Israel Crosby
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Israel Crosby | |
|---|---|
 Israel Crosby | |
| Background information | |
| Born | January 19, 1919 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | August 11, 1962 (aged 43) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Double bass |
Israel Crosby (January 19, 1919 – August 11, 1962) was an American jazz double-bassist born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[1] One of the finest to emerge during the 1930s, he was also a member of the Ahmad Jamal trio for most of 1954 to 1962.[1] He is credited with taking one of the first recorded full-length bass solos, on his 1935 recording of "Blues of Israel" with drummer Gene Krupa when he was only 16.[1] Crosby died of a heart attack at age 43, two months after joining the Shearing Quintet.[1]
As Down Beat magazine explained in its obituary, "Early last month [August 1962], while the Shearing Quintet was at the University of Utah's jazz workshop, Crosby was not in the group; he had suffered blinding headaches and blurred vision and had taken a two-week leave of absence to return to Chicago, his home, for a hospital checkup. But before the group left the university, Shearing received a letter from the bassist in which he said he'd soon be well enough to return to the quintet. But Crosby never returned; he died of a blood clot on the heart in Chicago's West Side Veterans Administration Hospital on Aug. 11. He was 43."[2]
