Aaron Bell, 82; Bassist With Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Others

Aaron Bell, 82, a bassist who played with Duke Ellington and other musical greats, died Monday in New York City. The cause of death was not reported.

Bell was Ellington’s bassist from 1960 to 1962 and later worked with Ellington as an arranger.

He also recorded with Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Miles Davis and Sammy Davis Jr., among others.

A native of Muskogee, Okla., Bell served in the military during World War II and was assigned to play in a Navy band in Indiana.

After the war, he went to work as a bassist for the Andy Kirk Orchestra. After leaving Ellington’s band, he composed for off-Broadway theater.

Bell later played in Ellington alumni bands in Europe under the direction of Cat Anderson in the late 1970s

Bell, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Xavier University and a doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University, taught music at Essex County College in Newark, N.J. He was chairman of the school’s performing arts department until he retired in the 1990s.