McKibbon, Al(fred Benjamin)
McKibbon, Al(fred Benjamin)
McKibbon, Al(fred Benjamin), jazz bassist; b. Chicago, Jan. 1, 1919. His father and brother were musicians. Raised in Detroit, he attended Cass Technical H.S. He did early gigs with McKinney’s Cotton Pickers (1935), then worked with Kelly Martin, and altoist Ted Buckner before moving to N.Y He worked with Lucky Millinder (1943), Tab Smith (1945–46), Coleman Hawkins (1946–47), J. C. Heard (1947), Dizzy Gillespie (1947–49), Count Basie (1950), George Shearing (1951–58), and Cal Tjader (1958–59). During the 1960s McKibbon worked in Los Angeles, mainly playing freelance club and concert dates, and recordings; he also worked regularly at NBC studios. He toured extensively with The Giants of Jazz in 1971–72, and also did widespread work with singer Sammy Davis in the 1970s. He remained active in the Los Angeles area through the 1980s, and returned to N.Y in 1990 to work in the pitband of a Broadway show.
Discography
Tumbao Para los Conqueros Di (1999). Cannon-Ball Adderley:Sophisticated Swing (1957). Lorez Alexandria:Alexandria the Great (1964). Count Basie: 1949:Shoutin’ Blues (1949); Planet Jazz (1998). ruth brown:Blues on Broadway: (1989); Fine and Mellow (1991). Benny Carter:Benny Carter and the Jazz Giants (1998). Buck Clayton:Classic Swing of Buck Clayton (1946); 1945–1947 (1998). Miles Davis:Birth of the Cool (1949); Blue Note and Capitol Recordings (1949); Ballads and Blues (1950).
—John Chilton (Who’s Who of Jazz)/Lewis Porter