Todd Coolman (born July 14, 1954) is a jazz bassist and a retired tenured Professor of Music at the Jazz Studies Program in the Conservatory of Music at

Purchase College Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwee ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. He is also the former Artistic Director of the Skidmore Jazz Institute. JamesMoody

Coolman grew up in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...

. In 1978 he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He has since then performed with

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

, Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Slide Hampton, Stan Getz,

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. ...

, and countless others. He is probably best known for his 26-year association with the James Moody Quartet. Coolman has recorded with numerous jazz musicians in many contexts and has also released four recordings under his own leadership: ''Tomorrows'' (1990), ''Lexicon'' (1995), ''Perfect Strangers'' (2008) and ''Collectables'' (2016). In 1999, Coolman won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Best Album Notes The Grammy Award – Best Album Notes has been presented since 1964. From 1973 to 1976 (the 15th through 18th Awards), a second award was presented for Best Album Notes – Classical. Those awards are listed under those years below. The award recog ...

for ''Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968''. In 2011 an album on which he played, James Moody's '' Moody 4B'', won the

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that was first presented in 1959. History From 1959 to 2011, the Award was called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group. In 2012, it was shortened to Best Jazz Instrumental ...

. He has written two method books related to jazz bass playing: ''The Bass Tradition'' and ''The Bottom Line''. In 1997, Coolman received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in Music and the Performing Arts from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. He lives in

Denville, New Jersey Denville Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, located west of Manhattan. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 16,635, reflecting an increase of 811 (+5.1%) from the 15,824 counted in the 2000 census. ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Tomorrows'' (BRC, 1990) * ''Lexicon'' (

Double-Time In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...

, 1995) * ''Perfect Strangers'' (

ArtistShare ArtistShare is the internet's first commercial crowdfunding website.Crowd-Funding 101: What Every Musician Needs for a Successful Campaign It also operates as a record label and business model for artists which enables them to fund their projec ...

, 2008) * ''Collectables'' ( Sunnyside, 2016)

As sideman

; With James Moody * ''Moving Forward'' (1988) * ''Sweet and Lovely'' (1989) * ''Young at Heart'' (1996) * ''Moody Plays Mancini'' (1997) * ''Homage'' (2004) * ''Our Delight'' (2008) * ''Moody 4A'' (2009) * ''Moody 4B'' (2010) ; With

Michael Dease Michael Patrick Dease (born August 25, 1982) is an American jazz tenor and bass trombonist, composer and producer. He also plays saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn, bass and piano. Biography Michael Dease was born in Augusta, Georgia and attended ...

* Bonafide (2018) ; With

Hal Galper Harold Galper (born April 18, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer. Biography He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Galper studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz wh ...

Trio * ''Invitation to a Concert'' (1990) * ''Live at Port Townsend '91'' (1991) ; With

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

* '' Blue Head'' (Candid, 1990) with

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

; With Rob Schneiderman * ''

Radio Waves Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz ( GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (s ...

'' (1991) * ''Glass Enclosure'' (2008) ; With

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

* '' Monterey Moods'' (2007) * ''Detroit'' (2009) ; With others * ''Made in Japan'', Lionel Hampton (1982) * ''Advance'',

Bobby Watson Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. Music career Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...

(1984) * ''Chicago Fire'',

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

(1987) * ''After Hours'', John Campbell (1988) * ''Holiday for Swing'',

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

(1988) * ''Live in Paris '92'', Ahmad Jamal (1993) * ''Sincerely, George & Ira Gershwin'' (1997) * ''Gone with the Wind'',

(1999)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coolman, Todd Living people Grammy Award winners American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists 1954 births Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni People from Denville, New Jersey Musicians from Gary, Indiana State University of New York at Purchase faculty Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Double-Time Records artists Sunnyside Records artists ArtistShare artists