Gerald Veasley (born July 28, 1955) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
bass guitarist.
Veasley was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he played in
R&B groups as a teenager. He worked with
Joe Zawinul from 1988 to 1995, and began releasing his own records in 1992. He has also done extensive work as a studio musician. His 2008 release ''Your Move'' hit No. 12 on the U.S. ''
Billboard'' Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
[ Chart Positions Allmusic.com] Veasley has also worked as a
smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s.
History
Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
DJ on
WJJZ in Philadelphia.
Bass Bootcamp
In 2002 Veasley founded his own Bass Bootcamp in Philadelphia with Roxanne Veasley and Lee Patterson. The camp has served over 700 bass players from all around world as well as other professionals like
Marcus Miller
William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...
,
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first ja ...
,
Michael Manring
Michael Manring (born June 27, 1960) is an American bass guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Biography
Michael Manring was born in Annapolis, Maryland,Tom Mulhern, ''Bass Heroes: Styles, Stories & Secrets of 30 Great Bass Players : from ...
,
Victor Wooten
Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...
, and many more. The camp lasts for 2 days and students are taught many important musical skills by the instructors such as:learning how to groove, creating bass lines, improving your ear, optimizing practice time, and playing live with a drummer. In addition, they also teach under music theory topics like covering scales, arpeggios, modes, etc.,as well as an “All-Star Concert” which takes place at The Ardmore Music Hall featuring Gerald and various special guests.
Collaborations
In 1988, Gerald joined a jazz fusion band called
The Zawinul Syndicate
The Zawinul Syndicate was a jazz fusion band formed by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul in 1988. The band evolved out of Zawinul's former band Weather Report. The band adhered to Zawinul's roots in jazz. Their style could be described as a comb ...
featuring keyboardist
Joe Zawinul, former member of the group
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...
. The band blended the styles from many different cultures of music and combined tones of strange grooves, driving, swinging and toured from places like the U.S to Germany and continued on until the unfortunate death of Joe.
In June of 1999, Gerald was featured playing bass on an album with
Philip Bailey
Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, ...
called “Dreams”. The album featured many artists such as
George Duke,
Marcus Miller
William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...
,
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
,
Gerald Albright
Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...
, and many others. Veasley was featured on the song “Something To Remind You” with Duke and Metheny.
On April 1, 2008, Gerald was invited on stage as a guest with
Victor Wooten
Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...
, along with Anthony Wellington at The Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA
In 2019, Veasley was invited to
Ridley Park, Pennsylvania
Ridley Park is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 7,002 at the 2010 census. Ridley Park is the home of The Boeing Company's CH-47 Chinook helicopter division.
History
Native American
The Lenape inhabited the Del ...
to play at
Ridley High School at their yearly “Jazz Night”. The night featured 3 performances done by Ridley Elementary, Middle School, and High School Jazz band with Veasley playing with each group, as well as the high school acappella group; Rhapsody. The middle school performance featured 4 of the 6 members of the Philadelphia
jamband
A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often c ...
“Refrigerator” DJ Callahan on Drums, Cole Steiner on Auxiliary Percussion, James McKinney on Baritone Saxophone, and Jeremy Leafey on Bass Guitar who Gerald ended up having a bass duet with on their opening song.
Discography
As leader
* ''One Minute of Love'' (Gramavision, 1985)
* ''Look Ahead'' (Heads Up, 1992)
* ''Signs'' (Heads Up, 1994)
* ''Soul Control'' (Inak, 1997)
* ''Love Letters'' (Inak, 1999)
* ''On the Fast Track'' (Heads Up, 2001)
* ''Velvet'' (Heads Up, 2002)
* ''At the Jazz Base!'' (Heads Up, 2005)
* ''Your Move'' (Heads Up, 2008)
* ''Electric Mingus Project'' (Fanwave, 2011)
As sideman
With
John Blake
* ''Twinkling of an Eye'' (Gramavision, 1985)
* ''Adventures of the Heart'' (Gramavision, 1987)
* ''A New Beginning'' (Gramavision, 1988)
With
Odean Pope
Odean Pope (born October 24, 1938) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Biography
Pope was raised in Philadelphia, where he learned from Ray Bryant while young. Early in his career, at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater, Pope played behind a numbe ...
* ''Almost Like Me'' (Moers Music, 1982)
* ''The Saxophone Shop'' (Soul Note, 1986)
* ''Out for a Walk'' (Moers Music, 1990)
* ''The Ponderer'' (Soul Note, 1991)
* ''Epitome'' (Soul Note, 1994)
With
Special EFX
Chieli Minucci (born April 17, 1958) is an American guitarist who co-founded the band Special EFX.
Career
His father, Ulpio Minucci, was a concert pianist and composer who wrote the music to the 1955 song " Domani."
Chieli Minucci started Spec ...
* ''Global Village'' (GRP, 1992)
* ''Play'' (JVC, 1993)
* ''Here to Stay'' (JVC, 1997)
With
Grover Washington Jr.
* ''Strawberry Moon'' (Columbia, 1987)
* ''Then and Now'' (CBS, 1988)
* ''Time Out of Mind'' (Columbia, 1989)
* ''Next Exit'' (CBS/Sony, 1992)
* ''Soulful Strut'' (Columbia, 1996)
* ''Breath of Heaven'' (Columbia, 1997)
With others
*
Chuck Anderson, ''Angel Blue'' (Anderson Music, 2002)
*
Philip Bailey
Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, ...
, ''Dreams'' (Heads Up, 1999)
*
Jimmy Bruno
Jimmy Bruno (born July 22, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia.
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Bruno started playing guitar at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich. He played ...
, ''Midnight Blue'' (Concord Jazz, 2001)
*
Suzanne Cloud
Suzanne Cloud (born September 7, 1951) is an American jazz singer, writer, and teacher.
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Cloud grew up in a musical family in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey. Her father played ukulele and banjo, and her mother sang ...
, ''With a Little Help from My Friends'' (Dreambox, 2014)
*
The Dixie Hummingbirds
The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclecti ...
, ''Live in Philadelphia'' (Gospel AIR & Tapes, 1987)
*
Nnenna Freelon
Nnenna Freelon (born July 28, 1954) is an American jazz singer, composer, producer, and arranger.
Early life and education
Freelon was born Chinyere Nnenna Pierce to Charles and Frances Pierce in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was raised. ...
, ''Tales of Wonder'' (Concord Jazz, 2002)
*
George Jinda
George Jinda was a Hungarian-American percussionist who co-founded the smooth jazz group Special EFX with Chieli Minucci
Chieli Minucci (born April 17, 1958) is an American guitarist who co-founded the band Special EFX.
Career
His father, Ul ...
, ''Reliable Sources'' (JVC, 1991)
* George Jinda, ''George Jinda and World News'' (JVC, 1992)
*
B.B. King
Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...
, ''Here & There: the Uncollected B.B. King'' (Hip-O, 2001)
*
Chuck Loeb, ''Between 2 Worlds'' (Heads Up, 2009)
*
Bobby Lyle
Robert Lyle (born March 11, 1944) is a jazz pianist/organist and educator.
Early life
Lyle was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 11, 1944 to parents Robert and Elise Lyle. He grew up in a musical household after the family moved from Memphis ...
, ''The Journey'' (Atlantic, 1990)
*
Jason Miles
Jason Miles (born June 30, 1951) is an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, bassist Marcus Miller, and singer Luther Vandross, as well as maintaining a successfu ...
, ''To Grover with Love/Live in Japan'' (Whaling City Sound, 2016)
*
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...
, ''Word of Mouth Revisited'' (Heads Up, 2003)
*
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...
, ''A Little More Magic'' (Elektra, 1993)
*
Kim Pensyl, ''Eyes of Wonder'' (GRP, 1993)
*
Phil Perry
Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney’s sitcom, '' Goof ...
, ''The Heart of the Man'' (Capitol, 1991)
*
Pieces of a Dream
Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess
* Pieces (video game), ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game f ...
, ''Love's Silhouette'' (Heads Up, 2002)
*
Harry Sokal, ''Voices of Time'' (Universal, 2005)
*
Jamaaladeen Tacuma
Jamaaladeen Tacuma (born Rudy McDaniel; June 11, 1956) is an American free jazz bassist born in Hempstead, New York. He was a bandleader on the Gramavision label and worked with Ornette Coleman during the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in Coleman's P ...
, ''The Night of Chamber Music'' (Moers Music, 1993)
* Jamaaladeen Tacuma, ''All Basses Covered'' (Moers Music, 2005)
*
Mark Wood, ''Voodoo Violince'' (Guitar, 1991)
*
Zawinul Syndicate
Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to b ...
, ''Black Water'' (Columbia, 1989)
* Zawinul Syndicate, ''Lost Tribes'' (Columbia, 1992)
References
External links
Official website*
Interview with Gerald Veasley - Part one, 10/01/2007Interview with Gerald Veasley - Part Two, 12/01/2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veasley, Gerald
American jazz bass guitarists
American session musicians
Smooth jazz bass guitarists
Living people
1955 births
Heads Up International artists
Guitarists from Philadelphia
American male bass guitarists
20th-century American bass guitarists
Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
The Zawinul Syndicate members