Paul Chambers (1935-1969) was an American jazz bassist, one of the most important bassists of the hard bop era. He became famous through his work with Miles Davis, John Coltrane and many other leading musicians.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears with the Miles Davis Quintet, part of the group whose recordings helped define modern small-group jazz in the 1950s.

Chambers’s playing combined strong time, melodic imagination and a distinctive bowed-bass voice. He could support a rhythm section like bedrock while still contributing lines of real elegance.

His influence on jazz bass playing is enormous. Chambers made the bass both engine and singer, walking with purpose and speaking with style.