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Cleveland "Cleve" Eaton
Cleve Eaton
Cleve Eaton
Background information
Born August 31, 1939 (1939-08-31) (age 69)
Origin Fairfield, Alabama
Genre(s) Jazz, Swing, Funk
Occupation(s) Musician, Bandleader
Instrument(s) Double Bass
Years active 1960 to Present

Cleveland Eaton (born August 31, 1939) is an American jazz double bassist from Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. His most famous accomplishments are substantial playing stints with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and later with the Count Basie Orchestra. His entertaining style and deep knowledge of jazz tradition have earned him great respect in the jazz community. His 1975 recording "Plenty Good Eaton" is also considered a classic in the funk music genre.

Contents

Biography

Cleveland Josephus "Cleve" Eaton II was raised with an intense comprehensive musical background. He was playing his mother’s piano at the age of five, and turned his efforts toward the saxophone by the time he was eight. Eaton took up the trumpet two years later, and when he reached the age of fifteen, music teacher John Springer introduced him to the tuba and string bass.

Eaton played in a jazz group in college at Tennessee A & I State University (now Tennessee State University), where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music in 1960. He then moved to Chicago and toured with the Ike Cole Trio. He later performed memorable concert tours with top-notch jazz bands led by Larry Novak, Ramsey Lewis, and the legendary Count Basie.

Over the years, Cleveland Eaton became a consummate bassist, producer, composer, publisher, arranger, and head of his own Birmingham-based record company. As a recording artist, Mr. Eaton’s version of Bama Boogie Woogie became a phenomenal best seller in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Australia.

Honors

Cleveland Eaton was nominated to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1993, has a Bronze Star in the Walk of Fame, and was inducted on February 22, 2008. Eaton’s other numerous honors include his induction into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, the Playboy Jazz Poll, Canada’s Cultural Enhancement Award and the Achievement Award at the Count Basie Tribute Concert. He received the Governor’s Arts Award 1995 (Alabama) and the Don Redman Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

Cleve Eaton is a recognized name in the jazz world, as a producer, composer, arranger, and for his incredible performances with the Ike Cole Trio, Donald Byrd-Pepper Adams Quintet, the Larry Novak Trio, and over thirty recordings in his ten years with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, which included four gold singles, including Hang on Sloopy and Wade in the Water. There were four gold albums, including Solar Wind and Sun Goddess.

Session and Concert Work

Eaton has played on notable recording sessions with nearly all genres – jazz with John Klemmer and Bunky Green, R&B with The Dells and Bobby Rush, pop with Minnie Riperton, Jerry Butler and Rotary Connection, big band with George Benson, Henry Mancini, Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams, Billy Eckstein, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald. Eaton was dubbed “the Count’s Bassist” during his six-year stint and over ten recordings with the Count Basie Orchestra. Eaton has also performed with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Meme Hines, Sammy Davis, Jr., Julie London, Bobby Troupe, Brook Benton, Lou Rawls, Nipsey Russell, Morgana King, Gloria Lynne, Herbie Hancock, the Magic City Jazz Orchestra, The Platters(original), The Temptations, and The Miracles. In 1974, he began performing and touring with his own group, Cleve Eaton and Co., and in 2004 his group became Cleve Eaton and the Alabama All Stars. Several other well-known Alabama jazz musicians, including pianist / vocalist Ray Reach, drummer John Nuckols, trumpeter Tommy Stewart and saxophonist Sam Williams, are frequent players with Cleve Eaton and the Alabama All Stars.

Although he has mistakenly been reported in various articles to be born in 1940, Mr. Eaton was actually born in 1939. He currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama. His official web site is at clevelandeaton.com[1]

Partial discography

As leader

  • Eaton, Cleveland (1973) Half and Half. Gamble 32131
  • Eaton, Cleveland (1975) The Eaton Menu. Black Jazz
  • Eaton, Cleveland (1975) Plenty Good Eaton. Black Jazz
  • Eaton, Cleveland (1976) Instant Hip. Ovation
  • Eaton, Cleveland (1979) Bama Boogie Woogie. Miracle
  • Eaton, Cleveland (1980) Keep Love Alive. Miracle
  • Eaton, Cleveland (C.E. & Co.) (1983) Love and Dance. TBA Records
  • Eaton, Cleveland (Cleve Eaton) (1983) Raw "Live Jazz" Featuring Miss Funky Lu. TBA Records
  • Eaton, Cleveland I Promise Jesus. TBA Records
  • Eaton, Cleveland (and Friends) (1984) A Classic. Cleveland Eaton Enterprises
  • Eaton, Cleveland (Trio plus Voices) (1985) Vol. 1 Live. TBA Records
  • Eaton, Cleveland (Cleve Eaton Orchestra) (1997) CEO.

With the Ramsey Lewis Trio

  • Wade in the Water (1966)
  • Dancing in the Street (1967)
  • Goin' Latin (1967)
  • Maiden Voyage (1968)
  • Another Voyage (1969)
  • Upendo Ni Pamoja (1972)
  • Funky Serenity (1973)
  • Sun Goddess (1974)
  • Solar Wind (1974)

With the Count Basie Orchestra

  • Strollin' with the Count (1980). Ovation
  • Kansas City Shout (1980). Pablo
  • Warm Breeze (1981).
  • 88 Basie Street (1983). Fantasy. (Winner 1984 Grammy Awards Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Big Band)
  • Me and You (1983).
  • Fancy Pants (1983).
  • The Legend, the Legacy (1989)
  • George Benson/Count Basie Orchestra Big Boss Band (1990).
  • Best of the Count Basie Big Band (1991)
  • Live at El Morocco (1992).
  • Joe Williams/Count Basie Orchestra "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" (1992)
  • Joe Williams/Count Basie Orchestra "Orchestra Hall, Detroit, November 20, 1992" (1992)

With Bunky Green

  • Playing for Keeps (1966)

With Gene Ammons

  • w/Dexter Gordon The Chase (1970)
  • w/James Moody Chicago Concert (1971)

With the Soulful Strings

  • Groovin' with the Soulful Strings (1967)
  • The Magic of Christmas (1968)

With Robert Moore

  • Serve You Ma'am (2000)
  • Wildcat (2005)

Compilations

  • Santa's Bag: An All-Star Jazz Christmas "Christmas Blues" (1994) Telarc

Sources
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