Quick Facts
Biography
Nick Tountas (December 5, 1934-February 3, 2012) was an American jazz bassist.
Life and career
Tountas was born as Nickolaus M. Tountas on December 5, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. He initially ran a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, and became active in the Chicago music scene from the late 1960s.
In the late 1960s, he played in the backing band of singer Judy Roberts, who performed regularly at London House. He participated in a number of recording sessions from 1971 onwards. In 1973, he played for Harvey Mandel's album Get Off In Chicago.
Over the years, he had worked with Von Freeman, Rusty Jones, Fred Kaz, Marc Pompe Quartet (Lost in the Stars album on CIMP), and Zvonimir Tot.
In 2004, he self-published the album Hopalong, which featured Rusty Jones on drums, Zvonimir Tot on guitar, Larry Novak on piano, and Steve Yates as engineer/mixer.
Personal life and death
Tountas was married to his wife Ann Cusack.
He died of complications from a heart attack on February 3, 2012, at Glenbrook Hospital in the suburb of Glenview, Illinois.