Chambers was born in Pittsburgh but raised in Detroit, and played a range of instruments before he took up the bass. He studied classical bass for some time, before moving to New York in the mid-1950s where he soon joined Miles Davis’ quintet. Chambers played on many classic recordings including “Kind of Blue” and Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”, and was a much in-demand session musician on his own, as well as part of classic rhythm sections with Jimmy Cobb and Wynton Kelly, and Philly Joe Jones and Red Garland. Chambers died of tuberculosis in New York aged 33, but had already claimed his title as one of the greatest jazz bassists of all time.
