Eddie Safranski (December 25, 1918 – January 10, 1974) 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 m ...

double bassist, composer and arranger who worked with

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

. He also worked with

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

, Benny Goodman and

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

. From 1946 to 1953 he won the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' Readers' Poll for bassist.

Biography

A native of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

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, Safranski took violin lessons as a child. In high school he began playing double bass. His career began in 1941 with Hal McIntyre. Safranski played bass and wrote

arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

for McIntyre until 1945. He then worked with Miff Mole,

, and

. After moving 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 was hired by NBC as a studio musician. During the 1950s, he played with Benny Goodman and

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

. In the 1960s, he taught classes and workshops as the representative of a bass company. At the end of his career he lived in Los Angeles and played in bands there.

Personal

He was born Eric Edward Szafranski to Bronislaw and Wladyslawa. He was married to Irene Kovach and had one daughter, Erica. He died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in January 1974, at the age of 55.

Discography

As sideman

, ''

The Beat of My Heart ''The Beat of My Heart'' is a 1957 album by jazz singer Tony Bennett. For this Columbia album Tony Bennett had started working with English jazz pianist Ralph Sharon and together they devised this percussion influenced treatment and invited per ...

'' (Columbia, 1957) * Tony Bennett, ''Just One of Those Things'' (Harmony, 1969) *

Sonny Berman Saul "Sonny" Berman (April 21, 1925 – January 16, 1947) was an American jazz trumpeter. Berman was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He began touring at age sixteen and performed with Louis Prima, Harry James and Benny Goodman, but ...

, ''Beautiful Jewish Music'' (Onyx, 1973) * Barney Bigard, ''Clarinet Gumbo'' (RCA, 1976) *

John Cacavas John Harry Cacavas (August 13, 1930 – January 28, 2014) was an American composer and conductor probably best known for his television scores, such as ''Kojak'', and ''The Time Machine,'' for which he was the chief composer. He also composed '' ...

, ''Sound Spectrum for Orchestra'' (Murbo, 1963) *

Don Elliott Don Elliott Helfman (October 21, 1926 – July 5, 1984) was an American jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist, and mellophone player. Elliott recorded over 60 albums and 5,000 advertising jingles throughout his career. Career Elliott played ...

Rusty Dedrick Lyle "Rusty" Dedrick (12 July 1918 – 25 December 2009) was an American swing and bebop jazz trumpeter and composer born in Delevan, New York, probably better known for his work with Bill Borden, Dick Stabile, Red Norvo, Ray McKinley and Cl ...

, '' Counterpoint for Six Valves'' (Riverside, 1959) * Stan Getz, ''

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 ...

'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

, 1997) * Dizzy Gillespie, ''

The Complete RCA Victor Recordings ''The Complete RCA Victor Recordings'' is a 1995 compilation 2-CD set of sessions led by Jazz trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie recorded for the RCA Victor label between 1937 and 1949. Reception Writing for Allmusic, Richard S. Ginell stat ...

'' (

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

, 1995) * Sammy Herman, ''Something Old...and Something New'' (Everest, 1959) * Dick Hyman, ''Gigi'' (MGM, 1958) * J. J. Johnson & Kai Winding, ''Jay and Kai'' (Savoy 1955) *

, ''The Uncollected 1945–1947 Vol. 5'' (Hindsight, 1980) * Hal McIntyre, ''The Uncollected Hal McIntyre and His Orchestra 1943–1946'' (Hindsight, 1981) * Billy Maxted, ''Plays Hi Fi Keyboards'' (Cadence, 1955) *

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

, ''On a Rainy Afternoon'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * Andre Previn, ''Previn at Sunset'' (Polydor, 1972) * Hymie Shertzer, ''All the King's Saxes'' (Disneyland, 1958) *

Johnny Smith Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great D ...

, '' Moonlight in Vermont'' ( (Roost, 1956) * Joe Venuti, ''Joe Venuti and the Blue Five'' (From the Jazz Vault, 1979) * Cootie Williams, '' Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi'' (RCA Victor, 1958)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Safranski, Ed 1918 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American musicians American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Musicians from Pittsburgh 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Tonight Show Band members