Joe Comfort

Joe Comfort (July 18, 1917 - October 29, 1988) was an American jazz bassist.

Comfort, from a musically oriented Los Angeles family, taught himself bass and began performing with Lionel Hampton's orchestra in the late 1920s, and later began performing with Nat King Cole in a partnership that would continue until the early 1950s. Comfort participated in numerous studio dates in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with such luminaries as Sammy Davis, Jr., Benny Carter and Nancy Wilson. Joe also performed with Frank Sinatra but Joe's adversity to flying, kept him in and around Los Angeles. ^[1]

Joe's mother, Frances Comfort, was born in Mississippi and played the organ during black and white silent movies. George Comfort, Sr., Joe's father, taught music at Alcorn State University and made sure all his children could read music. Joe's brother, George Comfort was a singer, a music teacher and actor who performed with Dorothy Dandridge in Porgy and Bess, and many other films. George Comfort was active in film and in television until his seventies; his most memorable roles included a role in Baretta with Robert Blake.

Joe's wife, Mattie, was the inspiration for Billy Strayhorn's "Satin Doll". Joe and Mattie had one child, Theresa.

Charles Mingus, in his autobiography, Beneath the Underdog, states that when he was a child living in the Watts section of Los Angeles, it was Joe Comfort who taught the young Mingus how to play the double bass.

Joe Comfort died in Los Angeles. Pam Ward, Los Angeles writer/graphic designer and Joe Comfort's great-niece reported that "Uncle Joe's funeral was a giant celebration of L.A. jazz's musicians, a Central Avenue homecoming which included a stellar performance by trumpeter Clora Bryant".