Bassist Cleveland Eaton To Be Inducted Into The Alabama Music Hall Of Fame

Cleveland Eaton In my Opinion Is The Worlds Best Jazz Double Bassist In the World

Jazz bassist Cleveland Eaton, a veteran of the Count Basie Orchestra, the Ramsey Lewis Trio and innumerable sessions with other artists, will be inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in February.

The Alabama Music Hall of Fame induction banquet and awards show for Eaton and four other nominees will take place on Friday, February 22, 2008, at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center in Montgomery, Alabama. For more information about the ceremony: 256-381-4417 or www.alamhof.org.

A native of Fairfield, Alabama, Eaton now lives in Birmingham, where he performs with his group, Cleve Eaton and the Alabama All Stars. He began playing piano at age five, took up the bass at fifteen, and after earning a degree in music from Tennessee State University, he embarked on a career that has spanned more than four decades.

Eaton was nicknamed “The Count’s Bassist” during his six-year stint with the Basie band. He joined Lewis in the 1960s and appeared on 30 of the band’s recordings, including hits like “Hang On Sloopy” and “Wade in the Water.” Eaton’s own recording of “Bama Boogie Woogie” became a major hit in Europe and Australia. He has accompanied scores of other performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Minnie Riperton, Bunky Green, the Ike Cole Trio, and the Donald Byrd-Pepper Adams Quintet.

Eaton is also known as a producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own Birmingham-based record company. His other honors include: the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, the Playboy Jazz Poll, Canada’s Cultural Enhancement Award, and the Don Redman Lifetime Achievement Award.

For more information about Cleveland Eaton, visit http://www.clevelandeaton.com

Below is an awesome performance with legends, Cleveland Eaton, William Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. Enjoy!