Buell Neidlinger


Buell Neidlinger was an American cellist and double bassist. He has worked with a variety of pop and jazz performers, prominently with iconoclastic pianist Cecil Taylor in the 1950s and '60s.

Biography

Neidlinger was born in New York City to the former Jane Buell and Roger Nidlinger. He was raised in Westport, Connecticut, where his father ran a cargo shipping business. He played cello in his youth, and began studying double bass after a music teacher recommended it to strengthen his hands. He took lessons from jazz bassist Walter Page. In his teens, Neidlinger suffered a nervous breakdown which he attributed to the pressure of being perceived as a child prodigy on cello. While institutionalized, he met jazz pianist Joe Sullivan who was in treatment for alcoholism.
Neidlinger dropped out of Yale University after one year, where he had been studying orchestral music. He moved to New York City and began playing in various jazz settings. He joined Cecil Taylor's group in 1955, played with Herbie Nichols and recorded extensively with Taylor's groups with Steve Lacy and with Archie Shepp among others until 1961. He was also involved with new directions in classical music and Gunther Schuller' s Third Stream music.
In 1971, Neidlinger moved to California. He became the principal bassist for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and was also principal bassist in the Warner Bros. studio orchestra for 30 years. He worked extensively as an orchestral and as a session bassist before becoming a musical educator at the New England Conservatory and CalArts. Together with Marty Krystall he founded K2B2 Records. The sessions Neidlinger performed on as a strings player included Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" and the Eagles' "Hotel California".
For a short time in the spring of 1974, Neidlinger played bass with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and others in the Great American String Band. The Great American String Band played bluegrass and American roots music in and around the Bay Area for about three months.
In 1983, he performed on the Antilles Records release Swingrass '83. In 1997, Neidlinger moved to Whidbey Island, Washington State. There, he played in a band called Buellgrass, which included fiddler Richard Greene and featured their version of bluegrass music. Neidlinger's fourth wife, Margaret Storer, was also a bass player. They played baroque music with friends; he played cello, while she played violin.
Neidlinger's final recording was The Happenings, accompanied by Howard Alden on guitar and Marty Krystall on bass clarinet and flute, released in December 2017.

Discography

As leader

  • 1961: New York City R&B with Cecil Taylor
  • 1980: Ready for the 90's as Krystall Klear and the Buells
  • 1981: Our Night Together as Krystall Klear and the Buells
  • 1983: Big Day at Ojai as Buellgrass
  • 1983: Marty's Garage
  • 1987: Thelonious
  • 1987: Buell Neidlinger Quartet Live at Ravenna Jazz '87 with Special Guest Steve Lacy with Steve Lacy
  • 1989: 2 by 2 with Anthony Braxton
  • 1989: The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger with Cecil Taylor
  • 1989: Aurora as Aurora
  • 1990: Big Drum
  • 1991: Locomotive
  • 1995: Blue Chopsticks – A Portrait of Herbie Nichols
  • 1996: Across the Tracks
  • 1997: Rear View Mirror
  • 2001: Thelonious Atmosphere
  • 2005: All Strung Out. Adventures in Buellgrass.
  • 2005: Krystall Klear and the Buells - This Way Is West
  • 2009: ''Basso Profundo''

    As sideman

With Darol Anger
  • 1999: Diary of a Fiddler
With Bee Gees
  • 1968: I Started A Joke
With Ruben Blades
With Anthony Braxton
  • 1987: Six Monk's Compositions
With Natalie Cole
  • 1991: Unforgettable
With Ry Cooder
  • 1987: Get Rhythm
With Stewart Copeland
  • 1983: Rumblefish
With Diane Schuur
  • 1992: In Tribute
With Lionel Richie
  • 1982: Lionel Richie
With Elvis Costello
  • 1989: Spike
With Lindsey Buckingham
  • 1992: Out of the Cradle
With Earth, Wind, and Fire
  • 1980: Faces
With Michael Bolton
With Curtis Stigers
  • 1995: Time Was
With Duane Eddy
  • 1987: Duane Eddy
With Yvonne Elliman
  • 1979: Yvonne
With Neil Diamond
  • 1977: I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight
With Richard Greene
  • 1979: Ramblin
  • 1997: Sales Tax Toddle
  • 1996: Wolves A' Howlin
With Jimmy Giuffre
  • 1960: The Jimmy Giuffre Quartet in Person
With Kenny Rogers
With Clint Black
With David Grisman
  • 1978: Hot Dawg
With Leo Kottke
  • 1986: A Shout Toward Noon
  • 1988: Regards from Chuck Pink
With Steve Lacy
  • 1958: Soprano Sax
  • 1959: Reflections
With Roy Orbison
  • 1989: Mystery Girl
  • 1992: King of Hearts
With Peter Allen
  • 1976: Taught by Experts
With Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Zappa
  • 1970: King Kong
  • 1976: Cantaloupe Island
With Van Dyke Parks
  • 1972: Discover America
  • 1989: Tokyo Rose
With Sam Phillips
  • 1988: The Indescribable Wow
With Bonnie Raitt
  • 1994: Longing in Their Hearts
With Peter Rowan
  • 1978: Peter Rowan
  • 1996: Bluegrass Boy
With Bob Seger
  • 1991: The Fire Inside
  • 1995: It's a Mystery
With Frank Sinatra
  • 1993: Duets
With Pops Staples
  • 1992: Peace to the Neighborhood
With Ringo Starr and Harry Nilsson
  • 1988: Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films
With Barbra Streisand
  • 1994: Ordinary Miracles
With Cecil Taylor
  • 1956: Jazz Advance
  • 1958: At Newport
  • 1959: Looking Ahead!
  • 1959: Love for Sale
  • 1959: In Transition
  • 1960: The World of Cecil Taylor
  • 1960: Air
  • 1961: Cell Walk for Celeste
  • 1961: Jumpin' Punkins
With The Beach Boys
  • 1988: ''Cocktail ''

    Featured classics

  • Franz Schubert: Quintet in A op. 114 with Peter Serkin and Tashi
  • Paul Chihara: GRASS Concerto for Bass and Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra
  • Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra with Neville Marriner
  • Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances Neville Marriner / Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
  • Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra with Neville Marriner
  • Basso Profundo. Solo bass and chamber music by Bussotti, Rosenman, Kagel, Xenakis and Ceely.