American musician (1954–2022)
Chuck Deardorf (April 3, 1954 – October 9, 2022)
[1] was an American musician. He was best known for playing
double bass and
bass guitar with the
Deardorf Peterson Group . He also headed the jazz department at the
Cornish College of the Arts .
Early life
Deardorf was born on April 3, 1954,
[2] and grew up in the
Dayton metropolitan area .
[3] He started playing the double bass when he was fifteen.
[4] During his
senior year of high school, he relocated to the West Coast and attended
Central Kitsap High School .
[3] He then studied at the
Evergreen State College , before playing at Seattle jazz clubs such as Parnell's and Dimitriou's Jazz Alley.
[3]
[4] There, he served as a
backing musician to
Zoot Sims ,
Monty Alexander , and
Kenny Barron , among others.
[4]
Career
Deardorf first taught music at
Western Washington University in 1978.
[3] He then joined the faculty at the
Cornish College of the Arts a year later as a professor of jazz and instrumental music.
[3]
[5] He ultimately became the administrator of the school's jazz program, serving in that capacity from 1986 until 2000.
[3]
Outside of teaching, Deardorf continued to perform and record as a
sideman for musicians such as
Jovino Santos Neto ,
Bud Shank ,
Don Lanphere ,
Dave Peck , and
Pete Christlieb .
[3]
[6] He also played together with Dave Peterson, a local guitarist and composer, on a frequent basis starting in the late 1970s. The duo eventually established the Deardorf Peterson Group in 2004. They released Portal , their first album as co-bandleaders, that same year.
[6] Deardorf also released two albums as leader – Transparence (2011) and Perception (2019).
[3]
[7] He joked that he "play[ed] both kinds of music:
country and
western ".
[3]
Personal life and death
Deardorf married Kelly Harland in 1987.
[3]
[8] She is a singer and author, and he had produced and featured on several of her albums. They remained married for 35 years until his death. Together, they had one son.
[3]
Deardorf suffered from
hereditary kidney disease . To avoid
dialysis , he underwent a
kidney transplant from his brother in 2011.
[4] He died on October 9, 2022, aged 68, at the
Virginia Mason Medical Center in
Seattle . He had contracted
COVID-19 two months before his death, leading to health complications.
[3]
[4]
Discography
As leader
2004 Portal (co-leader with Dave Peterson as The Deardorf/Peterson Group)
[9]
2011 Transparence
[7]
2019 Perception
[7]
As sideman
With
Don Lanphere
1984 Don Loves Midge
[7]
1986 Stop
[7]
1988 Jay Clayton & Don Lanphere: TheJazz Alley Tapes
[7]
1990 Don Lanphere & Larry Coryell
[7]
1995 Go...Again
[7]
1999 Year 'Round Christmas
[7]
With
Bud Shank
With Dave Peck
With
Jovino Santos Neto
1997 Caboclo
[7]
2000 Live in Olympia
[7]
2003 Canto do Rio
[7]
2011 Current
[7]
With
Gunnar Bob Madsen
1998 Power of a Hat
[7]
1998 Spinning World: 13 Ways of Looking at a Waltz
[7]
With
Jim Knapp
1995 On Going Home
[7]
1998 Things for Now
[7]
With others
1989 Breaking Through , Phil Sheeran
[7]
1990 Worth Waiting For ,
P.J. Perry
[7]
1991 Living Things , Michael Tomlinson
[7]
1991 Pacific Aire ,
Tom Collier
[7]
1998 Collection , Mike Strickland
[7]
1998 Photographs , Barney McClure
[7]
1998 Red Kelley's Heroes,
Pete Christlieb
[7]
1999 Joy to the World , Gene Nery
[7]
1999 The Face of Love , Eugene Maslov
[7]
2002 Twelve Times Romance , Kelly Harland
[7]
2003 Convergence Zone , Phil Kelly & the NW Prevailing Winds
[7]
2003 Some Devil ,
Dave Matthews
[7]
2005 Carolyn Graye , Carolyn Graye
[7]
2006 Laid Back & Blues: Live at the Sky Church in Seattle,
Larry Coryell
[7]
2007 Malibu Manouche , Neil Andersson
[7]
2007 Shade ,
Richie Cole
[7]
2008 From the Depths , Karen Emerson
[7]
2008 Long Ago and Far Away: Kelly Harland Sings Jerome Kern , Kelly Harland
[7]
2008 Words & Music , Paul West
[7]
2009 Across the Sound , Terry Lauber
[7]
2009 Alone Together With the Blues , Mia Vermillion
[7]
2010 As the Crow Flies , Neil Andersson/Malibu Manouche/Peter Pendras
[7]
2010 Inner Mission ,
Randy Brecker /Richard Cole
[7]
2010 Reunion ,
Hadley Caliman /Pete Christlieb
[7]
2011 Imaginary Sketches , Chad McCullough/Bram Weijters
[7]
2012 Double Exposure ,
Frank D'Rone
[7]
References
^
Bassist and music educator Chuck Deardorf has died
^
"Chuck Deardorf" . All About Jazz . March 17, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^
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l de Barros, Paul (October 11, 2022).
"Chuck Deardorf, a pillar of Northwest jazz, dies at 68" .
The Seattle Times . Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
d
e Lloyd, Robin (October 10, 2022).
"Bassist and music educator Chuck Deardorf has died" .
KNKX . Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^ De Barros, Paul (October 16, 1994).
"City of Jazz – It May Be Lite, Hard, Retro Or Ultra-Hip, And It's Alive And Swinging In Seattle" . Seattle Times . Archived from
the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
^
a
b Mason, Stewart.
"Deardorf Peterson Group – Biography" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
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"Deardorf – Album Discography" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^
"SeattleNoise: Kelly Harland" .
Seattle Post-Intelligencer . May 15, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2009 .
^
"Chuck Deardorf – Credits" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^
"Bud Shank Quartet – At Jazz Alley Album Reviews, Songs & More" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
External links
International National Artists