“To my way of thinking, Dave
Young is one of the most talented bassists
on the jazz scene. His harmonic sympatico
and unerring sense of time have kept him
in the foreground of the jazz picture.” -
Oscar Peterson
Photo credit: Dan
Nawrocki
Dave Young (bassist) was born
on January 29, 1940 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. Educated as both a
jazz and a classical player, Young’s
elegant performances with the late
guitarist Lenny Breau are legendary.
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.
1982
- June Nominee, Best Jazz Album, Au
Privave (with Wray Downes)
1994 - Juno Award, Best Mainstream Jazz
Album, Fables and Dreams (with
co-leader Phil Dwyer)
1994 - Jazz Report Award, Acoustic Bassist
of the Year
1996 - Jazz Report Award, Acoustic Bassist
of the Year
1996 - Jazz Report Award, Jazz Album of
the Year, Two by Two: Volume One
1997 - Jazz Report Award, Acoustic Bassist
of the Year
1997 - Jazz Report Award, Musician of the
Year
1997 - Juno Nominee, Best Mainstream Jazz
Album, Live at Bourbon St.
1998 - Jazz Report Award, Acoustic Bassist
of the Year
1998 - Jazz Report Award, Musician of the
Year
1999 - Juno Nominee, Best Mainstream Jazz
Album, Inner Urge
2003 - International Association for Jazz
Education for Outstanding Service to Jazz
2003 - National Jazz Awards, Bassist of
the Year
2004 - National Jazz Awards, Bassist of
the Year
2005 - National Jazz Awards, Bassist of
the Year
2006 - Juno Nominee, Jazz Album of the
Year, Mainly Mingus
2006 - National Jazz Awards, Acoustic
Group of the Year, Dave Young Quintet
2006 - National Jazz Awards, Bassist of
the Year
2006 - Member of the Order of Canada on
October 5, 2006; Invested on February 22,
2008
2007 - National Jazz Awards, Bassist of
the Year
2008 - Oscar Peterson Award by the
Festival International de Jazz de
Montréal.
2012 - Juno Nominee, Traditional Jazz
Album, Aspects of Oscar
2013 - Juno Nominee, Traditional Jazz
Album, Volume One (with Terry
Promane Octet)
2017 - Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree
from Wilfrid Laurier University
2017 - Juno Nominee, Jazz Album of the
Year, One Way Up
2020 - Juno Nominee, Jazz Album of the
Year, Trouble in Mind
Dave
Young also teaches music seminars and
master classes and is a member of the
Faculty of Music at the University of
Toronto.
