The fellow who played bass on more than 100 jazz albums recorded between the '30s and the '80s was alternately identified as Arnold Fishkin and Arnold Fishkind, as if being related to fish was the same thing as simply being nice to them. This artist's swim upstream through musical waters began at the age of eight when he learned violin, growing up in a Long Island neighborhood where fellow bassist Chubby Jackson was a childhood buddy. Fishkin moved down to the bass himself when he was 14 and four years later was in the rhythm section of trumpeter Bunny Berigan's band.

Fishkin would eventually become closely associated with the modern jazz style of players such as alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and pianist Lennie Tristano, technically brilliant improvisers whose unique approach to harmonization could conceivably cause a bassist hypertension. In the '40s the bassist also had a Hollywood period courtesy of bandleader Charlie Barnet, resulting in the opportunity to back up a teenage Stan Getz. Fishkin rejoined Tristano upon returning to the East Coast, meanwhile utilizing his versatility as a bassist to break into freelance session opportunities on radio and in recording studios. He became a staff musician for the ABC network and was a presence in '50s and '60s pop including western-flavored hits by Frankie Laine. The bassist continued performing and recording into the early '80s. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi