TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Cleveland J. Easton, Jr. 1939–2020 Grammy-Award-Winning Jazz Bassist and Composer
By Aaron Williams
K nown as “the Count’s Bassist,” renowned jazz bassist and a member of the National Jazz Hall of Fame Cleveland “Cleve” J. Eaton, Jr. (Alpha Theta 1958) entered the Chapter Invisible on July 5, 2020, at the age of 80. Over his career, Eaton composed more than 300 songs and played with such legendary performers as Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie, Ramsey Lewis, and Miles Davis. Eaton wrote more than 300 songs, played on dozens of gold records, headlined his albums, and performed with some of the greatest names in music, including Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, and Sarah Vaughn. His 1975 recording Plenty Good Eaton is also considered a classic in the jazz-funk music genre. In a 2008 interview with a Birmingham, AL newspaper, Eaton offered his view of the bass instrument, "The bass is the backbone of all groups. Every beat of the band, the bass is in it. With the bass, I can control the band. The bass either makes the band hip or square.” Eaton was born in Fairfield, AL on Aug. 31, 1939, and as a small child began a lifelong relation- ship with music. According to his biography, Eaton “began the study of music when he was only
five years old. Ten years later, he had mastered
the piano, trumpet, and saxophone. When a teacher allowed him to take a bass home for practice, Eaton spent nearly every waking hour learning the instrument. He became what many call one of the best jazz bassists in the business.” Eaton attended Fairfield Industrial High School. He graduated from Tennessee Agricul- tural & Industrial, now Tennessee State University, with a B.A. degree in music and played in a jazz group while in school. After graduation, Eaton moved to Chicago to establish a professional musical career. In Chicago, he joined the Ike Cole Trio before joining the Ramsey Lewis Trio. In 1974, the Ramsey Lewis Trio won a Grammy Award for the song "Sun Goddess." Eaton played with the jazz group for ten years before joining the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. Eaton was a member of the orchestra for 17 years and played with Count Basie for several years before Basie’s death in 1984. Eaton was Basie’s last standup bass player. He also formed his group, Cleve Eaton & Co., which produced albums Half and Half [1973], Plenty Good Eaton [1975], Instant Hip [1976], Keep Love Alive [1979], and Strolling with the Count [1980]. Among his musical achievements, the National Jazz Hall of Fame in 1979 elected Eaton as a member.
A native of Alabama, the Ala- bama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1979 inducted Eaton, and in 2008, the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in- ducted him into its Hall of Fame. In his later years, Eaton played in music festivals and establish- ments, such as Open Door Café, Ona’s Music Room, in and around the Birmingham, AL area per- forming as the Cleve Eaton and Alabama All-Stars. After Eaton’s passing, longtime Birmingham DJ and music his- torian Lee Shook stated "He was our bridge to the giants of jazz and was one himself, so it really feels like the end of an era, as he really lent so much gravitas to our entire city and so many of the amazing musicians from around here who got to play with him. Hopefully that legacy will live on through them as well, but there will never be another Cleve Eaton." Eaton was preceded in death by his parents, his son, Cleveland Eaton III, and daughter, Margral- ita Eaton. Brother Cleveland J. Eaton, Jr. is survived by his wife, Myra; children, Kwani Dickerson Carson, Lothair Eaton, Andre Eaton, Keena Eaton Kelley, Tania Adams, and Kole Anderson; and many grandchildren and great- grandchildren.
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