Dave Young (born January 29, 1940) is a Canadian double bassist.
David Anthony Young was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He began studying the guitar and violin when he was 10 years old, but a turn of events at his first gig (a university dance band) compelled him to pick up the bass. He was educated as both a jazz and a classical player and after attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston in the early 1960s, Young returned to Canada and embarked on a remarkably diverse and distinguished professional career.
He was a member of the Lenny Breau Quartet in live performance and recording for five years from 1961 to 1966. Dave Young’s professional relationship with jazz giant Oscar Peterson spanned three decades during which he played in the Oscar Peterson Trio in appearances all over the world up until Peterson’s death. Young is equally comfortable with symphonic work and acoustic jazz. As classical artist, he was the principal Double Bassist for a number of years with the Edmonton and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras as well as with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a jazz artist, he has collaborated with the genre’s brightest luminaries including Oscar Peterson, Clark Terry, Zoot Sims, Joe Williams, Oliver Jones, Lenny Breau, Rob McConnell, Phil Dwyer, Michel Lambert, John Hicks, Mulgrew Miller, Tommy Flanagan, Ellis Marsalis, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut, Cedar Walton, Peter Appleyard, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, Nat Adderly, Gary Burton, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, Ranee Lee, Marcus Belgrave, Don Thompson, and James Moody.
Young regularly toured with clarinetist James Campbell and pianist Gene Di Novi in a program of “Classical Fusion” that melds the classical and jazz worlds. He also performed a “dueling basses” repertoire of classical works with Toronto Symphony bassist Joel Quarrington, often billed as the "Two Bass Hit". Perhaps one of Dave Young’s most loved and popular musical combinations is his own Quintet, an ensemble firmly rooted in the be-bop tradition, and focusing on the material of Horace Silver and Charles Mingus. In 2003, Young was in residence at the Music Department of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, conducting bass master classes and performing.
Here’s “Celia” from above album.
In the fall of 2009, Young released, Mean What You Say ,an independently release album produced by bassist Robert Occhipinti and featuring Robi Botos, Frank Botos, and Kevin Turcotte. Also that year, Dave performed as part of a 16-piece orchestra accompanying award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp’s latest Broadway-bound dance work: “Come Fly With Me” – The Music of Frank Sinatra.
Young has countless other awards under his belt, including the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education) Award for “Outstanding Service to Jazz.” He is a seven-time Jazz Report winner, a six-time National Jazz Award winner, and was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2017. In 2020, Dave concluded his 30-year tenure as a Professor at the University of Toronto’s Jazz department and has continued to share his wisdom with students and jazz fans through workshops. In September 2021, Dave was featured on two segments as part of JazzComposersPresent.com out of Washington, DC, which is led by Dan Jamieson.
Along with consistent performing, Dave has released numerous albums since 1975. His latest album, ‘Mantra,’ from 2021 features well-known musicians Kevin Turcotte, Reg Schwager, Brian Dickinson, Perry White, and Terry Clarke.
Edited from (Canadian Jazz Archive, Celine Peterson Productions & Tiff 50)