# Chuck Israels

Charles H. Israels (born August 10, 1936) is an American jazz composer, arranger, and bassist who is best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio. He has also worked with Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, J. J. Johnson, John Coltrane, and Judy Collins. He has won one Grammy in 2020 for his work on mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato's album "Songplay".

## Biography

Born in New York City, Chuck Israels was raised in a musical family which moved to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was 10. His stepfather Mordecai Bauman was a singer who performed extensively with composer Hanns Eisler. He, along with Israels' mother, Irma Commanday, created a home environment in which music was a part of normal daily activity. Paul Robeson, Pete Seeger, and The Weavers were visitors to the Bauman home. In 1948, the appearance of Louis Armstrong's All Stars in a concert series produced by his parents gave him his first opportunity to meet and hear jazz musicians.
In college, Israels had the opportunity to perform with Billie Holiday. His first professional job after college was working with pianist Bud Powell in Paris. His first professional recording was Stereo Drive (aka Coltrane Time) with John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Kenny Dorham, and Louis Hayes. The recording showcased Israels as a composer with his composition "Double Clutching". Israels is best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1961 through 1966, having replaced the deceased Scott LaFaro, and for the Jazz Repertory as Director of the National Jazz Ensemble from 1973 to 1981. He made recordings with Kronos Quartet and Rosemary Clooney in 1985. He was the Director of Jazz Studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington until 2010. In 2011, he created the Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra and recorded Second Wind: A Tribute to the Music of Bill Evans in 2013. In 2020 Chuck Israels received a GRAMMY for his work on mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato's album "Songplay".
Humphrey Lyttelton, presenting Jazz 625 in 1965, said that Israels was "a superb technician who handles the double bass as easily as if it were a guitar... Chuck Israels is one of the reasons why musicians have come reeling away from performances by the Bill Evans Trio in a mood poised between elation and utter despair."

## Discography
### As leader

| Year | Album | Group |
| 1976 | National Jazz Ensemble Vol. 2 | National Jazz Ensemble |
| 1992 | Meeting on Hvar | Chuck Israels International Trio |
| 1998 | The Eindhoven Concert | Chuck Israels and the Metropole Orchestra with Claudio Roditi |
| 1999 | The Bellingham Sessions | Chuck Israels Quartet |
| 2013 | Chaconne a Son Gout | Chuck Israels Quartet |
| 2008 | Convergence | Chuck Israels Trio |
| 2012 | It's Nice to Be with You | Chuck Israels Trio |
| 2013 | Second Wind: A Tribute to the Music of Bill Evans | Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra |
| 1975 | National Jazz Ensemble | National Jazz Ensemble |
| 2015 | Joyful Noise: The Music of Horace Silver | Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra |
| 2016 | Garden of Delights | Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra |

### As sideman

| Year | Album | Main Artist |
| 1976 | End of a Rainbow | Patti Austin |
| 1963 | Something's Coming! | Gary Burton |
| 1959 | Stereo Drive (aka Coltrane Time) | Cecil Taylor |
| 1985 | Rosemary Clooney Sings Ballads | Rosemary Clooney |
| 1961 | Eric Dolphy in Europe | Eric Dolphy |
| 1962 | Nirvana | Bill Evans and Herbie Mann |
| 1962 | Moon Beams | Bill Evans |
| 1962 | How My Heart Sings! | Bill Evans |
| 1962 | Time Remembered | Bill Evans |
| 1964 | The Bill Evans Trio "Live" | Bill Evans |
| 1963 | At Shelly's Manne-Hole | Bill Evans |
| 1964 | Waltz for Debby | Bill Evans, Monica Zetterlund |
| 1964 | The Judy Collins Concert | Judy Collins |
| 1965 | Trio '65 | Bill Evans |
| 1965 | Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra | Bill Evans |
| 1966 | Bill Evans at Town Hall | Bill Evans |
| 1961 | A Day in the City | Don Friedman |
| 1962 | Circle Waltz | Don Friedman |
| 1964 | Getz Au Go Go | Stan Getz |
| 1965 | Here and Now | Hampton Hawes |
| 1963 | My Point of View | Herbie Hancock |
| 1963 | Impressions of Cleopatra | Paul Horn |
| 1963 | J.J.'s Broadway | J. J. Johnson |
| 1963 | New Jazz on Campus | Paul Winter |
| 1960 | George Russell Sextet at the Five Spot | George Russell |
| 1960 | Stratusphunk | George Russell |
| 1961 | George Russell Sextet in K.C. | George Russell |
| 1963 | Eddie Costa: Memorial Concert | Coleman Hawkins and Clark Terry |
| 1966 | The Doors of Perception | Dave Pike |
| 1973 | Mizrab | Gábor Szabó |
| 1974 | Phoebe Snow | Phoebe Snow |
| 1985 | Monk Suite: Kronos Quartet Plays Music of Thelonious Monk | Kronos Quartet |
| 1978 | Baltimore | Nina Simone |
| 1998 | An Evening With Herb Ellis | Herb Ellis |
| 2010 | Barry Harris in Spain | Barry Harris |
| 2005 | Strictly Confidential | Jon Mayer |
| 1965 | Fifth Album | Judy Collins |
| 1966 | No Dirty Names | Dave Van Ronk |