Bob Cranshaw (Sonny Rollins, Buddy Rich)

By Thomas Semioli

Among the first established upright cats to embrace the electric amid a storm of criticism from the jazz police, Bob Cranshaw was renowned for his long association with Sonny Rollins. In fact, Cranshaw gravitated to the instrument as a result of a serious back injury in an automobile accident.

 

A prolific recording artist and sideman, he is among the instrument’s most recorded players on upright and electric.  Bob’s career spanned Tony Bennett, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, George Shearing, Frank Sinatra, Grant Green, Judy Collins, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, and Joe Henderson to cite an extremely select few.

 

Cranshaw served as the first house bass player for Saturday Night Live from 1975-80 and was the musical director for The Dick Cavett Show in the 1980s.

 

An activist for the Musician’s Union, Bob was a strong campaigner for artists’ rights regarding pensions and royalties until his passing in 2016.

 

Bob Cranshaw Sound & Vision

With Paul Simon “It Was a Sunny Day” https://youtu.be/Kz9o3tf9lmk

Bob on stage with Sonny Jazz Jambouree 1980 https://youtu.be/QWE83meaNME

With Lee Morgan “You Go to My Head” https://youtu.be/dMsBCDVXHGc

With Buddy Rich “How Long” https://youtu.be/jtFmLwdUqnw

Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Freddie Hubbard)

When Don Henley saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac, he had Larry Klein lay down the perfect bassline! Larry Klein is a genre traversing Grammy Award winning producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, collaborator, arranger, and master bassist who has forged a remarkably diverse body of work in the past five decades and counting.  

 

Praised by Stanley Clarke early in his career for his work with Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson, Larry then expanded to the rock / folk / pop / Americana / world fusion / soundtrack realms and beyond -working on acclaimed releases by Chris Botti, Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Pink, Seal, Walter Becker, Cher, Luciana Souza, Donna Summer, Madeleine Peyroux,  Bob Dylan, and Tracy Chapman to cite a very, very, very select few.

 

Larry is most known to the masses for his association with Joni Mitchell, his former wife, with whom he waxed several groundbreaking slabs in the 1980s – 90s.

 

Larry Klein Sound & Vision…

 

Don Henley “Boys of Summer” https://youtu.be/TrvVQm6kKZ4

 

Larry with Freddie Hubbard: https://youtu.be/KieEWASD3Z0

 

Madeleine Peyroux “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” https://youtu.be/1qj4vys73xk

 

Joni Mitchell “Good Friends” https://youtu.be/KJZO4wrlU-g