Gary Willis (born 28 March 1957) is an American bassist and composer known foremost as the co-founder (with Scott Henderson) of the jazz fusion band Tribal Tech. Aside from his work in Tribal Tech, Willis has worked with numerous other jazz musicians including Wayne Shorter, Dennis Chambers, and Allan Holdsworth. "Slaughterhouse 3", released in 2006, continued his collaboration with drummer Kirk Covington as well as saxophonist Llibert Fortuny to form a modern jazz/funk/groove power-trio. Willis's latest solo CD Larger Than Life was released on the Abstractlogix label in 2015.
In addition to "Larger Than Life", Willis's solo career includes Retro from 2013, Actual Fiction from 2007, No Sweat from 1996 and Bent in 1998. Willis is also the author of four books for bass guitar, "Fingerboard Harmony for Bass", "The Gary Willis Collection", "Ultimate Ear Training for Guitar and Bass" and "101 Bass Tips" all published by Hal Leonard.
Willis, a Texas native, studied composition and improvisation at The University of North Texas College of Music, where he switched from guitar to bass. [1] He is currently an instructor at the Catalonia College of Music in Barcelona, Spain. [2]
Gary Willis uses his signature model Ibanez fretless 5-string bass guitar, Aguilar Amplifiers and D'Addario strings. [3]
He is currently an instructor at Berklee's campus in Valencia, Spain.
The double bass, also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra. Similar in structure to the cello, it has four or five strings.
John Scofield is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he has toured and recorded with many prominent jazz artists including saxophonists Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, and Joe Lovano; keyboardists George Duke, Joey DeFrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Larry Goldings, and Robert Glasper; fellow guitarists Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Pat Martino, and Bill Frisell; bassists Marc Johnson and Jaco Pastorius; and drummers Billy Cobham and Dennis Chambers. Outside the world of jazz, he has collaborated with Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, John Mayer, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Gov't Mule.
William Richard Frisell is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant in the Downtown Scene in New York City, where he formed a long working relationship with composer and saxophonist John Zorn. He was also a longtime member of veteran drummer Paul Motian's groups from the early 1980s until Motian's death in 2011. Since the late 1990s, Frisell's output as a bandleader has also integrated prominent elements of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and Americana. He has six Grammy nominations and one win.
Michael Manring is an American bass guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including rock, hip hop, reggae, salsa, heavy metal and bluegrass.
Gary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be heralded as an innovator, and his sound and technique are widely imitated. He is also known for pioneering fusion jazz and popularizing the duet format in jazz, as well as being a major figure in music education from his 30 years teaching at the Berklee College of Music.
Steve Swallow is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar.
A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written to be played on a classical, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular music such as blues, swing, jazz, jazz fusion, rock and heavy metal, guitar solos often contain virtuoso techniques and varying degrees of improvisation. Guitar solos on classical guitar, which are typically written in musical notation, are also used in classical music forms such as chamber music and concertos.
Willis Clark Conover, Jr. was a jazz producer and broadcaster on the Voice of America for over forty years. He produced jazz concerts at the White House, the Newport Jazz Festival, and for movies and television. By arranging concerts where people of all races were welcome, he is credited with desegregating Washington, D.C., nightclubs. Conover is credited with keeping interest in jazz alive in the countries of Eastern Europe through his nightly broadcasts during the Cold War.
Scott Henderson is an American jazz fusion and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Tribal Tech. He was born in West Palm Beach and raised in Lake Worth Beach.
Tribal Tech was a progressive fusion band, originally formed in 1984 by guitarist Scott Henderson and bass player Gary Willis. From 1993 forward the band included Scott Kinsey on keyboard and Kirk Covington on drums, and released ten albums that stretched the borders between blues, jazz, and rock. The band dissolved following the release of 2000's Rocket Science, with the various members pursuing solo careers. However, they re-formed to release another album, X, in 2012. In 2014, Henderson and Willis decided to disband once again.
Thomas William Ellis Smith is a Scottish jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator.
Victor Bailey was an American bass guitar player. He was the bassist for Weather Report during their final years from 1982 to 1986, and launched a solo career in 1988. As a musician, Bailey was known for his signature scat-bass solos.
Dr. Hee is the second album by fusion band Tribal Tech, a project led by guitarist Scott Henderson and bassist Gary Willis.
Nomad is the third album by fusion band Tribal Tech, a project led by guitarist Scott Henderson and bassist Gary Willis. The album was recorded in April 1988, but not released until 1990.
Kirk Covington is a drummer best known for his work with the jazz fusion group Tribal Tech.
Alex Machacek is an Austrian jazz fusion guitarist.
Michael Ralph "Mo" Foster was an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster toured, recorded, and performed with dozens of artists, including Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Brian May, Scott Walker, Frida of ABBA, Cliff Richard, George Martin, Van Morrison, Dr John, Hank Marvin, Heaven 17 and the London Symphony Orchestra. He released several albums under his own name, authored a humorous book on the history of British rock guitar, written numerous articles for music publications, continued to compose production music, and established himself as a public speaker. Foster was an assessor for JAMES, an industry organisation that gives accreditation to music colleges throughout the United Kingdom. In 2014, Foster was a recipient of a BASCA Gold Badge Award to honour his lifelong contribution to the British songwriting and composing community.
None Too Soon is the ninth studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released on 24 September 1996 by Polydor Records (Japan), JMS–Cream Records (Europe) and Restless Records ; a remastered edition was reissued on 17 April 2012 through MoonJune Records.
David Dyson is an American bassist, songwriter, arranger, and producer. Throughout his career he has performed with an array of artists including New Kids on the Block, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lalah Hathaway, Pieces of a Dream, George Duke, Regina Bell, Jonathan Butler, Najee, Candy Dulfer, Rick Braun, Gerald Albright, Norman Brown, Bobby Lyle, Doc Powell, and Michael Franks.