Izenzon, David

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Izenzon, David

Izenzon, David, bassist; b. Pittsburgh, Pa., May 17, 1932; d. N.Y., Oct. 8, 1979. Izenzon got his start by singing in a local synagogue. He studied double bass from 1956 and soon began playing with jazz musicians in Pittsburgh, including the pianist Dodo Marmarosa (1958). In 1961 he moved to N.Y. He played with Bill Dixon, Archie Shepp, Paul Bley, and Sonny Rollins. He was a member of Ornette Coleman’s trio 1962-66, doing much work in England and Europe, later sharing bass role with Charlie Haden. In the 1970s he was working in the psychiatry field, playing occasionally with Karl Berger. His opera, How Music Can Save the World, was premiered in 1975. He died in 1979 after suffering a heart attack.

—Lewis Porter