Mickey Bass

Lee Odiss Bass III (May 2, 1943 – February 3, 2022), better known as Mickey Bass, was an American bassist, composer, arranger, and music educator. He played with Chico Freeman, John Hicks, and Kiane Zawadi.

Bass was a Pittsburgh bassist who worked with hard bop bandleaders and combos from the 1960s; he did not record often as a leader. His maternal grandmother, who performed in minstrel shows, taught him and his cousins Barbershop music. He played and recorded with Sonny Rollins, Bennie Green, and Charles Mingus. The New York Times declared: "When Mickey Bass and the Co-operation get in the right groove...it is doubtful if there is another jazz group in town that swings as hard as this one."

He taught students at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Hartt College of Music from 1975 to 1985. His students at Ellington included Wallace Roney, Gregory Charles Royal, Clarence Seay, and drummer Eric Allen. In 1980, he was given a National Endowment for the Arts Composers' Grant.

Bass died in New York City on February 3, 2022, at the age of 78.

As leader

 * Sentimental Mood (Chiaroscuro, 1982)
 * The Co-operation (Early Bird, 1991)
 * Another Way Out (Early Bird, 1991)

As sideman
With Art Blakey With Curtis Fuller With Philly Joe Jones With Jimmy McGriff With Hank Mobley With Ramon Morris With Lee Morgan With Bobby Timmons With Reuben Wilson
 * Child's Dance (Prestige, 1972)
 * Buhaina (Prestige, 1973)
 * Anthenagin (Prestige, 1973)
 * Smokin' (Mainstream, 1972)
 * Mean What You Say (Sonet, 1977)
 * Concert: Friday the 13th - Cook County Jail (Groove Merchant. 1972 [1973])
 * Thinking of Home (Blue Note, 1973)
 * Sweet Sister Funk (Groove Merchant, 1973)
 * The Sixth Sense (Blue Note, 1968 [1999])
 * Chicken & Dumplin's (Prestige, 1965)
 * Soul Food (Prestige, 1966)
 * The Sweet Life (Groove Merchant, 1973)