Cleveland Eaton

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Cleveland Eaton

| image = Cleveland_Eaton.jpg

| image_size = 250

| landscape = yes

| caption =

| birth_name = Cleveland Josephus Eaton II

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|8|31}}

| birth_place = Fairfield, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|7|5|1939|8|31|mf=y}}

| death_place = Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.

| genre = Jazz, swing, funk, R&B, pop

| occupation = Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, record producer

| instrument = Double bass

| years_active = 1960–2020

| label =

| past_member_of = Count Basie Orchestra

| website = {{URL|www.clevelandeatonmusic.com}}

}}

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, a suburb of Birmingham. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cleveland-eaton-mn0000241518/biography|title=Cleveland Eaton | Biography & History|website=AllMusic}} He was inducted into both the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|url=http://www.alamhof.org/inductees/timeline/2008/cleveland-eaton/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326135842/http://www.alamhof.org/inductees/timeline/2008/cleveland-eaton/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 26, 2017|title=Alabama Music Hall of Fame :: Cleveland Eaton|date=March 26, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.jazzhall.com/inductees/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702135942/http://www.jazzhall.com/inductees/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2015|title=Untitled Document|date=July 2, 2015}}{{Cite web|url=http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2008/04/09/birmingham-ja-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327165748/http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2008/04/09/birmingham-ja-2/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 27, 2017|title=Birmingham Jazz Legend – Cleveland Eaton | Southern Living Blog|date=March 27, 2017}}{{cite book |last=Fuqua |first=C.S. |date=2011 |title=Alabama Musicians: Musical Heritage from the Heart of Dixie |url=https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781609491574|publisher=The History Press |isbn=9781609491574 }}

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

Image:Cleve Eaton and the Ray Reach Quartet.jpg in Birmingham, Alabama]]

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Cleveland%20Eaton.html|title=Cleveland Eaton Page|website=Soulwalking.co.uk}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3240|title=John T. "Fess" Whatley|website=Encyclopedia of Alabama}} 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). "I knew Herbie Hancock, who was with Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams," Eaton explained in an interview in Oxford American, "and he got me a job with them for a year and a half. I played the first 'Watermelon Man,' in fact; it was scribbled on a piece of paper at a club in East St. Louis, called Joseph's Coffee House."{{cite magazine |last=Kelman |first=John |date=December 1, 2010 |title=Based in Birmingham |url=http://oxfordamerican.org/articles/2010/dec/01/based-birmingham/ |magazine=Oxford American|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101211325/http://oxfordamerican.org/articles/2010/dec/01/based-birmingham/ |access-date=January 13, 2022|archive-date=January 1, 2011 }} 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.

Eaton made his debut as a leader on Half and Half on Gamble Records in 1973. Two years later he recorded the jazz-funk classic Plenty Good Eaton, often sampled by contemporary artists. After signing to Ovation, he issued Instant Hip, a pioneering exercise in free funk fusion and Afro-futurist disco. In 1974, he began performing and touring with his group Cleve Eaton and Co. In September, 1978 Eaton released a disco-themed track on Gull Records GULS63 called "Bama Boogie Woogie" which reached number 35 in the BBC Top 75 chart in the UK and proved very popular on the UK club scene at the time.{{cite news|title=Alabama-born jazz bassist Cleveland Eaton dies at 80|url=https://www.al.com/news/2020/07/alabama-born-jazz-bassist-cleveland-eaton-dies-at-80.html|first=Anna|last=Beahm|date=July 5, 2020|access-date=July 5, 2020|newspaper=The Birmingham News}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=49269 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212140053/main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=49269 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2012 |author=Short, Dale|date=1997|title=UAB's Jazz Man: Cleveland Eaton|work=UAB Magazine|volume=17|issue = 4}} 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.

After spending years on the road as a musician and arranger with a list of artists who form a virtual Who's Who of jazz, Eaton returned to Birmingham, Alabama, to join UAB's music department in 1996. In 2004 he formed the group Cleve Eaton and the Alabama All Stars.

Eaton lent his talents to over 100 albums, and composed about three times as many songs. He played on notable recording sessions with Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, John Klemmer, Ike Cole, Bunky Green, The Dells, Bobby Rush, Minnie Riperton, Jerry Butler and Rotary Connection, George Benson, Henry Mancini, Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald. He also performed with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Mimi Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., Julie London, Bobby Troup, Brook Benton, Lou Rawls, Nipsey Russell, Morgana King, Gloria Lynne, Herbie Hancock, Magic City Jazz Orchestra, The Platters, Temptations, and The Miracles.

Personal life

Eaton died on July 5, 2020, in Birmingham, Alabama. He was 80, and had been hospitalized during the last four months of his life. He was survived by his wife, Myra Eaton, two sons, Lothair Eaton and Andre Eaton; and a daughter, Keena Eaton Kelley. Eaton was predeceased by a son, Cleveland Eaton III, and a daughter, Margralita Eaton.{{cite magazine |last=West |first=Michael |date=July 10, 2020 |title=Cleve Eaton 1939–2020 |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/tributes-and-obituaries/cleve-eaton-1939-2020/ |magazine=Jazz Times|access-date=January 13, 2022}} 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){{cite web|title=Cleveland Eaton – Half And Half|date=August 27, 1973 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Cleveland-Eaton-Half-And-Half/release/1656086|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Plenty Good Eaton (Black Jazz, 1975){{cite web|title=Cleveland Eaton – Plenty Good Eaton|date=August 27, 1975 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Cleveland-Eaton-Plenty-Good-Eaton/release/2007707|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Instant Hip (Ovation, 1976){{cite web|title=Cleveland Eaton – Instant Hip|date=August 27, 1976 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Cleveland-Eaton-Instant-Hip/release/859531|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Bama Boogie Woogie (single) (Gull Records, 1978)
Keep Love Alive (Ovation, 1979){{cite web|title=Cleveland Eaton And The Garden Of Eaton – Keep Love Alive|date=August 27, 1979 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Cleveland-Eaton-And-The-Garden-Of-Eaton-Keep-Love-Alive/master/264915|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Strolling with the Count (Ovation, 1980){{cite web|title=Cleveland Eaton – Strolling With The Count|date=August 27, 1980 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Cleveland-Eaton-Strolling-With-The-Count/release/3930907|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}

=With Ramsey Lewis=

More Sounds of Christmas (Argo, 1964){{cite web|title=The Ramsey Lewis Trio – More Sounds Of Christmas|date=August 27, 1965 |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Ramsey-Lewis-Trio-More-Sounds-Of-Christmas/release/2938422|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
You Better Believe Me (Argo, 1965){{cite web|title=The Ramsey Lewis Trio and Jean DuShon – You Better Believe Me|date=August 27, 1965 |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Ramsey-Lewis-Trio-and-Jean-DuShon-You-Better-Believe-Me/release/1848965|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Wade in the Water (Cadet, 1966){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Wade In The Water|date=August 27, 1966 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Wade-In-The-Water/release/389130|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
The Movie Album (Cadet, 1966){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – The Movie Album|date=August 27, 1967 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-The-Movie-Album/release/2420455|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Goin' Latin (Cadet, 1967){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Goin' Latin|date=August 27, 1967 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Goin-Latin/release/474008|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Dancing in the Street (Cadet, 1967){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Dancing In The Street|url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Dancing-In-The-Street/release/4587521|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Up Pops Ramsey Lewis (Cadet, 1967){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Up Pops Ramsey Lewis|date=August 27, 1967 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Up-Pops-Ramsey-Lewis/master/255801|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Maiden Voyage (Cadet, 1968){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Maiden Voyage|date=August 27, 1968 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Maiden-Voyage/release/471855|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Another Voyage (Cadet, 1969){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Another Voyage|date=August 27, 1969 |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Ramsey-Lewis-Trio-Another-Voyage/release/950916|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
The Piano Player (Cadet, 1970){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Ramsey Lewis, The Piano Player|date=March 1970 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Ramsey-LewisPiano-Player/release/1991601|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Them Changes (Cadet, 1970){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Them Changes|date=August 27, 1970 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Them-Changes/release/15465080|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Back to the Roots (Cadet, 1971){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Back To The Roots|date=August 27, 1971 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Back-To-The-Roots/release/6159349|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Upendo Ni Pamoja (Columbia, 1972){{cite web|title=The Ramsey Lewis Trio – Upendo Ni Pamoja|url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Ramsey-Lewis-Trio-Upendo-Ni-Pamoja/release/3304120|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Funky Serenity (Columbia, 1973){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Funky Serenity|date=August 27, 1973 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Funky-Serenity/release/13794456|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Ramsey Lewis' Newly Recorded All-Time Non-Stop Golden Hits (Columbia, 1973){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Golden Hits|url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Golden-Hits/release/5720115|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Sun Goddess (Columbia, 1974){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Sun Goddess|date=August 27, 1974 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Sun-Goddess/release/1241385|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Solar Wind (Columbia, 1974){{cite web|title=Ramsey Lewis – Solar Wind|date=August 27, 1974 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ramsey-Lewis-Solar-Wind/release/869224|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}

=With the Soulful Strings=

Groovin' with the Soulful Strings (1967){{cite web|title=The Soulful Strings – Groovin' With The Soulful Strings|date=August 27, 1967 |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Soulful-Strings-Groovin-With-The-Soulful-Strings/release/1135651|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
The Magic of Christmas (1968){{cite web|title= The Soulful Strings – The Magic Of Christmas|date=December 1968 |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Soulful-Strings-The-Magic-Of-Christmas/release/1244990|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}

=With Gene Ammons & Dexter Gordon=

The Chase! (Prestige, 1970){{cite web|title=Gene Ammons & Dexter Gordon – The Chase!|date=August 27, 1972 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Gene-Ammons-Dexter-Gordon-The-Chase/release/2432149|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Chicago Concert (Prestige, 1971){{cite web|title=Ammons* & Moody* – Chicago Concert|date=August 27, 1973 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ammons-Moody-Chicago-Concert/release/6556093|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}

=With the Count Basie Orchestra=

Kansas City Shout (Pablo, 1980){{cite web|title=Count Basie, Joe Turner*, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson – Kansas City Shout|url=https://www.discogs.com/Count-Basie-Joe-Turner-Eddie-Cleanhead-Vinson-Kansas-City-Shout/release/3108984|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Warm Breeze (1981){{cite web|title=Count Basie And His Orchestra* – Warm Breeze|date=August 27, 1981 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Count-Basie-And-His-Orchestra-Warm-Breeze/master/513917|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
88 Basie Street (Fantasy, 1983){{cite web|title=Count Basie & His Orchestra* – "88 Basie Street"|date=August 27, 1984 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Count-Basie-His-Orchestra-88-Basie-Street/release/3155619|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Me and You (Pablo, 1983){{cite web|title=Count Basie And His Orchestra* – Me And You|date=August 27, 1983 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Count-Basie-And-His-Orchestra-Me-And-You/release/3646573|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Fancy Pants (1983){{cite web|title=Count Basie And His Orchestra* – Fancy Pants|date=August 27, 1987 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Count-Basie-And-His-Orchestra-Fancy-Pants/release/4890430|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
The Legend, the Legacy (1989){{cite web|title=The Count Basie Orchestra* Directed By Frank Foster – The Legend, The Legacy|date=August 27, 1989 |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Count-Basie-Orchestra-Directed-By-Frank-Foster-The-LegendLegacy/release/561651|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
George Benson/Count Basie Orchestra Big Boss Band (1990){{cite web|title=George Benson & Count Basie Orchestra – Big Boss Band|date=August 27, 1990 |url=https://www.discogs.com/George-Benson-Count-Basie-Orchestra-Big-Boss-Band/release/753198|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}
Best of the Count Basie Big Band (1991){{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-the-count-basie-big-band-mw0000202935/credits|title=The Best of the Count Basie Big Band – Count Basie – Credits|work=AllMusic|access-date=May 4, 2018}}
Live at El Morocco (1992){{cite web|title= The Count Basie Orchestra* Directed By Frank Foster – Live At El Morocco|date=August 27, 1992 |url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Count-Basie-Orchestra-Directed-By-Frank-Foster-Live-At-El-Morocco/release/4889360|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}

=With Bunky Green=

Playin' for Keeps (Cadet, 1966){{cite web|title=Bunky Green – Playin' For Keeps|url=https://www.discogs.com/Bunky-Green-Playin-For-Keeps/release/4516003|access-date=July 5, 2020|publisher=Discogs}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20110520071450/http://alamhof.org/cleveeaton.html Alabama Music Hall of Fame]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20101229140310/http://www.jazzhall.com/ Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame]
[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p17228|pure_url=yes}} All Music]
{{Discogs artist|Cleveland Eaton}}
[https://archive.today/20121212140053/main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=49269 Short, Dale (Fall 1997) "UAB's Jazz Man: Cleveland Eaton" UAB Magazine Vol. 17, No. 4]

Category:1939 births

Category:2020 deaths

Category:People from Fairfield, Alabama

Category:21st-century American male musicians

Category:21st-century American double-bassists

Category:African-American jazz musicians

Category:American funk musicians

Category:American jazz double-bassists

Category:Black Jazz Records artists

Category:Jazz musicians from Alabama

Category:Mainstream jazz double-bassists

Category:American male double-bassists