James Bryant Woode (September 23, 1926 – April 23, 2005) was an American jazz

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

. He played and/or recorded in bands with

Flip Phillips Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conce ...

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 ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

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 ...

Nat Pierce Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr., known professionally as Nat Pierce (July 16, 1925 – June 10, 1992) was an American jazz pianist and prolific composer and arranger, perhaps best known for being pianist and arranger for the Woody Herman band from 195 ...

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

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, " ...

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Biography

Woode was born September 23, 1926 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. His father, also named Jimmy Woode, was a music teacher and pianist who had played with

Hot Lips Page Oran Thaddeus "Hot Lips" Page (January 27, 1908 – November 5, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He was known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist. Page was a member of Walter Page's Blue Devils, Artie Sh ...

. Woode studied piano and bass in Boston at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

and at the Conservatory of Music, as well as at the Philadelphia Academy. He joined the

Orchestra in 1955,

Steve Voce Steve Voce (born 23 December 1933) is a British journalist and music critic. As well as writing obituaries for ''The Independent'', Voce has been a columnist for ''Jazz Journal'' for about 60 years, and presented the ''Jazz Panorama'' radio progr ...

br>Obituary: Jimmy Woode
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 28 April 2005 appearing on many of Ellington's recordings, including '' Such Sweet Thunder'' and ''

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook Ella may refer to: * Ella (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Places United States * Ella, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Ella, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Ella, Pennsylvania, an unincorporat ...

'', both from 1957, as well as the performance at the 1956

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

issued on ''

Ellington at Newport ''Ellington at Newport'' is a 1956 live jazz album by Duke Ellington and his band of their 1956 concert at the Newport Jazz Festival, a concert which revitalized Ellington's flagging career. Jazz promoter George Wein describes the 1956 concert as ...

''. He stayed with the Orchestra until 1960, when he left to live in Europe. Jimmy Woode's song "Just Give Me Time" was covered by

Carola Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol. People named Carola include: Acting * Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress *Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actres ...

in 1966, first released on her album ''Carola & Heikki Sarmanto Trio'', reaching the Finnish charts in 2004. An original member of

The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was a jazz big band co-led by American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist François "Francy" Boland. They were one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States, featuring top ...

, in 1995 he also toured with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

's Golden Men of Jazz. In 2003, Woode formed a trio with drummer

Pete York Peter York (born 15 August 1942 in Redcar, Yorkshire, England) is a British rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s. Biography Born in Redcar, he attended the Nottingham High School and learnt to play the trumpet and snare drum ...

and German jazz musician/comedian

Helge Schneider Helge Schneider (born 30 August 1955 in Mülheim an der Ruhr) is a German entertainer, comedian, musician, author, film and theatre director, and actor. He frequently appears on German television and is probably best known for his song "Katzeklo ...

, touring in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with his interpretation of jazz classics such as "Georgia" and "Summertime". As a consequence of his co-operation with Schneider, Woode also starred in the feature film ''Jazzclub'' (2004). in the role of Steinberg, a struggling jazz bassist. He died April 23, 2005 at age 78 at his home in

Lindenwold, New Jersey Lindenwold is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 21,641, an increase of 4,028 from the 2010 census count of 17,613,stomach aneurysm.Keepnews, Peter
"Jimmy Woode, Ex-Ellington Bassist, Dies at 78"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', April 30, 2005. Accessed May 30, 2013.

Discography

As leader

*'' The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode'' (Argo, 1958)

As sideman

With (groups led by)

Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...

Albert Nicholas Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900 – September 3, 1973) was an American jazz clarinet player. Career Nicholas's primary instrument was the clarinet, which he studied with Lorenzo Tio in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Late ...

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...

Idrees Sulieman Idrees Sulieman (August 7, 1923 – July 23, 2002) was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter. Biography He was born Leonard Graham in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman, after converting to Isl ...

*'' Americans in Europe'' (Impulse!, 1963) With

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

*''

The Golden 8 ''The Golden 8'' is an album by American jazz drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian jazz composer and pianist Francy Boland recorded live in Gigi Campi's 'gelateria' in Cologne in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label.Jazz Is Universal ''Jazz Is Universal'' is an album by the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band featuring performances recorded in Germany in 1961 for the Atlantic label. The album was the first by the Big Band although earlier recordings by Kenny Clarke and Francy ...

'' (Atlantic, 1962) - with the

Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was a jazz big band co-led by American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist François "Francy" Boland. They were one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States, featuring top ...

*'' Handle with Care'' (Atlantic, 1963) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *''

Now Hear Our Meanin' ''Now Hear Our Meanin'' is an album by the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band featuring performances recorded in Germany in 1963 and released on the Columbia label in 1965.965 - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *''

Swing, Waltz, Swing ''Swing, Waltz, Swing'' is an album by Carl Drevo and the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band featuring performances recorded in Germany in 1966 for the German Philips label.Sax No End ''Sax No End'' is an album by the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band with guest soloist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis featuring performances recorded in Germany in 1967 and released on the SABA label. The album was also released in the US on Prestige Rec ...

'' (SABA, 1967) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *'' Out of the Folk Bag'' (Columbia, 1967) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *''

17 Men and Their Music ''17 Men and Their Music'' is a live album by the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band featuring performances recorded in West Germany in 1967 and first released on producer Gigi Campi's own label.All Smiles Kirby James Fairchild is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist of the indie rock bands Grandaddy and Modest Mouse. Fairchild has released solo material under the pseudonym All Smiles. Biography B ...

'' (MPS, 1968) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *''

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

'' (MPS, 1969) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *'' Latin Kaleidoscope'' (MPS, 1968) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *''

All Blues "All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album ''Kind of Blue''. It is a twelve-bar blues in ; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of seventh chords, with a VI in the t ...

'' (MPS, 1969) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *'' More Smiles'' (MPS, 1969) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *''

Clarke Boland Big Band en Concert avec Europe 1 ''Clarke Boland Big Band en Concert avec Europe 1'' is a live album by the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band featuring a performance recorded in Paris in 1969, originally broadcast on Europe 1 and released on the Tréma (record label), Tréma lab ...

'' (Tréma, 1969

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

- with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *'' Off Limits'' (Polydor, 1970) - with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band *'' November Girl'' (Black Lion, 1970

975 Year 975 ( CMLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor John I raids Mesopotamia and invades Syria, using ...

- with

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

and the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band With

Ted Curson Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...

*'' Urge'' (Fontana, 1966) With

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

and

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

*'' Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again'' (MPS, 1970) With Nathan Davis *''The Hip Walk'' *''Peace Treaty'' *''Happy Girl'' With

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

*''

Stockholm Sessions ''Stockholm Sessions'' is an album by Eric Dolphy. It was recorded in September and November 1961 at the Swedish Broadcast station in Stockholm, Sweden, and was released by Inner City Records and Enja Records in 1981. The album was recorded during ...

'' (Enja, 1961) With

*''

Blue Rose A blue rose is a flower of the genus ''Rosa'' (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow. Blue roses are often used to symbolize mystery or attaining the impossible. However, beca ...

'' (Columbia, 1956) with

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

*'' Blues in Orbit'' (Columbia, 1960) With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

*''

Gentle Eyes ''Gentle Eyes'' is an album by Art Farmer recorded in Austria in 1972 and originally released on the Mainstream label.

'' (Mainstream, 1972) With Erich Kleinschuster (Sextett) *''Live'' (

Preiser Records Preiser Records is an independent Austrian record label. It was founded in 1952 by Otto G. Preiser (1920–1996). The label is particularly important for recordings from the Viennese cabaret scene, especially from the 1950s and 1960s (Helmut Qua ...

, 1973) With

Paul Gonsalves Paul Gonsalves ( – ) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue ...

*'' Cookin''' (Argo, 1957) With

*'' Night Lady'' (Philips, 1964) With Jim Hall *'' It's Nice to Be With You'' (MPS, 1969) 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 ...

*''

Creamy Creamy were a Faroese-Danish teen-pop duo, composed of Rebekka Mathew and Rannva Joensen. Their 1999 debut album, ''Creamy'', made when the pair were just thirteen years of age, was composed of euro-pop versions of children’s songs. In 2001 ...

'' (Norgran, 1955) *''

Ellingtonia '56 ''Ellingtonia '56'' is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges featuring performances with members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded in 1956 and released on the Norgran label.Duke's in Bed ''Duke's in Bed'' is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges with members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra featuring performances recorded in 1956 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1956) *'' The Big Sound'' (Verve, 1957) *'' Blues-a-Plenty'' (Verve, 1958) *'' Not So Dukish'' (Verve, 1958) With

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

and

Svend Asmussen Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and S ...

*''

European Encounter ''European Encounter'' is an album by American pianist and composer John Lewis and Danish violinist Svend Asmussen recorded for the Atlantic label in 1962.

'' (Atlantic, 1962) With Mythologie *''Live At »Domicile« Munich'' (BASF, 1971) With

Sahib Shihab Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, Tad ...

*'' Summer Dawn'' (Argo, 1964) *''

Seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

'' (Vogue Schallplatten, 1968) *''

Companionship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

'' (Vogue Schallplatten, 1964-70

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...

*''Commitment'' (1970) With Sunbirds *''Sunbirds'' (BASF, 1971) *''Zagara'' (Polydor/Finger, 1973) With

*'' Out on a Limb with Clark Terry'' (Argo, 1957) With

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

*''

Black Glory ''Black Glory'' is a live album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in Munich 1971 and released on the Enja label.Mal Waldron Plays the Blues'' (Enja, 1971) *'' A Touch of the Blues'' (Enja, 1972) *''

One-Upmanship One-upmanship, also called "one-upsmanship", is the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor. The term was first used in the title of a book by Stephen Potter, published in 1952 as a follow-up to ''The Theory and Practice of Gamesmans ...

'' (Enja, 1977)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woode, Jimmy 1926 births 2005 deaths American double-bassists Male double-bassists American jazz musicians Duke Ellington Orchestra members Musicians from Philadelphia People from Lindenwold, New Jersey Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from New Jersey 20th-century double-bassists American male jazz musicians Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band members 20th-century American male musicians