Bob Magnusson
Encyclopedia
Bob Magnusson is a bassist
best known for his jazz
and studio work and has a personal discography
in excess of 150 albums and CDs.
's Orchestra (1968), playing with the San Diego Symphony
and Sarah Vaughan
(1971-72 and 1975-76). A studio musician for decades, he was part of the co-op group Road Work Ahead from 1979-82, and worked or recorded with John Klemmer
, Art Pepper
, Benny Golson
, Joe Farrell
, Linda Ronstadt
(with Nelson Riddle
's Orchestra), Bud Shank
, Laurindo Almeida
, Shorty Rogers
, Bob Cooper
, Lou Donaldson
, Clifford Jordan
, George Cables
, Victor Lewis
, Joe Pass
, Art Farmer
, Kenny Barron
, Freddie Hubbard
, Slide Hampton
, Billy Higgins
, Carl Fontana
, Tommy Flanagan
, Mike Wofford
, Holly Hofmann, Kenny Burrell
, Roger Kellaway
, Randy Porter, Ernie Watts
, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Peter Erskine
, Bobby Shew
, Bill Mays
, Natalie Cole
, Neil Diamond
, Bonnie Raitt
, 10,000 Maniacs
, Madonna
, Hank Jones
, Cedar Walton
, Jimmy Heath
and others. Including the Road Work Ahead projects, Magnusson led record dates for Discovery Records
in 1979, 1980 and 1984, and Trend Records
in 1982.
Mr. Magnusson has performed in many of the world's finest concert halls and club venues, such as Carnegie Hall
, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He has also made many trips to Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Central and South America.
Also a teacher and clinician, Bob was an active faculty member of Musician's Institute in Hollywood, California from 1977-1996. In 1998 he joined the faculty at San Diego Mesa Community College and the Coronado School of the Arts
where he teaches harmony
, theory
and jazz improvisation
. He also wrote a book, "The Art of the Walking Bass," which was published by the Hal Leonard Publishing Company in 1999.
As of August 2009 Mr. Magnusson was playing regularly in the San Diego area.
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
best known for his 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...
and studio work and has a personal discography
Discography
Discography is the study and listing of the details concerning sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified musical genres...
in excess of 150 albums and CDs.
Career
Bob Magnusson has worked with scores of well known names in modern jazz. He studied French horn for 12 years before switching to bass in 1967. Very quickly he was touring with Buddy RichBuddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
's Orchestra (1968), playing with the San Diego Symphony
San Diego Symphony
The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. On 6 December 1910, it gave its first concert as the San Diego Civic Orchestra.Currently, the Symphony performs over 100 concerts each season...
and Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
(1971-72 and 1975-76). A studio musician for decades, he was part of the co-op group Road Work Ahead from 1979-82, and worked or recorded with John Klemmer
John Klemmer
John Klemmer is an American saxophonist, composer, song writer and arranger.He was born in Chicago, Illinois and began playing guitar at age 5 and alto saxophone at age 11. His other early interests included graphics and visual art, writing, dance, puppetry, painting, sculpting and poetry...
, Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
, Joe Farrell
Joe Farrell
Joseph Carl Firrantello , known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:Farrell was born in Chicago...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
(with Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
's Orchestra), Bud Shank
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first...
, Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida was a Brazilian virtuoso guitaristand composer who made many recordings of enduring impact in classical, jazz and Latin genres...
, Shorty Rogers
Shorty Rogers
Milton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and...
, Bob Cooper
Bob Cooper (musician)
Bob Cooper was a West Coast jazz musician known primarily for playing tenor saxophone, but also for being one of the first to play solos on oboe. He worked in Stan Kenton's band starting in 1945 and married the band's singer June Christy...
, Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
, Clifford Jordan
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
, George Cables
George Cables
George Andrew Cables is a jazz pianist, born November 14, 1944 in New York City.He has played with Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, and others.His own recordings include the 1980 Cables Vision with Freddie Hubbard among others....
, Victor Lewis
Victor Lewis
Victor Lewis is an American jazz drummer, a major force in the genre since the 1980s.-As leader:*1992: Family Portrait - with John Stubblefield, Edward Simon, Cecil McBee, Don Alias, Jumma Santos...
, Joe Pass
Joe Pass
Joe Pass was an Italian-American jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century...
, Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, Slide Hampton
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.He was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for "Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist", as arranger for "Cotton Tail" performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater...
, Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
, Carl Fontana
Carl Fontana
Carl Charles Fontana was an American jazz trombonist. Because Fontana rarely recorded under his own name and toured only occasionally after 1958, he is significantly less famous among mainstream jazz fans, although well-known amongst trombonists.-Birth to 1958:Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Fontana...
, Tommy Flanagan
Tommy Flanagan
Thomas Lee Flanagan was an American jazz pianist born in Detroit, Michigan, particularly remembered for his work with Ella Fitzgerald...
, Mike Wofford
Mike Wofford
Mike Wofford is a jazz pianist born February 28, 1938 in San Antonio, Texas, raised in San Diego, California.He is best known as an accompanist to and music director for singers Sarah Vaughan , Ella Fitzgerald and others...
, Holly Hofmann, Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
, Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway is an American composer, arranger, and pianist.Born in Waban, Massachusetts, he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory...
, Randy Porter, Ernie Watts
Ernie Watts
Ernest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...
, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine is an American jazz drummer and composer. He has enjoyed a long and successful career as a session drummer, recording and touring with many famous jazz and rock artists, including Steely Dan and Weather Report...
, Bobby Shew
Bobby Shew
-Biography:After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet with the NORAD band in Colorado Springs and on tour. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey's band and then played with the Woody Herman and then the Buddy Rich Big Bands in the mid-to-late...
, Bill Mays
Bill Mays
William Allen Mays , best known as Bill Mays, is a jazz pianist from Sacramento, California He came from a musical family and at fifteen he became interested in jazz at an Earl Hines concert....
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, 10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Hank Jones
Hank Jones
Henry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
, Cedar Walton
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
, Jimmy Heath
Jimmy Heath
James Edward Heath , nicknamed Little Bird, is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He is the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.-Biography:...
and others. Including the Road Work Ahead projects, Magnusson led record dates for Discovery Records
Discovery Records
Discovery Records was a United States-based record label known for its recordings of jazz music.Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx...
in 1979, 1980 and 1984, and Trend Records
Trend Records
Trend Records was a post-World War II United States jazz record label.Trend's back catalogue was purchased by Albert Marx, the owner of Discovery Records, and much of its material was reissued in the 1980s. Among those who recorded for Trend are Van Alexander, Robert Conti, Shelly Manne, Clare...
in 1982.
Mr. Magnusson has performed in many of the world's finest concert halls and club venues, such as Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He has also made many trips to Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Central and South America.
Also a teacher and clinician, Bob was an active faculty member of Musician's Institute in Hollywood, California from 1977-1996. In 1998 he joined the faculty at San Diego Mesa Community College and the Coronado School of the Arts
Coronado School of the Arts
Coronado School of the Arts is a school-within-a-school located on the campus of Coronado High School in Coronado, California. The school currently enrolls 155 students, of which nearly 70% comes from outside Coronado....
where he teaches harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, theory
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
and jazz improvisation
Jazz improvisation
Jazz improvisation is an important aspect of jazz. Basically, improvisation is composing on the spot and coming up with melodies off the top of one's head. Traditionally, jazz improvisation was distinguished from other forms of music improvisation by its chordal complexity, often exhibiting ii V...
. He also wrote a book, "The Art of the Walking Bass," which was published by the Hal Leonard Publishing Company in 1999.
As of August 2009 Mr. Magnusson was playing regularly in the San Diego area.
Appears on
- Nexus: (2xLP) (With John Klemmer & Carl Burnett) Arista RecordsArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
(1979) - Skate Board Park: Joe Farrell (1979)
- Flute Talk: Sam Most With Joe Farrell (1979)
- Rise: Herb Alpert, A&M RecordsA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
(1979) - Holywood Madness: Richie Cole With Eddie Jefferson, Muse RecordsMuse RecordsMuse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields, who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s...
(1980) - Touchstone: Chick Corea, Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
(1982) - Return To Alto Acres: Richie Cole (LP), Palo Alto RecordsPalo Alto RecordsPalo Alto Records was a jazz record label that released most of its discography in the 1980s. The label was founded in 1981 by Jim Benham, who was a Palo Alto, California resident. The artistic director was Herb Wong. In 1985 the company ceased its activities...
(1983) - Finesse: John Klemmer, Elektra RecordsElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
(1983) - Ron McCroby Plays Puccolo, Concord JazzConcord JazzConcord Jazz is a subsidiary of Concord Records, owned by Concord Music Group.-Dozens of albums:*Charlie Byrd*Ruby Braff*Dave McKenna*Marian McPartland*Rosemary Clooney*Scott Hamilton*Tito Puente*George Shearing*Gene Harris*Mel Tormé*Monty Alexander...
(1983) - Round Midnight: Linda Ronstadt, Elektra (1986)
- For Sentimental Reasons: Linda Ronstadt with Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra, Elektra/Asylum Records (1986)
- In My Tribe: 10,000 Maniacs, Elektra (1987)
- Shieldstone: Stanley Clarke & Bill Shields, Bellaphon RecordsBellaphon RecordsBellaphon Records is an independent German record label. Their artists have included Geordie, Limahl, Johnny Cash, Nektar, and Ganymed.Bellaphon were founded in 1961 by Branco Zivanovic. They are headquartered in Frankfurt. The company runs the labels Bellaphon, Bacillus and L&R. Bellaphon has...
(1987) - I'm Breathless: Madonna, Sire RecordsSire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
(1990) - Chamber Jazz: Laurindo Almeida, Concord Jazz (1993)
- A New Standard: Steve TyrellSteve TyrellSteve Tyrell is an American jazz musician.-Early career:Upon moving to New York City at the age of 18, he was made head of A&R and promotion at Scepter Records...
, Atlantic RecordsAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
(1999) - This Guy's In Love: Steve Tyrell, Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
(2003) - Siren: Sasha & Shawna, Manhattan RecordsManhattan RecordsManhattan Records is a United States record label, owned by EMI and operates as a subsidiary of The Blue Note Label Group.-Company history:Manhattan Records was formed in 1984 by Bruce Lundvall, and was later renamed EMI Manhattan Records after absorbing EMI America Records imprint...
(2007) - Conversations With My Family: Mike GarsonMike GarsonMike Garson is an American pianist, most notable for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Billy Corgan, Free Flight, and The Smashing Pumpkins.- Early career :...
, Resonance RecordsResonance RecordsResonance Records is an independent Jazz Record Label established in 2008 as the centerpiece of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation, a non profit organization dedicated to preserving the art and legacy of Jazz. The label is based in Los Angeles, California and is devoted to preserving Jazz and...
(2008) - Heartfelt: Christian HowesChristian Howes (American)Christian Howes is an American musician, teacher, and composer. He is an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music. His artistic collaborators have included Les Paul and Greg Osby, and his sponsors have included Yamaha.The 2009 Down Beat Critics Poll ranked Howes at #2 under “Rising...
, Resonance Records (2008)