Paul Chambers

During the decade from 1955 to 1965 Paul Chambers ranked among jazz’s foremost bassists, becoming one of the earliest players in the idiom to explore inventive bowed solos apart from Slam Stewart, who added humming to his own arco work. He came of age in Detroit’s thriving local scene before joining Paul Quinichette on the road and then settling in New York, where he performed with the J.J. Johnson–Kai Winding quintet and George Wallington. The heart of his most productive stretch, 1955–1963, was spent inside the Miles Davis Quintet, where he appeared on nearly every landmark date Davis made during those years. After leaving that group, the bassist—nicknamed “Mr. P.C.” by John Coltrane in one of the saxophonist’s compositions—worked with the Wynton Kelly Trio from 1963 to 1966 and continued freelancing until his death. A steadily imaginative accompanist and assured soloist, Chambers recorded extensively in his abbreviated career, joining sessions led by Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd, Bud Powell, and Freddie Hubbard in addition to issuing a small number of albums under his own name.