b, 1935-1994 US, Buffalo, New York
Musician of Jazz
A.k.a. Eugene Valentino Cherico
Eugene Valentino "Gene" Cherico (April 15, 1935, Buffalo, New York—August 12, 1994, Santa Monica, California) was an American jazz double-bassist.Cherico played drums as a child and played in a special services band in the Army, but injured his hand and picked up double bass as therapy. He attended the Berklee College of Music, where he met Toshiko Akiyoshi, with whom he would tour and record intermittently for many years. He also worked as a sideman with Herb Pomeroy (1957–59), Maynard Ferguson (1959–60), Red Norvo (1961), Benny Goodman (1962), George Shearing (1963), Stan Getz (1964–66), and Peter Nero (1966–70). He also recorded with Gary Burton and Joe Morello in 1961 and with Paul Desmond in 1961 and 1963.