Israel Crosby

One of the finest bassists to emerge during the 1930s, Israel Crosby was young and flexible enough to still sound quite modern in the early '60s. He started on trumpet when he was five and then played trombone and tuba before settling on bass. In 1935, when he was 16, Crosby took one of the first full-length bass solos on record ("Blues for Israel") during a pickup date led by Gene Krupa. He played with Albert Ammons (1935-1936), Fletcher Henderson (1936-1938), the Three Sharps and a Flat, Horace Henderson (1940), Teddy Wilson (1940-1942), and then in the studios. He was with Ahmad Jamal during most of 1954-1962, propelling some of the pianist's finest trios. He toured with Benny Goodman during part of 1955-1956 and in 1962 joined the George Shearing Quintet, but died of a heart attack two months after recording with Shearing. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi