Oscar Rides Again - Oscar Pettiford (JAZZ CELLO SOLO!)

Recorded July 11th, 1952 at Pythian Temple, NYC Here is a rather exciting piece of jazz history! Oscar Pettiford is a name that not many bassists talk about, but those who know of him can attest to his legendary status as an innovator of both the bass and cello in jazz. He played with many great bandleaders like Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and Coleman Hawkins. Pettiford metaphorically carried the torch of Jimmy Blanton in his playing, he was fast while also melodically sound and certainly could handle the quick bebop tunes and the carefully constructed orchestral scores thrown his way by many of the bandleaders he was under. Why did he play cello you may ask? It first started off as a joke while he was in the Woody Herman group, he was given a solo and then ran in the back during the tune only to come out with a cello and it stuck. During a stay in hospice due to a broken arm, he tuned his cello to his bass so he could play his lines in a cast, he used this method for the rest of his cello usage and on lots of his albums (combined with his use of Ampeg amplifiers with both bass and cello, he was able to make himself identifiable more so than any bassist on record). Also, headphone warning at 0:10 Oscar Pettiford - Cello Billy Taylor - Piano Sid Bulkin - Drums George Duvivier - Bass Chuck Wayne - Guitar

Added 1 May 2026