He is credited with discovering Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall in the
early 1990s while seeing her perform in Nanaimmo, British Columbia,
Canada.
Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997.
Holder of a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award.
With Dizzy Gillespie's Orchestra from 1946 to 1951.
Best known for his tenure with the Modern Jazz Quartet and as a member of the Oscar Peterson Trio for fifteen years..
Began on piano at the age of eight. Wanted to play trombone but couldn't afford a horn. The school orchestra needed a bass player and had an extra instrument.