Cleveland Eaton

Cleveland Josephus Eaton II (August 31, 1939 – July 5, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, south of Mobile. His most famous accomplishments were playing with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and the Count Basie Orchestra. His 1975 recording Plenty Good Eaton is considered a classic in the funk music genre. He was inducted into both the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

During the early 1960s Eaton taught music at Chicago Public Schools. He was the music teacher at George Washington Carver Upper Grade (7th - 8th grade).

Early life and education

Eaton began studying music at the age of five, and by the time he was 15, he had mastered the piano, trumpet, and saxophone. He began playing bass when a teacher allowed him to take one home, spending nearly every waking hour learning the instrument. This led him to become what many called one of the best and most versatile jazz bassists in the business. Eaton came from a music-loving family, including an elder sister who studied at both Fisk University and the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He was a student of John T. "Fess" Whatley, one of the most influential and well-known educators in American jazz music during the 1920s and 1930s. who also mentored Sun Ra and Erskine Hawkins. Eaton played in a jazz group in college at Tennessee A & I State University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in music.

Career After graduation, Eaton left Alabama for Chicago, Illinois in 1960. He played an early gig with the Ike Cole Trio and recorded with the Donald Byrd & Pepper Adams Quintet (which also included Herbie Hancock). After working the Chicago jazz circuit, Eaton replaced bassist Eldee Young in the Ramsey Lewis Trio from 1964 to 1974. Eaton performed on 30 recordings with the trio, netting three Grammys and five Gold Records -- The In Crowd, Hang On Ramsey!, and Wade in the Water in 1966, Sound of Christmas in 1968 and Sun Goddess in 1974. Ramsey Lewis Trio also netted four gold-certified singles during this period.

As Eaton relays it in a 1997 interview, he was teaching, playing clubs, and writing his own music in 1979 when Count Basie called, asking if he could fill in for a bass player who was ill. He was told that his services with the Count Basie Orchestra would be needed for about two weeks. "After the two weeks," Eaton recalls, "he took me aside and said he was cutting the other guy loose, and did I want the job?" And so Eaton's two-week road trip ultimately stretched to 17 years. The jazz piano legend would refer to Eaton as "The Count's Bassist." He performed on Basie's final albums and continued playing with the orchestra into the '90s, which netted him ten albums. Eaton was also survived by stepchildren from his marriage to Myra Eaton: stepdaughters Tania Adams and Kwani Dickerson Carson, and stepson Kole Anderson. He was blessed with grandsons Ben Adams, Kameron Dickerson, Kasey Dickerson and Karden Dickerson.

Discography

As leader Half and Half (Gamble, 1973) Plenty Good Eaton (Black Jazz, 1975) Instant Hip (Ovation, 1976) Bama Boogie Woogie (single) (Gull Records, 1978) Strolling with the Count (Ovation, 1980)

With Ramsey Lewis More Sounds of Christmas (Argo, 1964) You Better Believe Me (Argo, 1965) Wade in the Water (Cadet, 1966) The Movie Album (Cadet, 1966) Goin' Latin (Cadet, 1967) Dancing in the Street (Cadet, 1967) Up Pops Ramsey Lewis (Cadet, 1967) Maiden Voyage (Cadet, 1968) Another Voyage (Cadet, 1969) The Piano Player (Cadet, 1970) Them Changes (Cadet, 1970) Back to the Roots (Cadet, 1971) Upendo Ni Pamoja (Columbia, 1972) Funky Serenity (Columbia, 1973) Ramsey Lewis' Newly Recorded All-Time Non-Stop Golden Hits (Columbia, 1973) Sun Goddess (Columbia, 1974) Solar Wind (Columbia, 1974)

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

With Gene Ammons & Dexter Gordon The Chase! (Prestige, 1970) Chicago Concert (Prestige, 1971)

With the Count Basie Orchestra Kansas City Shout (Pablo, 1980) Warm Breeze (1981) 88 Basie Street (Fantasy, 1983) Me and You (Pablo, 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)

With Bunky Green Playin' for Keeps (Cadet, 1966)