Oscar Pettiford’s style combined personal modesty with a force and clarity that reflected profound musical sensitivity, constant curiosity and a rich and comprehensive education that extended to classical music. Although he was not given to self-promotion, his reputation as a composer, band leader and virtuoso, who also changed the approach to double bass playing, branded him a ‘musicians' musician’, an artist who was highly esteemed by his peers.
One of Oscar Pettiford’s greatest fans was Joachim-Ernst Berendt, jazz editor of the Südwestfunk Baden-Baden. After an All Star tour in Europe in 1958, Pettiford decided to relocate there. Berendt went straight to work organising a series of studio appointments with band members for his American guest. These included not only local talents such as trumpeter Dusko Goykovich, clarinettist Rolf Kühn and drummer Hartwig Bartz, but also more widely established artists such as saxophonist Hans Koller and guitarist Attila Zoller; each took his place in the queue. American colleagues, including drummer Kenny Clarke and saxophonist Lucky Thompson, occasionally joined the team and formed exquisite combos that discreetly courted Pettiford. For his part, Pettiford thanked them with inspired eloquence on his instrument. During the next couple of years, a good dozen recordings were made, mainly of standards, but also including Pettiford hits such as Blues in the Closet. These recordings document a master of the bebop swinging groove bass. Pettiford died prematurely in Copenhagen on 8 September 1960, as the result of a traffic accident. But he remains a charismatic figure in the annals of jazz history, whose art is always worth rediscovering.