Neil James Sinclair Swainson (born November 15, 1955) is a Canadian jazz bassist. Swainson started his career in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, British Columbia, when he supported visiting American musicians such as Herb Ellis,

Barney Kessell Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as ...

, and

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 ...

. In 1976 he moved to Vancouver after playing with the Paul Horn Quintet and leading a band for two years. He moved to Toronto in 1977.

Music career

Swainson has become a leading Canadian jazz player since the 1980s when he started playing with famous local and visiting acts which include,

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

Rob McConnell Robert Murray Gordon "Rob" McConnell, (14 February 1935 – 1 May 2010) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.Jeff Sultanof. Experiencing Big Band Jazz: A Listener's Companion'. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 8 November 20 ...

Ed Bickert Edward Isaac Bickert, (November 29, 1932 – February 28, 2019) was a Canadian guitarist who played mainstream jazz and swing music. Bickert worked professionally from the mid-1950s to 2000, mainly in the Toronto area. His international reputat ...

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelho ...

, James Moody,

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...

Moe Koffman Morris "Moe" Koffman, Order of Canada, OC (28 December 1928 – 28 March 2001) was a Canadians, Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Cana ...

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

Joe Farrell Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name o ...

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

, and

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...

. He went on to collaborate with

appearing on two of

's recordings: ''In My Own Sweet Way'' (In & Out 7003) and ''Solid'' (Muse 5329). He also toured with Shaw often in New York and on many European tours. A collaboration between Swainson and pianist

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 t ...

would form in 1986, after Swainson replaced Don Thompson in 1988. This relationship continued until Shearing's passing in 2011. They have travelled playing all across North America, Great Britain, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan. They played with musicians including Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson,

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

Robert Farnon Robert Joseph Farnon CM (24 July 191723 April 2005) was a Canadian-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a composer of original works (often in the light music genre), he was commissioned by film and ...

and

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

. Together the two made numerous recordings which include: '' A Perfect Match'' (with

Ernestine Anderson Ernestine Anderson (November 11, 1928 – March 10, 2016) was an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than six decades, she recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She sang at Carnegie Hall, ...

, (Concord Jazz 4357), ''

Dexterity Fine motor skill (or dexterity) is the coordination of small muscles in movement with the eyes, hands and fingers. The complex levels of manual dexterity that humans exhibit can be related to the nervous system. Fine motor skills aid in the growt ...

'' (Concord Jazz 4346), ''Mel & George "do" World War II'' (Concord Jazz 4471), ''

I Hear a Rhapsody "I Hear a Rhapsody" is a 1941 pop song that became a jazz standard, composed by George Fragos, Jack Baker, and Dick Gasparre. Written in 1940, in 1941 it was a top 10 hit for three separate artists, Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey and Dinah Shore. ...

'' (Telarc 83310), ''How Beautiful is Night'' (with

, Telarc 83325), ''Walkin (Telarc 83333), ''That Shearing Sound'' (Telarc 83347), Joe Williams: ''A Song Is Born'' and ''Paper Moon'' (Telarc 83375). Swainson's recorded his own album; ''49th Parallel'' (Concord Jazz 4396) in 1987. His recordings feature

on trumpet, and

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

on saxophone along with numerous other musicians such as

Geoff Keezer Geoffrey Keezer (born November 20, 1970) is an American jazz pianist. Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, playing piano for Art Blakey at age 18 and touring with Joshua Redman, Benny Golson and Ray Brown in his 20s. He has toured w ...

Doc Cheatham Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, better known as Doc Cheatham (June 13, 1905 – June 2, 1997), was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He is also the Grandfather of musician Theo Croker. Early life Doc Cheatham was born in Nashv ...

, Sam Noto, Don Thompson, Peter Leitch,

Pat LaBarbera Pat (Pascel Emmanuel) LaBarbera (born April 7, 1944) is an American-born Canadian jazz tenor, alto and soprano saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist born in Mt. Morris, New York, most notable for his work as a soloist in Buddy Rich bands fr ...

, Joe LaBarbera,

Lorne Lofsky Lorne Lofsky (born May 10, 1954) is a Canadian jazz guitarist who was a member of the Oscar Peterson Quartet. Lofsky began playing rock music at school dances but later took an interest in jazz after hearing the album ''Kind of Blue'' by Miles D ...

Kirk MacDonald Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...

and JMOG, a cooperative band featuring, Kevin Dean and

. Swainson has also recently toured worldwide with the singer Roberta Gambarini and as well with pianist Gene DiNovi in Japan. He recorded: ''So In Love'' (Marshmallow MYCJ30118) and ''Golden Earrings'' (Marshmallow MYCJ30185) and recorded ''Smile'' (Five Stars Records FSY-501) and ''Gene DiNovi at Red Brick Warehouse Live'' in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

(Marshmallow MMEX-103). Swainson now works at

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

(Lakeshore Campus) as a professor in the Bass department after receiving a music degree. He also continues to compose music and freelance in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Awards and honors

* 1990 Best Jazz Album – Jon Ballantyne, ''Skydance'' (Justin Time) * 1993 Best Jazz Album – P. J. Perry, ''My Ideal'' (Unity) * 1999 Best Mainstream Jazz Album –

, ''The Atlantic Sessions'' (Koch) * 2000 Best Traditional Album – Instrumental –

, ''Deep in a Dream'' (Radioland)

Discography

As leader

* ''49th Parallel'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1987) * ''Fire in the West'' (Cellar Live, 2022)

As sideman

With

* ''Airmail Special'' (Sack, 1985) With

Walter Norris Walter Norris (December 27, 1931 – October 29, 2011) was an American pianist and composer. Biography Early life and career Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on December 27, 1931, Norris first studied piano at home with his mother, then with J ...

* ''Lush Life'' (Concord Jazz, 1990) With

* ''

Solid Solid is one of the State of matter#Four fundamental states, four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount o ...

'' (Muse, 1986) * ''

In My Own Sweet Way ''In My Own Sweet Way'' is a live album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded in Switzerland in 1987 and released on the German In + Out label.

'' (In + Out, 1987) With

* ''

'' (Concord Jazz, 1987) * '' A Perfect Match'' (Concord Jazz, 1988) * '' George Shearing in Dixieland'' (Concord Jazz, 1989)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swainson, Neil Canadian jazz musicians Hard bop double-bassists Living people Academic staff of Humber College 1955 births 21st-century double-bassists