Oscar Pettiford (Okmulgee, Oklahoma, 30 September 1922-Copenhagen, Denmark, 8 September 1960) was an American jazz bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop. Okmulgee is a city located in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans at around the start of the 20th century. ... A bassist is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). ... Alternate meaning: Cello web browser A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human (Uncropped Version) The cello (also violoncello or cello) is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. ... Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ...

Pettiford's mother was Choctaw and his father was half Cherokee and half African American. Like many African Americans with Native American ancestry, his Native heritage was not generally known except to a few close friends (which included David Amram). For other uses, see Choctaw (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... David Amram (born November 17, 1930 in Philadelphia) is an American composer, musician and writer. ...

In 1942 he joined the Charlie Barnet band and in 1943 gained wider public attention after recording with Coleman Hawkins on his "The Man I Love." He also recorded with Earl Hines and Ben Webster around this time. He and Dizzy Gillespie led a bop group in 1943. in 1945 Pettiford went with Hawkins to California, where he appeared in The Crimson Canary, a mystery movie known for its jazz soundtrack. He then worked with Duke Ellington from 1945 to 1948 and for Woody Herman in 1949 before working mainly as a leader in the 1950s. Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader. ... Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins, nicknamed Hawk and sometimes Bean, (November 21, 1901 or 1904 - May 19, 1969) was a prominent jazz tenor saxophone musician. ... Earl Kenneth Hines, better known as Earl Hines or Fatha Hines (28 December 1903 near Pittsburgh – 22 April 1983 in Oakland, California) was a prominent jazz pianist. ... Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909–September 20, 1973) was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. ... Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington (April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C.; d. ... Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987), better known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. ... // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ...

As a leader he inadvertently discovered Cannonball Adderley. After one of his musicians had tricked him into letting Adderley, an unknown music teacher, onto the stand, he had Adderley solo on a demanding piece, on which Adderley performed impressively. Cannonball Adderley, 1960 Julian Edwin Cannonball Adderley (September 15, 1928 - August 8, 1975), originally from Tampa, Florida, was a jazz alto saxophonist of the small combo era of the 1950s and 1960s. ...

Pettiford is considered the pioneer of the cello as a solo instrument in jazz music. In 1949, after suffering a broken arm, Pettiford found it impossible to play his bass, so he experimented with a cello a friend had lent him. Tuning it in fourths, like a double bass, but one octave higher, Pettiford found it possible to perform during his rehabilitation (during which time his arm was in a sling) and made his first recordings with the instrument in 1950. The cello thus became his secondary instrument, and he continued to perform and record with it throughout his career.

He recorded extensively during the 1950s for the Debut, Bethlehem and ABC Paramount labels among others, and for European companies after he moved to Copenhagen in 1958. // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... Debut Records is a United States jazz record company, which was founded in 1952 by Bassist Charles Mingus, his then wife Celia and Drummer Max Roach, this short lived label was an attempt to avoid the compromises of working for major companies. ... Bethlehem Records was a record label bought by King Records. ... ABC Records started in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records, the recording arm of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ...

His best known compositions include "Tricotism," "Laverne Walk," "Bohemia After Dark," and "Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home."

Oscar Pettiford died of what doctors described as a "Polio-like virus". This article is about the disease. ...

External link

• Oscar Pettiford, life and sessions