Victor Gaskin obit

Roderick Victor Gaskin Dies at 77 

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Roderick Victor Gaskin died on July 14 at his residence in Estate Whim. He was 77 years old. He was a jazz bassist.

       He leaves to mourn twin sons: Evan and Aaron Gaskin of Orlando, Fla.; special cousins: Earl Charles Sr. and wife Phyllis, Sylvan Charles, Wayne Charles, Michael Charles, Alice Charles, Mark Charles, Earl Charles Jr., Glenwood Charles, Vivian Charles, Doreen Charles Pemberton, Ingrid A. Bough, Marvis Richards, Ralph Richards, Virginia Figueroa, Lorimas “Queen” Galloway, Neil Galloway, Raymond Galloway Jr., Eugenie Golden Kelley, Melanie Bruce, Michael de Chabert, Kareema Grant, Dennerlin Gill, Burrell Gill, Louis Golden, Gloria Gerard, Kathleen Dowling, Virginia Figueroa, Eugenie Jackson, Charles Jackson, Kenneth Jackson, Roy Jackson, Sharon Jackson, Ignatius Jackson, Kenny Gittens; and many other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.

There will be a viewing held at 10 a.m. and a funeral service at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 26, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Frederiksted. Interment will follow at Frederiksted Cemetery.

Gaskin was born in The Bronx, New York and moved to Los Angeles in 1962. He started playing with Paul Horn and Red Mitchell and went on to become one of many bass players for the Jazz Crusaders. He also recorded with Curtis Amy and Dupree Bolton, before becoming a part of the West Coast jazz scene, accompanying Buddy Collette, Shelly Manne, and Bud Shank.

Between 1966 and 1970, he was a member of Cannonball Adderley's groups, and in 1970 recorded with Duke Ellington's octet, quintet, quartet and trio.

He started playing with the Billy Taylor Trio in the late 1970s, continuing until 1993, as well as with Johnny Hartman and Hank Jones.

Between 1994 and 2001 Victor Gaskin was in Singapore and performed regularly at The Four Seasons Hotel with Boni de Souza & Friends for the iconic Sunday Jazz Brunch. They were pioneers of the Sunday Jazz Brunch scene in Singapore, setting the trend for other similar hotel offerings for years to come. During Victor's stay in Singapore, he was also featured on two jazz albums produced by Boni de Souza. The first was a Latin jazz-infused CD featuring Wendy Low (flute), Boni de Souza (piano), Gaskin (bass) and Sanip Ismail (drums). The second and more definitive offering was Eau de Vie featuring some original compositions by Boni de Souza as well as alternative arrangements of jazz standards which featured Gaskin, Farid Ali (guitar), de Souza, Low and Ismail, with various guest musicians.

Gaskin died in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands