Leonard Gaskin (August 25, 1920 – January 24, 2009) 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 ...

bassist born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Gaskin played on the early

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

scene at

Minton's Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...

and Monroe's in New York in the early 1940s. In 1944 he took over

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Biography Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United ...

's spot in

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

's band, and followed it with stints in bands led by

Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...

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 ...

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 ...

Eddie South Edward Otha South (November 27, 1904 – April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. Biography South studied classical music in Budapest, Paris, and Chicago. He turned to jazz because, as a Black musician, there was no room for him in class ...

Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. He ...

, and

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first rec ...

. In the 1950s, he played 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 ...

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

band, and played with

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 ...

Bud Freeman Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet. Biography In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sc ...

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

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 ...

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

J.J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

, 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 ...

. In the 1960s he became a studio musician, playing on numerous

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and pop records. In the 1970s and 1980s he returned to jazz, playing with

Sy Oliver Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader. Life Sy Oliver was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his ...

Panama Francis David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s. Early life Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918. His father was ...

, and

The International Art of Jazz ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Gaskin became involved in educating young people later in his life. He performed and shared his knowledge with elementary students with the Good Groove Band (Leonard Gaskin, Melissa Lovaglio, Bob Emry, Michael Howell) at Woodstock Elementary School in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

in 2003. Gaskin died of natural causes on January 24, 2009.

Discography

As leader

* 1961 – ''Leonard Gaskin at the Jazz Band Ball'', (Swingville) * 1962 – ''Darktown Strutter's Ball'', (Swingville)

As sideman

* 1945 –

: ''First Miles'' (Savoy) * 1946 –

: ''1946'' (Classics) * 1949 –

J. J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biograph ...

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

Bennie Green Bennie Green (April 16, 1923 – March 23, 1977) was an American jazz trombonist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and ...

: ''Trombone by Three'' (OJC) * 1949 – J. J. Johnson: ''

J. J. Johnson's Jazz Quintets ''J. J. Johnson's Jazz Quintets'' is a studio album by jazz trombonist J. J. Johnson, released by Savoy Records, containing material from three different recording sessions in 1946, 1947 and 1949. Material from the first two sessions had been p ...

'' (Savoy) * 1950 –

: ''Charlie Parker All Stars – Charlie Parker at Birdland and Cafe Society'' (Cool & Blue, 1950–52) * 1950 –

: ''

The Complete Roost Recordings ''The Complete Roost Recordings'' is a 1997 compilation 3-CD set of sessions led by saxophonist and bandleader Stan Getz recorded for the Roost Records label between 1950 and 1954. The compilation includes material previously released on Getz's R ...

'' (Roost, 1950–54) * 1951 –

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of t ...

: ''Jazz Moods'' (Verve) * 1953 – Miles Davis: '' Miles Davis with Horns'' (Prestige/OJC) * 1955 –

: ''Lady Sings the Blues'' (Verve) * 1955 –

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and oc ...

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was ...

: ''Back Country Blues'' * 1956 –

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 ...

: ''If Only You Knew'' (Savoy) * 1956 –

Big Maybelle Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single " Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. Childhood and musical background Born in J ...

: ''Candy'' (Savoy) * 1956 –

Sammy Price Samuel Blythe Price (October 6, 1908 – April 14, 1992) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and jump blues pianist and bandleader. Price's playing is dark, mellow, and relaxed rather than percussive, and he was a specialist at creating the ...

: ''Rock'' (Savoy) * 1957 –

: ''Chicago / Austin High School Jazz in HiFi'' (RCA) * 1957 –

: ''The Roaring Twenties'' (Columbia) * 1958 –

: ''Easy Now'' (RCA) * 1958 –

: ''

Rendezvous with Rex ''Rendezvous with Rex'' is an album by cornetist Rex Stewart which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.Dicky Wells William Wells (June 10, 1907 – November 12, 1985), known professionally as Dicky Wells (sometimes Dickie Wells), was an American jazz trombonist. Career Dickie Wells is believed to have been born on June 10, 1907 in Centerville, Tennessee, Uni ...

: ''

Chatter Jazz ''Chatter Jazz'' subtitled ''The Talkative Horns of Rex Stewart and Dickie Wells'', is an album by cornetist Rex Stewart and trombonist Dicky Wells which was recorded in 1959 and released on the RCA Victor label.Marion Williams: ''O Holy Night'' (Savoy) * 1960 –

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...

: ''

Last Night Blues ''Last Night Blues'' is an album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins, with Sonny Terry, recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label the following year.961 Year 961 ( CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas cap ...

* 1960 –

Arbee Stidham Arbee William Stidham (February 9, 1917 – April 26, 1988) was an American blues singer and multi-instrumentalist. According to the authors of the book ''All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues'', Stidham was "exactl ...

: ''

Tired of Wandering ''Tired of Wandering''. subtitled ''The Blues of Arbee Stidham'', is an album by blues musician Arbee Stidham recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label the following year.961 Year 961 ( CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas cap ...

* 1960 –

: '' Sonny Is King'' (Bluesville

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

* 1960 – Al Smith: '' Midnight Special'' (Bluesville,

961 Year 961 ( CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas cap ...

* 1960 –

Roosevelt Sykes Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper". Career Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...

: ''

The Honeydripper "The Honeydripper (Parts 1 and 2)" is an R&B song by Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers which topped the US Billboard R&B chart (at that time called the "Race Records" chart) for 18 weeks, from September 1945 to January 1946. History Liggins cla ...

'' (Bluesville,

* 1960 –

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

: ''

Slim's Shout ''Slim's Shout'' is an album by blues musician Sunnyland Slim recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label the following year.

'' (Bluesville,

* 1960 – Lightnin' Hopkins: '' Lightnin''' (Bluesville,

* 1960 – Curtis Jones: ''

Trouble Blues "Trouble Blues" is a 1949 single by The Charles Brown Trio. The single was the most successful of the trio's career and peaked at number one on the R&B chart for fifteen weeks. At fifteen weeks on the R&B Best Sellers chart, "Trouble Blues" was ...

'' (Bluesville) * 1960 – Shakey Jake: '' Mouth Harp Blues'' (Bluesville,

* 1960 –

Mildred Anderson Mildred Anderson was an American jazz, blues and R&B singer. In the early years of her career, Anderson worked with Albert Ammons and His Rhythm Kings, recording with them the song "Doin' the Boogie Woogie" on April 8, 1946. Later, she worked an ...

: ''

No More in Life ''No More in Life'' is the second album by jazz vocalist Mildred Anderson recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label early the following year.

'' (Bluesville,

* 1962 –

Rhoda Scott Rhoda Scott (born July 3, 1938) is an American soul jazz organist. Scott was first attracted to the organ in her father’s church at age seven. "It's really the most beautiful instrument in the world", she stated in a 2002 interview. "The firs ...

: ''Hey! Hey! Hey!'' (Tru-Sound) * 1962 –

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

: ''

Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin' '' Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin is an album by American folk singer Odetta, released in 1962. It was her first release for RCA Victor. Track listing All tracks composed by Odetta; except where noted. #"Gonna Take My Time" #"Stranger Here" ...

'' (RCA Victor) * 1963 – Willis Jackson: '' Grease 'n' Gravy'', '' The Good Life'' (Prestige) * 1963 – Lightnin' Hopkins: '' Goin' Away'' (Bluesville) * 1963 –

Red Holloway James Wesley "Red" Holloway (May 31, 1927 – February 25, 2012) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Born in Helena, Arkansas,Daniel E. Slotnik"Red Holloway, Swinger of the Sax, Dies at 84" ''The New York Times'', February 28, 2012 ...

: ''

The Burner ''The Burner is an album by saxophonist Red Holloway recorded in 1963 and released on the Prestige label.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 ...

: '' Blues Around the Clock'' (Prestige) * 1963 –

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

: ''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...

'' (Columbia) * 1964 – Lightnin' Hopkins: '' Down Home Blues'' (Bluesville) * 1964 – Lightnin' Hopkins: ''

Soul Blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by ar ...

'' (Prestige 965 * 1964 –

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...

: ''Primitivo Soul'' (Prestige) * 1965 –

: ''

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

'' (Argo) * 1968 –

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1936 or 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been ...

: ''King Solomon'' (Atlantic) * 2001 – Richard Negri: ''Meditations on a Downbeat, Words Spoken through Jazz'' (LightMoose)

References

;Footnotes ;General references *

Leonard Gaskin Leonard Gaskin (August 25, 1920 – January 24, 2009) was an American jazz bassist born in New York City. Gaskin played on the early bebop scene at Minton's and Monroe's in New York in the early 1940s. In 1944 he took over Oscar Pettiford's ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

External links

‘I’ll Be Seeing You’Reminiscences
Allegro at Local 802 ( AFM) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaskin, Leonard 1920 births 2009 deaths American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Musicians from New York City 20th-century American musicians Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Savoy Records artists