Jimmy Bond (musician)

Jimmy Bond
Birth name	James Edward Bond, Jr.
Born	January 27, 1933 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	April 26, 2012 (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, R&B, pop, folk, gospel
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger
Instruments	Double bass
Years active	Early 1950s – late 1980s

James Edward Bond, Jr. (January 27, 1933 – April 26, 2012), known as Jimmy Bond, was an American double bass player, arranger and composer who performed and recorded with many leading jazz, blues, folk and rock musicians between the 1950s and 1980s.

Biography

Bond was born in Philadelphia, and learned the double bass and tuba as well as studying orchestration and composition. He attended the Juilliard School between 1950 and 1955. He also played bass in clubs in Philadelphia, with musicians including Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Gene Ammons.^[1] After his studies ended, he played regularly with some of the leading jazz musicians of the day, including Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sonny Rollins, and in 1958 started touring with George Shearing.^[2]

He moved to Los Angeles in 1959. He became resident bass player at the Renaissance nightclub on Sunset Boulevard, where he played with Ben Webster. Art Pepper, Jim Hall and Jimmy Giuffre, and also recorded with Paul Horn. From 1962, he became a session musician in Los Angeles.^[2] From then until the early 1970s – and on a more occasional basis until the 1980s – he played on hundreds of recordings covering not only jazz but also rock, pop, folk, and gospel. He became one of the members of the Wrecking Crew, a group of session musicians often associated with work for Phil Spector. Other musicians with whom he recorded included Randy Newman, Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley, The Jazz Crusaders, Nina Simone, Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Witherspoon, Linda Ronstadt, Henry Mancini, Lou Rawls, Tony Bennett, and B.B. King.^[1][3] Increasingly he also worked as an arranger, with producers Nik Venet, David Axelrod and others, as well as composing and arranging advertising jingles.^[3]

He died in 2012, aged 79, as a result of complications from cardiopulmonary disease.^[4]

Discography

With Curtis Amy

• Groovin' Blue (Pacific Jazz, 1961) with Frank Butler

With Earl Anderza

• Outa Sight (Pacific Jazz, 1962)

With Louis Bellson

• Big Band Jazz from the Summit (Roulette, 1962)

With Joe Gordon

• Lookin' Good! (Contemporary, 1961)

With Paul Horn

• Something Blue (HiFi Jazz, 1960)
• The Sound of Paul Horn (Columbia, 1961)

With The Jazz Crusaders

• Freedom Sound (Pacific Jazz, 1961)
• Lookin' Ahead (Pacific Jazz, 1962)
• The Festival Album (Pacific Jazz, 1966)

With Julie London

• Feeling Good (Liberty, 1965)

With Gerry Mulligan

• If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em! (Limelight, 1965)
• Feelin' Good (Limelight, 1966)

With Art Pepper

• Smack Up (Contemporary, 1960)
• Intensity (Contemporary, 1960)

With Gerald Wilson

• You Better Believe It! (Pacific Jazz, 1961)
• Moment of Truth (Pacific Jazz, 1962)

With Jimmy Woods

• Awakening!! (Contemporary, 1962)

References

1. Biography by Eugene Chadbourne, Allmusic.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015
2. John Voight, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Macmillan, 1988, at www.theloniousrecords.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015
3. Mike Lang, "An Appreciation: Jimmy Bond 1933 – 2012", The International Review of Music. Retrieved 13 October 2015
4. Obituary, James E, Bond Jr., Legacy.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015