an American jazz bassist who appeared on hundreds of recordings. Tucker played on albums by Art Pepper, Billy Taylor, Quincy Jones, Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, Hank Crawford, Junior Mance, and Herbie Mann.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Butler (guitarist)</span> American soul jazz guitarist

William Butler Jr. was an American soul jazz guitarist.

Seldon Powell was an American soul jazz, swing, and R&B tenor saxophonist and flautist born in Lawrenceville, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Wilson</span> American drummer

Rossiere "Shadow" Wilson was an American jazz drummer.

Wendell Marshall was an American jazz double-bassist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ankeny, Jason. "Earl May". AllMusic . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Curry, John (2003). "May, Earl (Charles Barrington)". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J295700.
  3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 963. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.