Leonard Gaskin
Leonard Gaskin (August 25, 1920 – January 24, 2009)[1] was an American jazz bassist born in New York City.In 1944 he took over Oscar Pettiford's spot in Dizzy Gillespie's band,[3] and followed it with stints in bands led by Cootie Williams, Charlie Parker, Don Byas, Eddie South, Charlie Shavers, and Erroll Garner.[2] In the 1950s, he played with Eddie Condon's Dixieland band, and played with Ruby Braff, Bud Freeman, Rex Stewart, Cootie Williams, Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, and Miles Davis.[2] In the 1960s he became a studio musician, playing on numerous gospel and pop records.[2] He performed and shared his knowledge with elementary students with the Good Groove Band (Leonard Gaskin, Melissa Lovaglio, Bob Emry, Michael Howell) at Woodstock Elementary School in Woodstock, New York in 2003.