Leonard Gaskin
Leonard Gaskin (August 25, 1920 – January 24, 2009) was an American jazz bassist born in New York City. Gaskin played on the early bebop scene at Minton's and Monroe's in New York in the early 1940s. In 1944 he took over Oscar Pettiford's spot in Dizzy Gillespie's band, and followed it with stints in bands led by Cootie Williams, Charlie Parker, Don Byas, Eddie South, Charlie Shavers, and Erroll Garner. In the 1950s, he played with Eddie Condon's Dixieland band, and played with Ruby Braff, Bud Freeman, Rex Stewart, Cootie Williams, Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, and Miles Davis. In the 1960s he became a studio musician, playing on numerous gospel and pop records. In the 1970s and 1980s he returned to jazz, playing with Sy Oliver, Panama Francis, and The International Art of Jazz. Gaskin became involved in educating young people later in his life. He performed and shared his knowledge with elementary students with the Good Groove Band (Leonard Gaskin, Melissa Lovaglio, Bob Emry, Michael Howell) at Woodstock Elementary School in Woodstock, New York in 2003. Gaskin died of natural causes on January 24, 2009. |
Birth and Death Data: Born New York City (most populous city in the United States), Died January 24, 2009 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1949 - 1952
Roles Represented in DAHR: string bass
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | CO42740 | 10-in. | 2/1/1950 | Where are you, blue eyes? | Janie Mickens ; Hot Lips Page | Jazz/dance band, with vocal duet | instrumentalist, string bass | |
| Columbia | CO42741 | 10-in. | 2/1/1950 | There ain't no flies on me | Janie Mickens ; Hot Lips Page | Jazz/dance band, with vocal duet | instrumentalist, string bass | |
| Columbia | CO42742 | 10-in. | 2/1/1950 | Miss Larceny blues | Hot Lips Page | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, string bass | |
| Columbia | CO42743 | 10-in. | 2/1/1950 | You stole my wife, you horse thief | Hot Lips Page | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, string bass | |
| Atlantic | 244 | 10-in. | 7/20/1949 | Flamingo | Erroll Garner | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Atlantic | 248 | 10-in. | 7/20/1949 | Twilight | Erroll Garner | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Atlantic | 291 | 10-in. | 9/18/1949 | I'll get along somehow | Ruth Brown ; Budd Johnson's Orchestra | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Atlantic | 293 | 10-in. | 9/18/1949 | Rocking blues | Ruth Brown ; Budd Johnson's Orchestra | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Atlantic | 786 | 10-in. | 1/20/1952 | I'll never stop loving you | Joe Turner ; Harry Van Walls | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Atlantic | 787 | 10-in. | 1/20/1952 | Sweet sixteen | Joe Turner ; Harry Van Walls | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Atlantic | 791 | 10-in. | 2/7/1952 | Alarm clock boogie | Jesse Stone Orchestra ; Odelle Turner | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Atlantic | 792 | 10-in. | 2/7/1952 | Draggin' hours | Jesse Stone Orchestra ; Odelle Turner | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Mercury | 2950 | 10-in. | 8/23/1949 | Remember | Erroll Garner Trio ; Johnny Hartman | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Mercury | 2951 | 10-in. | 8/23/1949 | Easy to remember | Erroll Garner ; Johnny Hartman | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Mercury | 2952 | 10-in. | 8/23/1949 | September in the rain | Erroll Garner Trio ; Johnny Hartman | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Mercury | 2953 | 10-in. | 8/23/1949 | Home | Erroll Garner ; Johnny Hartman | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Decca | 80660 | 3/8/1951 | Blues for sale | Doc Pomus | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
| Decca | 80661 | 3/8/1951 | Pool playin' baby | Doc Pomus | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
| Decca | 80662 | 3/8/1951 | Too much boogie | Doc Pomus | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
| Decca | 80663 | 3/8/1951 | Give it up | Doc Pomus | instrumentalist, string bass |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gaskin, Leonard," accessed January 19, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/317175.
Gaskin, Leonard. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/317175.
"Gaskin, Leonard." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 19 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Leonard Gaskin
Discogs: Leonard Gaskin
Allmusic: Leonard Gaskin
Grove: Leonard Gaskin
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gaskin, Leonard - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n92027275
Wikidata: Leonard Gaskin - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1818977
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/44485109
MusicBrainz: Leonard Gaskin - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d928e461-7c80-41d8-9987-d8ef643f3956
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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