Charles Fambrough, RIP

Charles Fambrough, the formidable Philadelphia jazz bass player who got his start playing on The Mike Douglas Show in the 1960s and went on to tour and record with McCoy Tyner and Wynton Marsalis, died on New Year's Day in Allentown. His obituary from today's Inquirer is here.

Fambrough's fellow Philadelphia bassist Gerald Veasley e mailed to say this:  "It's hard to reconcile Charles passing, because I think of him as so strong. He exuded strength both as a musican and a man. In his bass lines you can hear a certainty that reflects a well-earned self confidence. His compositions show another side - complex yet beautiful. It's sad he's gone becasue we need more Charles Fambroughs, not fewer."

Below is a clip of a seminar that Fambrough - known to jazz fans as "Browski" - did with drummer Lenny White last year.  Click here to hear his "Upright Citizen" and here for "Don Quixote." Thanks to Fambrough's daughter, Maria Crook, for sending along a photo of her Dad.

Previously: Happy Birthday, Shorty