Chuck Israels is still best known for his work with
the Bill Evans Trio (1961-1966), but he has been an important educator since the 1970s. A tasteful and supportive bassist,
Israels' first recording was the 1958 meeting between
John Coltrane and
Cecil Taylor. He played with
George Russell's sextet (1959-1961), was briefly with
Eric Dolphy's band, and then joined
Bill Evans. During the
Evans years,
Israels also appeared on records led by
J.J. Johnson,
Herbie Hancock,
Gary Burton, and
Stan Getz. He founded and headed
the National Jazz Ensemble (1973-1978), a top repertory band that recorded two albums for Chiaroscuro. Afterward,
Israels was less active as a player, but he did record with
the Kronos String Quartet (1984) and
Rosemary Clooney (1985), in addition to heading an obscure session for Anima (1991). ~ Scott Yanow