Nat Towles

Nat Towles ( born August 10, 1905 in New Orleans, † January 1963 in Berkeley ) was an American jazz bassist and bandleader.

Life and work

The son of bassist Phil " Charlie" Towles gained his first musical impressions with his father and first played guitar and violin, before switching to bass. He had his first appearances with Gus Metcalf Melody Jazz Band, after which he was hired by musicians such as Buddie Petit, Red Allen and Jack Carey and performed with the original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra.

In 1923 he formed his first band, the Creole Harmony Kings, with whom he toured Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. During this time he also appeared with pianist Fate Marable. In 1929 he left New Orleans with the band by Thomas Benton, but soon headed back to their normal group. In 1934 he worked with pianist Ethel Mays.

Since the mid-1930s Towles led the student band of Wiley College in Austin / Texas. In this role, he had a decisive influence on younger musicians like the pianist Duke Groner and the trombonist Buddy McLewis.

With his own band he was in 1936 Musician of the Dreamland Ballroom in Omaha. The young Neal Hefti composed some pieces for the group. In the early 1940s went Towles with his band on tour again; a high point was 1943, a concert in New York's Apollo Theatre.

The mid- 1950s, Towles settled in California where he opened a bar in 1959 and a few years later succumbed to a heart attack. From his bands emerged a number of well-known jazz saxophonists, including Jimmy Heath, Oliver Nelson, Buddy Tate, Paul Quinichette, Elvin Shepherd, Buster Bennett and Preston Love.

• Jazz bassist
• American musician
• Americans
• Born 1905
• Died in 1963
• Man