Jimmy Woode, 78; Bassist Played With Ellington in Late 1950s

Jimmy Woode, 78, a bassist who spent several years working for Duke Ellington, died April 23 at his home in Lindenwold, N.J., of complications from stomach surgery.

A native of Philadelphia, Woode studied piano, baritone horn and bass as a teenager.

After serving in the Navy during World War II, he toured with saxophonist Flip Phillips and recorded with Zoot Sims and Toots Thielemans in Europe. Woode also worked as an accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.

In 1955, a two-week gig as a temporary replacement in Ellington’s band turned into a more-than-five-year engagement. Woode was part of the Ellington rhythm section at the fabled Newport Jazz Festival performance July 7, 1956.

After leaving the group in 1960, he emigrated to Europe and spent much of the rest of his life in Sweden, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In Europe, he was a founding member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band.

Woode continued to tour well into his later years, and performed with a quintet in 1998.