#Mandatorygesturefromthegrave

Th ose who are dear to the gods die young...

James Harvey "Jimmy" Blanton, Jr. (1918-1942), an American double bassist, at 21 was already a permanent member of Duke Ellington's Orchestra, not just a casual gig. He was known in the scene for his exceptionally clean technique that allowed him to double and triple traditional quarter-note sequences, deconstructing and reconstructing them into eighths and sixteenths, as well as for his innovative use of slap, which put him at least 30 years ahead of future electric bassists. He often played with the bow, which wasn’t unusual among the more "forward-thinking" double bassists of his time, but he certainly achieved remarkable solo and ensemble results. He was highly influential, despite the lamentably short span of his career, on jazz double bassists and figures of the caliber of Charlie Mingus and Miroslav Vitouš. He was one of the very few instrumentalists with whom Duke recorded duets, sublime pieces still studied by industry professionals. He died at the age of twenty-three in Hollywood from tuberculosis. His burial, extremely simple to the point of being almost spartan, is at the cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Rare Jimmie Blanton bass solo - Sepia Panorama (Duke Ellington)