Gerald Leon Cannon (born 1958) is an American jazz double bassist and visual artist.

Early life

Born in Racine, Wisconsin, he attended The University of Wisconsin at La Crosse where he met jazz player

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

. Cannon also studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee.

Biography

Cannon moved to New York City at age 28, and he started to play at the

Blue Note Jazz Club Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on September 30, 1981, by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featured ...

with musicians Winard and Philip Harper and Justin Robinson. From there, he moved to gigs with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Dexter Gordon,

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

Trio with Billy Higgins, Jimmy Smith,

Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

, James Williams, Hamiett Bluiett, Ed Thigpen, Frank Foster, John Bunch,

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

, Stanley Turrentine and Bunky Green. When trumpeter

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

came to a club where Cannon was working, they met. For the next seven years, Cannon performed as a member of Hargrove's band at major jazz festivals all over the world, including the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

, Cape Town Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, and the Montreal Jazz Festival. He also was a part of the award-winning Crisol tour where Cannon played with Cuban musicians like percussionist Jose Luis "Chanquito" Quintana, Miguel "Anga" Diaz, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, and Chucho Valdes and studied with bassist Orlando "Cachahito" Lopez and pianist Ruben Gonzalez.

Style

Cannon carries the knowledge passed on to him by bassists Ray Brown, Sam Jones,

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

, and

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in th ...

and continues the legacy by conducting master classes throughout the U.S. and Europe. He taught at the

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of t ...

in 2014, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee, and the New School in New York and at Long Island University. He also gave a number of master classes at the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater and Eau Claire, at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Cannon was also a faculty member of the Conservatory of Maastricht, Holland. Cannon is currently Jazz Bass Instructor at JUILLIARD School (New York), Associate Professor of Jazz Bass at OBERLIN College & Conservatory (Ohio),and on the Board of the Directors at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. After leaving Hargrove, Cannon held the bass chair for drummer Elvin Jones until his passing in 2004. Since then, Cannon has worked with Wynton and

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

, Pat Martino, Louis Hayes, The Cannonball Legacy, Ernestine Anderson, Carmen Lundy, Abbey Lincoln, Gary Bartz, Joe Lovano, Monty Alexander, Larry Willis, Eddie Henderson,

Steve Turre Stephen Johnson Turre (born September 12, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz trombonist and a pioneer of using Conch (instrument), seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For ...

Eric Reed Eric Reed may refer to: *Eric Reed (musician) (born 1970), American jazz pianist and composer *Eric Reed (baseball) (born 1980), American outfielder *Eric Reed (soccer) (born 1983), American goalkeeper *Eric Reed (horse trainer), American horse tra ...

, the Dexter Gordon Legacy Ensemble, and many other combinations, as well as with his own quartet. He continues to conduct Master classes around the world and remains the Musical Director for the McCoy Tyner Trio.

Discography

As leader

* 2003: ''Gerald Cannon'' (Woodneck Records) - Gerald Cannon * 2017: ''Combinations'' (Woodneck Records) - Gerald Cannon

As sideman

* 1965: ''I'm going on'' The Gospel Expressions * 1995: ''Quick Pick'' Shingo Okudaira (King) * 1995: ''Kilifi'' Shingo Okudaira (King) * 1995: ''Fire'' Tim Armacost (Concord) * 1996: ''Maconde'' Shingo Okudaira (King) * 1998: ''Live at Smalls'' Tim Armacost (Double Time Records) * 1998: ''Big Mama's Biscuits''

Sherman Irby Sherman Irby (born March 24, 1968) is an American jazz alto saxophonist. Irby was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and found his calling to music at the age of 12. In high school, he played and recorded with gospel immortal James Cleveland. ...

(Blue Note) * 1998: ''Invitation'' Anthony Wonsey * 1998: ''Big Bertha'' Anthony Wonsey * 1999: ''Straight Swinging vol.1''

Willie Jones III Willie Jones III (born June 8, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is a jazz drummer. He has played, toured, and recorded with Horace Silver, Roy Hargrove, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock. He played on Arturo Sandoval's Grammy-winn ...

(WJ3 Records) * 1999: ''Moment to Moment''

(Verve) * 1999: ''Triangular 2'' Cannon/ Ralph Peterson, Jr./ David Kikoski (Sirocco) * 2001: ''Don't Knock the Swing Vol. 2''

(WJ3 Records) * 2002: ''Profile'' Jeremy Pelt (Fresh Sounds) * 2004: ''Intuition''

Wayne Escoffery Wayne Escoffery (born 23 February 1975) is an American jazz saxophonist. Performing history Since 2000, he has been working in New York City with Carl Allen, Eric Reed, and the Mingus Big Band. Other musicians performed with include Ralph Pet ...

(Nagel Heyer Records) * 2004: ''Faith''

(Black Warrior) * 2005: ''You Tell Me''

Rick Germanson Rick Germanson (born May 29, 1972) is an American jazz pianist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Career Germanson started playing piano at a young age. After winning the grand prize at the American Pianists Association's Jazz Piano Competition in 1996 ...

* 2005: ''Slim Goodie''

Derrick Gardner Derrick Gardner (born June 3, 1965) is an American jazz trumpeter from Chicago, Illinois. Gardner began playing trumpet at the age of 9 in his hometown of Chicago. In 1991, he moved to New York City and played with groups such as the Count Ba ...

and the Prophets * 2006: '' Keep Searchin'''

(HighNote) * 2006: ''Black Warrior''

(Black Warrior) * 2008: ''What's Your Story''

Roberta Donnay Roberta Donnay is an American jazz singer, musician, composer, and producer. She has released nine studio albums and has shared the stage with such artists as Booker T. Jones, Dr. John, David Grisman, John P. Hammond, Elvis Costello, Leon Russel ...

* 2009: ''Off the Cuff''

* 2009: ''Echoes of Ethnicity'' Derrick Gardner and the Prophets * 2009: ''Open the Gates'' Anthony Wonsey (Criss Cross Jazz) * 2011: ''Compare to What'' Derrick Gardner and the Prophets * 2013: ''On the Waves'' Dmitry Mospan * 2015: ''Love Looks Good on You''

Russell Malone Russell Malone (born November 8, 1963) is an American jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988 and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s.Neuroth, Matt. (2008). ''Bio: Russell Malone.'' Retr ...

* 2015: ''Spiritman''

* 2016: ''Routes'' The Stryker/Slagle band expanded * 2016: ''Alto Manhattan''

Steve Slagle Steve Slagle (born September 18, 1951) is an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Slagle was born in Los Angeles and grew up in suburban Philadelphia. He received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music and received a master's degree in M ...

(Panorama Records) * 2016: ''FE'' Francisco Mela and the Crash Trio * 2017: ''Cerulean Canvas''

& Momentum * 2017: ''All These Hands'' Michael Dease Posi-Tone Records * 2018: ''Duane Eubanks Quintet: Live at Smalls''

Duane Eubanks Duane Eubanks (born January 24, 1969 in Philadelphia) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist,Ralph Moore WJ3 Records * 2019: ''Turquoise Twice''

WJ3 Records * 2020: ''Shuffle and Deal'' Eddie Henderson, Donald Harrison, Kenny Barron, Gerald Cannon, Mike Clark (SMOKE SESSIONS Records) * 2021: ''Fallen Heroes''

,Willie Jones, Jeremy Pelt, Sherman Irby, George Cables, Gerald Cannon, Steve Davis, Justin Robinson, Isaiah Thompson, Renee Neufville, WJ3 Records

References

* * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Gerald L. 1958 births Living people American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists African-American jazz musicians Wisconsin Conservatory of Music alumni 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people