Bob Cranshaw, 1932-2016

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
November 6, 2016
View read count

Bassist Bob Cranshaw succumbed to bone cancer yesterday at his home in New York City. He was 83. He may be best remembered as

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins’s bassist for more than half a century, but Cranshaw’s career also included mainstay work with

Dexter Gordon

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Dexter Gordon,

James Moody

woodwinds
1925 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">James Moody,

Kai Winding

trombone
1922 - 1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Kai Winding,

Wes Montgomery

guitar
1923 - 1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Wes Montgomery,

Duke Pearson

piano
1932 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Pearson,

Mose Allison

piano and vocals
1927 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Mose Allison,

" data-original-title="" title="">Oliver Nelson, and dozens of other musicians in the top ranks of jazz.

From a 2005 Rifftides post:

Sonny Rollins, for reasons unclear to me, prefers the electric instrument over what I irritate some of my bassist acquaintances by calling the real bass. Cranshaw uses the electric bass when he works with Rollins. He is one of the few players who comes close to persuading me that I’m hearing the real thing when he’s playing electric. Nonetheless, as well as he works that deception with Rollins, I get full satisfaction from his sound, attack and feeling when he’s on the good old standup, wooden, contrabass. It’s more profundo.

In this video from Dizzy’s Club in New York early this year, Cranshaw has an extended acoustic bass solo on

Benny Golson

saxophone, tenor
1929 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Golson’s “Killer Joe.” The band is drummer

Joe Farnsworth

drums
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Farnsworth’s quartet with

Jeremy Pelt

trumpet
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeremy Pelt playing trumpet and

Harold Mabern

piano
1936 - 2019

" data-original-title="" title="">Harold Mabern piano.

Now, for Cranshaw on electric bass, we go to Sonny Rollins in August, 1986 in a concert in suburban New York. There may be no better illustration of what Rollins loved about Cranshaw’s playing—drive, energy, harmonic perfection, complete involvement in the music. This is Sonny’s “G-Man” with Cranshaw;