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Double Bass Finally — Oscar Pettiford live video

John Goldsby

John Goldsby

Supporting Member
Mar 4, 2003
1,172
2,160
www.goldsby.de
Disclosures
Bassist @ WDR Big Band Cologne, Discover Double Bass, Conservatorium Maastricht, NL
#1
Invalid Link Removed with Attila Zoller playing OP's tune "The Gentle Art Of Love." There's another clip of OP with Coleman Hawkins from the movie "Crimson Canary," but they're miming on that one. I became aware of this video through the newsletter of the Frankfurt bassist, repairman, and shop owner, Invalid Link Removed

This clip is so fantastic — it's just great to see OP play: very straight right hand, great intonation (even in the key of Gb) despite his non-standard l.h. grip.
 
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#2
Yeah, I just love that video...the relaxed mood and the earthy gut string sound. The only other video of him is that movie scene where he's miming to a prerecorded track with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. I've always been curious about his technique, so it was a real treat to come across this video. I felt the same way when live clips of Paul Chambers and Scott LaFaro became available via YouTube.

Now, we just need someone to discover some live footage of Jimmy Blanton!

- Steve
 
#4
You're probably right, but wasn't he the bassist for the "Jump For Joy" musical? With all of the Hollywood names associated with that project I've often wondered if some film footage exists.

- Steve
 
#5
Blanton did play on the Jump for Joy production, as you point out. One would think with Hollywood people like Orson Welles involved, there should have been a video. But as far as I know, no video record exists. Maybe something will turn up one of these years.

I'm thrilled about the OP video ... Maybe there are more clips where that came from.
 
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#6
Thanks, Chuck for pointing that out — I fixed it. When I posted, I actually looked at the video clip again because the spelling of "Zoller" looked funny to me.
 
#9
When I first saw this vid (thanks, John) on Jonas Lohse's Facebook Wall, I was immediately drawn to the egg-shapped bump on OP's right forehead. Story has it, and John may know, that OP fell off of a bike, broke his leg and was in traction for a few weeks and asked that a cello be brought to him so that he could practice in bed, thus, the jazz cello tuned in 4ths was born that he became famous for, besides his wonderful bass playing and composing. Could the bump be from the bike fall as well?

The clip is a beauty.........
 
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#10
This clip is great. I've been listening to a lot of OP from this time period lately. As well as Oscar was recorded in this time frame, it seems likely that there is some more footage. Somebody really cared about him Gorgeous sound, great touch, seemingly flawless intonation, swing, original lines. The sound is that of a bass with a setup that could project without close micing. The real deal.
 
#11
Chuck: I think OP's intonation, sound, phrasing and time are perfect. That said, his l.h. thumb often sneaks around the back of the neck, Invalid Link Removed Many great bassists let their thumbs wander, but the traditional classical way would be to keep the thumb behind the neck. It's a case of great music coming out with very personal technique, which justifies the technique.

Paul: I think OP starting playing cello in 1949 when he was with the Woody Herman Big Band. He just found one in a music store, bought it, and started messing around with the 4ths tuning. Later, he injured (or broke) his arm playing softball with the same band in California and he had to take some time off. He couldn't play bass because of the injury, but he developed his cello chops. So, that part of the story with the broken arm and development of his cello chops happened in the late '40s, early '50s.

In 1958, he was in a car accident in Vienna, which is probably where he got the lump on his forehead in this video.

In 1960, he fell off of his bike in Copenhagen and suffered another head injury. He was admitted to the hospital, then released, and died a few days later. His wife (the European one—he also had one in the US) insisted that it was not the head injury, but an infection that followed (pneumonia, she said), which killed him a few days later (Sept. 8, 1960). He was 37.
 
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#13
Thanks, Paul! That's the air check which was also issued on the "How Low Can You Go" anthology from South Gate, CA in June '41. (He made his final recordings in Sep., '41, before he got sick with TB). This live track is interesting because, at the end of his solo, it sounds like JB is slapping, or pulling the strings out from the fingerboard and letting them snap back — very percussive. Thanks for posting. IMHO, without Blanton, there wouldn't be an Oscar Pettiford or a Ray Brown as we know them. What would TalkBass be today without those guys having played what they played?!?
 
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#15
Yes, hard to ignore that lump on OP's forehead...first time I saw that it looked to be a cyst/benign tumor. Sounds like OP may have suffered a concussion in that '58 car wreck. With his left hand technique, I don't see anything that is highly unorthodox..I find myself letting my left hand thumb detach from the neck for certain kinds of passages. You sure can't argue with OP's technique, because he delivered the goods every time.
 
#16
Right you are — the music, if it's good, always justifies the technique. That said, his left hand does not look like a Frederick Zimmerman student, to pick a known standard of classical bass technique. That's not a critique, only an observation. Because OP was self-taught, he used his ears and musical creativity to find what worked for him technically. He's at the top of my list among bass heroes, and this video means so much to me because I can finally visualize the technical movements behind that sound.

A l.h. thumb slipping behind the neck is only a bad thing if it causes the music to suffer.
 
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#17
My friend Matthias Heymann, who is doing research on Jimmie Blanton, got in touch and shared these two amazing Oscar Pettiford clips:

Here's a clip of a Danish movie with Stan Getz and OP. This is obviously synced, but it's great to see these guys.

He said the little kid that shows up in the video is probably Cello Pettiford.

Here's Oscar Pettiford playing cello on a Swedish documentary about musicians (go to 18:20 for the OP clip):

and at 19:12 he is soloing on cello, partially synced, but it looks like in the second shot, he's actually playing.

Great stuff!!
 
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