Cornelius Bumpus (May 7, 1945 – February 3, 2004) was an American woodwind, brass and keyboard player and vocalist from

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

Biography

Bumpus began his musical career playing

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

at ten for his school band, and by age twelve he was playing at

Luso-American Portuguese Americans ( pt, português-americanos), also known as Luso-Americans (''luso-americanos''), are citizens and residents of the United States who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, ancestry, or citizenship. Americans and ...

dances. He attended

Santa Cruz High School Santa Cruz High School is a comprehensive public school in Santa Cruz, California which originally opened in 1897 and now serves an enrollment of about 1,040 students in grades nine through twelve. It is part of the Santa Cruz City School Distr ...

where he performed in the band and won the John Philip Sousa Award. He also played school dances with his own band, Corny and the Corvettes. In 1966 he was in

Bobby Freeman Robert Thomas Freeman (June 13, 1940 – January 23, 2017)"Bobby Freeman"
Ace Records.co.uk. Retrieve ...

's band and after that he began his association with many well-known groups. His role in these bands was primarily as a saxophonist and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

. His most notable touring was with the Doobie Brothers and

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from liv ...

. Bumpus toured with Steely Dan from 1993 to 2003. In 2002, he worked on the ''Big Blue Earth'' project sponsored by the

Church of Christ, Scientist The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,'' and founder of Christian Science. The church was founded "to commemorate the word a ...

. During the 1980s, Bumpus enjoyed a short tenure with Café Society, a Los Angeles pop band, in which he played in a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

with the

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

Dan Levine and trumpeter Anne Petereit King. In 1981, Bumpus issued his first solo LP, ''A Clear View'', which featured his singing, writing and sax playing, stretching out with the band on several, long, jazzy jams over six minutes each. In 1999 Bumpus was part of a Doobie Brothers

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as ...

with fellow former members

Chet McCracken Chester Eugene McCracken (September 20, 1946 – February 11, 2022) was an American drummer and recording, mixing and mastering engineer. He was a former member and contributing songwriter of American rock band The Doobie Brothers. In 1981, his ...

and Dave Shogren. The Doobie Brothers obtained an injunction preventing this band from performing under any variation of the "Doobie Brothers" name. Bumpus suffered a heart attack on February 3, 2004, while on an airline flight from New York to California, where he was scheduled to perform at the Columbia College Jazz Concert Series. The plane made an emergency landing in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

, so he could get medical assistance, but Bumpus had died by the time the plane reached the ground. He was 58 at the time of his death.

Discography

Solo * ''A Clear View'' – 1981 * ''Known Fact'' – 1999 With the Cornelius Bumpus Quartet * ''Beacon'' – 1983 With

Clifford Coulter Clifford Coulter was an American blues, R&B and jazz guitarist and keyboardist.allmusic Biography/ref> Career He released three albums, 1970's ''East Side San Jose'' with Billy Ingram and Joe Provost on drums. (Impulse! Records), 1971's ''Do I ...

* ''

East Side San Jose ''East Side San Jose'' is the debut album by American guitarist and keyboardist Clifford Coulter recorded in 1970 for the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1970) With

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

* '' One Step Closer'' (Warner Bros., 1980) * ''

Farewell Tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1983) * '' Rockin' down the Highway: The Wildlife Concert'' (Sony, 1996) * ''Live at the Greek Theater 1982'' (Eagle, 2011) With

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his ...

* ''

Kamakiriad ''Kamakiriad'' is the second solo album by Steely Dan artist Donald Fagen, released in 1993. It was his first collaboration with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker since 1986, on Rosie Vela's album '' Zazu''. Becker played guitar and bass and pro ...

'' (Reprise, 1993) With

Moby Grape Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...

* ''

Live Grape ''Live Grape'' is a 1978 album by Moby Grape, released by Escape Records, of live performances of the band at two venues in California, the Shady Grove in San Francisco and the Inn of the Beginning in Cotati. History The album features core mem ...

'' (Escape, 1978) With

* '' Alive in America'' (Giant, 1995)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bumpus, Cornelius 1945 births 2004 deaths Musicians from Santa Cruz, California African-American woodwind musicians American saxophonists American male saxophonists 20th-century American keyboardists Palmetto Records artists The Doobie Brothers members 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians Santa Cruz High School alumni The New York Rock and Soul Revue members