Don Bagley
Encyclopedia
Donald Neff "Don" Bagley (born July 18, 1927, Salt Lake City, Utah
) is an American
jazz
bassist
.
Bagley received formal training on the double bass. He studied in Los Angeles
and played in 1945 with Shorty Sherock
and Wingy Manone
, and in 1948 with Dick Pierce
. From 1950 to 1953 and sporadically thereafter, Bagley played with Stan Kenton
; starting in 1954 he fronted his own ensembles. Between 1950 and 1952 he did extensive work as a session musician
with Nat King Cole
, Maynard Ferguson
, and Dexter Gordon
. In the middle of the 1950s he played in Europe with Zoot Sims
, Lars Gullin
, Frank Rosolino
, and Ake Persson
. Between 1956 and 1967 he again worked with Kenton and with Les Brown
; toward the end of the 1950s he also played with Jimmie Rowles
, Shelly Manne
, and Phil Woods
. In 1957 and 1958 he recorded three albums under his own name. In 1959 he played with Pete Fountain
; in 1961 he did a session with Ben Webster
. In the 1970s and '80s Bagley composed and arranged for film and television. Between 1976 and 1984 he worked with Burt Bacharach
.
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bassist
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
.
Bagley received formal training on the double bass. He studied in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and played in 1945 with Shorty Sherock
Shorty Sherock
Clarence "Shorty" Sherock was a prominent swing jazz trumpeter.Sherock attended the Illinois Military Academy before becoming a soloist with Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra and later with Gene Krupa's Orchestra, together with saxophonist Sam Donahue.He was a featured soloist at the first concert of...
and Wingy Manone
Wingy Manone
Wingy Manone was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and bandleader. His major recordings included "Tar Paper Stomp", "Nickel in the Slot", "Downright Disgusted Blues", "There'll Come a Time ", and "Tailgate Ramble".- Biography :Manone was born Joseph Matthews Mannone in New Orleans,...
, and in 1948 with Dick Pierce
Dick Pierce
Richard "Dick" Pierce was an American football player. He played guard for the Michigan Wolverines football team and later played professional football for the Chicago Tigers in 1920.-References:...
. From 1950 to 1953 and sporadically thereafter, Bagley played with Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
; starting in 1954 he fronted his own ensembles. Between 1950 and 1952 he did extensive work as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
with Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
, and Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
. In the middle of the 1950s he played in Europe with Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...
, Lars Gullin
Lars Gullin
Lars Gunnar Victor Gullin was a Swedish jazz baritone saxophone player, occasional pianist and composer closest in playing style to United States Cool school players, with a full tone, but also a lightness uncommon with baritone saxophonists and an influence from Swedish folk music, which helps...
, Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino was an American jazz trombonist.- Biography :Born in Detroit, Michigan, Frank Rosolino studied the guitar with his father from the age of 9. He took up the trombone at age 14 while he was enrolled at Miller High School where he played with Milt Jackson in the school's stage band and...
, and Ake Persson
Åke Persson
Åke Persson was a Swedish bebop jazz trombonist.Persson, known as "the Comet", moved from southern Sweden to Stockholm in 1951, where he played in Simon Brehm's quintet...
. Between 1956 and 1967 he again worked with Kenton and with Les Brown
Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
; toward the end of the 1950s he also played with Jimmie Rowles
Jimmy Rowles
Jimmy Rowles was an American jazz pianist who was best known as an accompanist. He also released a number of albums under his own name, and explored various idioms including swing and cool jazz. - Biography :Born in Spokane, Washington, Rowles studied at Gonzaga College in Spokane, Washington...
, Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
, and Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
. In 1957 and 1958 he recorded three albums under his own name. In 1959 he played with Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain , is an American clarinetist based in New Orleans. He has played jazz, Dixieland and Creole music.-Early life and education:...
; in 1961 he did a session with Ben Webster
Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
. In the 1970s and '80s Bagley composed and arranged for film and television. Between 1976 and 1984 he worked with Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
.
Discography as bandleader
- Basically Bagley (Dot, 1957) with Jimmy RowlesJimmy RowlesJimmy Rowles was an American jazz pianist who was best known as an accompanist. He also released a number of albums under his own name, and explored various idioms including swing and cool jazz. - Biography :Born in Spokane, Washington, Rowles studied at Gonzaga College in Spokane, Washington...
, Shelly ManneShelly ManneShelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing... - Jazz On The Rocks (Regent, 1958; CD reissue on Blue Moon, 1999) with Phil WoodsPhil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, Eddie CostaEddie CostaEddie Costa, , was an American jazz pianist and vibraphonist born in Atlas, Pennsylvania near Mount Carmel, PA in Northumberland County....
, Sal SalvadorSal SalvadorSal Salvador was a bebop jazz guitarist and a prominent music educator.He was born in Monson, Massachusetts and began his professional career in New York City. He eventually moved to Stamford, Connecticut. He taught guitar at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut as well as at...
, Charlie PersipCharlie PersipCharli Persip , is an American jazz drummer. Born in Morristown, New Jersey as Charles Lawrence Persip, he changed his name to Charli Persip in the early 1980s.-Biography:... - The Soft Sell (Dot, 1958; CD reissue on Blue Moon, 1999) with Paul Horn, Jimmy RowlesJimmy RowlesJimmy Rowles was an American jazz pianist who was best known as an accompanist. He also released a number of albums under his own name, and explored various idioms including swing and cool jazz. - Biography :Born in Spokane, Washington, Rowles studied at Gonzaga College in Spokane, Washington...
, Shelly ManneShelly ManneShelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...