Bob Cunningham (musician)

Bob Cunningham (born 28 December 1934 in Cleveland) is an American jazz bassist and composer.

Life and work

Cunningham began his career as a musician in local bands of his native city; In 1960 he went to New York City. In 1961 he played with Dizzy Gillespie, with whom he performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and collaborated on recordings by Bill Hardman and Eric Dolphy with. He then worked with Ken McIntyre (1963 ), Walt Dickerson (1965 ), Frank Foster (1965 /66), Junior Mance, Freddie Hubbard ( Backlash, 1966), the Jazz Composer's Orchestra (1968) and Gary Bartz (1969). In the early 1970s he played six years with Yusef Lateef; In the late 1970s he began to work with his own bands, in which, inter alia, Bernard Purdie Alvin Queen and Melvin Sparks played. In 1985 he recorded the album Walking Bass for the label Nilva Records. 1982/83 he played among others Phil Bowler, Rufus Reid, Fred Hopkins and Thurman Barker on the World Bass Violin Ensemble. As a composer, Cunningham worked several times together with choreographers and writers. He wrote, inter alia, Music for the dance drama musical safari in Living Colour.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Walt Dickerson: Impressions of a Patch of Blue ( Verve, 1965)
• Frank Foster Soul Outing! ( OJC, 1966)
• Dizzy Gillespie: An Electrifying Evening with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet ( Verve, 1961)
• Jazz Composers Orchestra: Communications ( JCOA, 1968)
• Ken McIntyre: The Complete United Artists Sessions ( Blue Note 1962 /63)