Leroy Vinnegar
The owner of a swinging "walking bass" manner, comfortable in several idioms but not a prolific soloist, Leroy Vinnegar had a couple of heydays -- in the '50s and '60s as a busy freelance recording sideman, and as a member of Les McCann's most popular combo in 1969. As such, he played a major role in two of jazz's biggest hit albums, the trend-setting My Fair Lady set with Andre Previn and Shelly Manne (1956) and the Eddie Harris/Les McCann soul-jazz manifesto Swiss Movement (1969).
A completely self-taught musician, Vinnegar "fooled around" with the piano but gravitated toward the bass upon his first encounter. After turning pro at 20, he was the house bassist at Chicago's Beehive in 1952-1953. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 1954, Vinnegar quickly settled in as the bass player of choice on records by Stan Getz, Shorty Rogers, Chet Baker, Shelly Manne, and Serge Chaloff, among others. He also started recording as a leader in 1957, reeling off a pair of albums for Contemporary with the word "walks" appropriately inserted in each title. Starting in 1959, Vinnegar would work and tour frequently with Joe Castro and Teddy Edwards while continuing his freelance activities. In the early '80s, he appeared on television as a member of the Dixieland-styled Panama Hats behind actor/banjoist George Segal.
Although a bout of ill health caused him to move to Portland in the late '80s, Vinnegar remained an active player into the '90s, and he returned to the recording scene as a leader in 1992 (on Contemporary again) with a CD entitled -- what else? -- Walkin' the Basses. Vinnegar died of cardiac arrest in August 1999, a loss to the jazz world and a particular blow to the Portland jazz community.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
Discography
19 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Les Mccann Ltd. "On Time"
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 1 Jan 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les McCann Ltd. Plays The Shout
Les McCann Ltd., Leroy Vinnegar, Ron Jefferson
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 1 Sep 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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All That Jazz, Vol. 86: Shelly Manne & Friends "Doodlin' Drums" (feat. Ray Brown, Barney Kessel & André Previn) (Remastered 2017)
Barney Kessel, André Previn, Ray Brown, Leroy Vinnegar, Shelly Manne
Jazz - Released by Jube Legends on 7 Jul 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Muffin Man
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Ten12 Entertainment on 11 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Paul Smith Trio & Quartet. The Big Men / The Sound of Music
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 21 Aug 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz's Great Walker
Jazz - Released by Blue Moon (Vee Jay) on 1 Jan 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tangerine
André Previn, Shelly Manne, Leroy Vinnegar
Jazz - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on 6 Feb 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ultimate Jazz Masters
Jazz - Released by Essential Masters on 26 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Essential Jazz Masters
Jazz - Released by Classic Music International on 8 Mar 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leroy Walks! (2018 Digitally Remastered)
Jazz - Released by AVID Jazz on 1 Jun 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I'll Walk Alone
Jazz - Released by Black & Partner Licenses LLC on 10 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Milestones of Legends: Jazz Vibes, Vol. 3
Terry Gibbs, Lem Winchester, Leroy Vinnegar, Lem Winchester Sextet, Pete Jolly, Gary Frommer
Jazz - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 18 Mar 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shelly Manne with Andre Previn & Leroy Vinnegar
Shelly Manne, André Previn, Leroy Vinnegar
Bebop - Released by SINETONE AMR on 10 Jul 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo