Wilfred Middlebrooks

Wilfred Roland Middlebrooks (July 17, 1933, Chattanooga, Tennessee - March 13, 2008, Pasadena, California) was an American jazz double-bassist.

Middlebrooks performed in a traveling show as a teenager and then worked with Tab Smith (1950-1953) before serving in the US Armed Forces.

He moved to southern California and played in Los Angeles with Buddy Collette, Eric Dolphy, Frank Rosolino, Mel Lewis, Bill Holman, Billy Higgins, and Art Pepper in the 1950s.

In 1958 he began accompanying Ella Fitzgerald and worked with her through 1963, including on a television performance alongside Dizzy Gillespie in 1959.

Following this he worked with Paul Smith and Bobby Troup in California.

When jazz work dwindled, he became a postal worker in 1978 and worked for the USPS until 1995, though he continued to play jazz on the side, and was active as a performer in local clubs into the 2000s.

Birth and Death Data: Born July 17, 1933 (Chattanooga), Died March 13, 2008 (Pasadena)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1958

Roles Represented in DAHR: string bass

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca L 10744 1/30/1958 Moonlight in Vermont Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10745 1/30/1958 Robbin's nest Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10746 1/30/1958 Gee baby, ain't I good to you? Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10747 1/30/1958 Mood indigo Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10748 1/30/1958 Mountain high, valley low Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10749 1/30/1958 All the way Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10750 1/30/1958 Get out of town Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10751 1/30/1958 Bali Ha'i Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10769 2/5/1958 Old devil moon Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10770 2/5/1958 On the street where you live Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10771 2/5/1958 Then I'll be tired of you Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  
Decca L 10772 2/5/1958 A hundred years from today Earl Grant instrumentalist, string bass  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Middlebrooks, Wilfred," accessed November 9, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/331522.

Middlebrooks, Wilfred. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/331522.

"Middlebrooks, Wilfred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/331522

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