Mickey Bass

Mickey Bass
Birth name	Lee Oddis Bass III
Born	May 2, 1943(1943-05-02) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Hard Bop
Occupations	Bassist, Composer, Arranger, Educator
Instruments	Bassist, Saxophone
Years active	1960s-1980s
Website	mickeybass.com

Mickey Bass (born May 2, 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American bassist, composer, arranger, and music educator. He was born Lee Odiss Bass III. He has played with Chico Freeman, John Hicks, Kiane Zawadi among others, and cut sessions for Chiaroscuro and Early Bird.

Biography

Mickey Bass is a Pittsburgh bassist who has worked with hard bop bandleaders and combos since the ‘60s; he has not recorded often as a leader. His maternal grandmother who performed in minstrel shows taught Mickey and his cousins Barbershop Harmony. He has played and recorded with Sonny Rollins, Bennie Green, Charles Mingus and so on. The The New York Times declared: “When Mickey Bass& “The Co-operation” get in the ‘right groove’…it is doubtful if there is another jazz group in town that swings as hard as this one.” ^[1] He has taught students at Ellington School of the Arts and Hartt College of Music from 1975 to 1985. During these ten years, he has affected people include Eric Aleen, Gary Bartz, Marc Cary and so on. As a director of “The Jazz Ensemble,” he helped this ensemble gradually to an eventual state of maturity and sophistication. In 1980, he was awarded: A National Endowment for the Arts, Composers’ Grant.^[2]

Discography

As sideman

With Hank Mobley

• Think of Home (1970, Blue Note)

With Art Blakey

• Child’s Dance (1972, Prestige)
• The History of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messenger (1991, bluenote)

• Buhaina (1973, Prestige)

With Jimmy McGriff

• Friday The 13th Cook County Jail (1973, Groove Merchant)

With Reuben Wilson

• The Sweet Life (1974, Groove Merchant)

With Ramon Morris

• Friday The 13th Cook County Jail (1973, Prestige)

With Various

• The Freedom Jazz Dance Series (1995, PHO Records)

With Various

• Vintage James and Serious Grooves (1998, LaserLight Digital)

With Lee Morgan

• The Sixth Sense (1999, Lee Morgan)

As Leader

Early Bird Records

• 1991: The Co-operation

References

1. ^ Wilson, John S. (September 13, 1979). "Jazz: Mickey Bass Sextet; ‘Buried Child’s to Close Sept.29 at the Circle Rep". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00611FF3B5D12728DDDAA0994D1405B898BF1D3&scp=1&sq=When%20Mickey%20Bass%20&%20%22The%20Co-operation&st=cse. 
2. ^ "National Endowment for the Arts". http://www.nea.gov. 

External links

• Mickey Pass at All about Music
• Discography
• Biography
• Allmusic

Persondata
Name	Bass, Mickey
Alternative names
Short description	American bassist, composer, arranger and music composer
Date of birth	May 2, 1943
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death