Jack Lesberg (February 14, 1920 – September 17, 2005) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

double-bassist The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

. Lesberg performed with many famous jazz musicians, including

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. According to critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic, Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 19 ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

and

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

, with whom he went on several international tours. He also performed in the New York City Symphony under

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

in the 1940s. A native of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States, Lesberg had the misfortune of playing in that city's Cocoanut Grove on the night in 1942 when 492 people lost their lives in a fire. His escape was memorialized by fellow bassist

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

in an unpublished section of Mingus's autobiography ''

Beneath the Underdog ''Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus'' is the autobiography of jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. It was first published in 1971, by Alfred A. Knopf. Background Mingus worked on his autobiography for more than two decade ...

''; this passage was read by rapper

Chuck D. Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

on the Mingus tribute album, ''Weird Nightmare''. Lesberg continued to tour in the 1980s and was interviewed for

KCEA KCEA (89.1 FM) is a broadcast radio station licensed to Atherton, California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula. The station broadcasts a music format featuring big band, swing and adult standards in addition to local high school sports. ...

radio in 1984, following a performance in

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; ...

. During the taped interview he spoke of the many bands and performers he worked with and expressed his feelings that he felt blessed to be a musician. He died of Alzheimer's in Englewood at the age of 85.

Discography

;As co-leader *''We've Got Rhythm/Live at Hanratty's'' (Chaz Jazz, 1981) *''No Amps Allowed'' (

Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

) ;As sideman *''Dixieland Jazz'' (Waldorf, 1957) *''Tribute to Louis Armstrong'' (

Jugoton Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, SR Croatia. History Jugoton was formed in 1947. It is notable for releasing some of the most important former Yugoslav pop and rock records ...

, 1985) *''Tribute to Louis Armstrong Vol. 2'' (Jugoton, 1989) *''The Music of Lil Hardin Armstrong'' (

, 1988) With George Barnes *'' Guitar in Velvet'' (Grand Award, 1957) *'' Country Jazz'' (Colortone, 1957) *'' Movin' Easy'' (Mercury, 1959) *'' Guitar Galaxies'' (Mercury, 1960) *'' Guitars Galore'' (Mercury, 1961) With

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...

*''

'' (Atlantic, 1957) With Urbie Green *''

All About Urbie Green and His Big Band ''All About Urbie Green and His Big Band'' (also referred to as ''All About Urbie''), is an album by trombonist Urbie Green which was recorded in 1956 and released on the ABC Records, ABC-Paramount label.Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

*''

The Hawk in Hi Fi ''The Hawk in Hi Fi'' is an album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Billy Byers. It was recorded in early 1956 and released on the RCA Victor label. Reception Scott Yanow of AllMusic states: "Hawkins is t ...

'' (RCA Victor, 1956) With

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

*''

Blue Rabbit ''Blue Rabbit'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges and organist Wild Bill Davis featuring performances recorded in 1963 and 1964 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1964) ;With the

Henri René Henri René (born Harold Manfred Kirchstein; December 29, 1906 – April 25, 1993), was an American musician who had an international career in the recording industry as a producer, composer, conductor and arranger. Early years Born in New York ...

Orchestra *'' RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt'' (RCA, 1953) *'' That Bad Eartha (EP)'' (RCA, 1954) *'' Down To Eartha'' (RCA, 1955) *'' That Bad Eartha (LP)'' (RCA, 1956) *'' Thursday's Child'' (RCA, 1957) With

Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. Early years Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of J ...

*''In Japan'' (

, 1964) With

Ralph Sutton Ralph Earl Sutton (November 4, 1922 – December 30, 2001) was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Biography Sutton was born in Hamburg, Missouri, ...

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Braff ...

*''R & R'' (

, 1994)

References

External links

Jack Lesberg Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (1984) *
Jack Lesberg
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

1920 births 2005 deaths American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Dixieland jazz musicians Mainstream jazz double-bassists Musicians from Boston 20th-century American musicians Jazz musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{Double-bassist-stub