John Robert Webber (born August 5, 1965) 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 m ...

double-bassist.

Early life and education

Webber was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He first learned to play bass guitar before switching to stand-up bass at age 15. He attended

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

and

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

in Chicago, where he worked with

Von Freeman Earle Lavon "Von" Freeman Sr. (October 3, 1923 – August 11, 2012) was an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Freeman as a young child was exposed to jazz. His father, George, a city policeman, was a ...

and

Brad Goode Bradley Mitchell Goode (born October 10, 1963, in Chicago) is an American jazz trumpeter, bassist, drummer, composer and music educator. Career Goode worked as a sideman with Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Barrett Deems, Ernie Krivda, Jack DeJo ...

Career

Webber relocated to New York City in 1987 and played with

Bill Hardman William Franklin Hardman Jr. (April 6, 1933 – December 6, 1990) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop. He was married to Roseline and they had a daughter Nadege. Career Hardman was born and grew ...

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, John Marshall, and

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before the end of the decade. In the 1990s he played with Christopher Hollyday,

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Mike LeDonne Michael Arthur LeDonne (born October 26, 1956) is a jazz pianist and organist known for post-bop and hard bop. He has worked with Benny Golson since 1996 and performs under his own name all over the world. Early life LeDonne was born in Bridgepo ...

, Peter Bernstein, Eric Alexander, Chris Flory,

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, Jim Rotondi,

Ryan Kisor Ryan Kisor (born April 12, 1973) is an American jazz trumpeter. A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Kisor learned trumpet from his father, Larry Kisor, and started playing in a local dance band (the Eddie Skeets Orchestra) at age ten. Kisor began clas ...

, and

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

Discography

As sideman

With Eric Alexander *'' Straight Up'' (Delmark, 1992) *'' Mode for Mabes'' (Delmark, 1997) *''

Summit Meeting A summit meeting (or just summit) is an international meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security, and a prearranged agenda. Notable summit meetings include those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Win ...

'' (Milestone, 2001) *'' Dead Center'' (HighNote, 2004) *''

Sunday in New York ''Sunday in New York'' is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Tewksbury and starring Jane Fonda, Rod Taylor and Cliff Robertson. Filmed in Metrocolor, its screenplay was written by Norman Krasna on the basis of his own 1961 ...

'' (Venus, 2005) *'' Chim Chim Cheree'' (Venus, 2009) *'' Touching'' (HighNote, 2012) *'' Chicago Fire'' (HighNote, 2013) *''

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

'' (HighNote, 2015) With

*'' My Buddy: Etta Jones Sings the Songs of Buddy Johnson'' (HighNote, 1998) *''

All the Way All the Way may refer to: Film and television * ''All the Way'', an Australian film of 1998 directed by Marque Owen * ''All the Way'' (2001 film), a film directed by Shi Runjiu * ''All the Way'' (film), a 2016 adaptation of Robert Schenkkan's p ...

'' (HighNote, 1999) *'' Etta Jones Sings Lady Day'' (HighNote, 2001) With

Harold Mabern Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 4 ...

*'' Mr. Lucky'' (HighNote, 2012) *''

Live at Smalls ''Live at Smalls'' is an album by pianist Harold Mabern. It was released by Smalls Live in 2013. Recording and music The musicians are Harold Mabern (piano), John Webber (bass), and Joe Farnsworth (drums).Tamarkin, Jeff (May 9, 2013"'Live at Smal ...

'' (Smalls Live) *'' Right On Time'' (Smoke Sessions) *''

Afro Blue "Afro Blue" is a jazz standard composed by Mongo Santamaría. Santamaria version Mongo Santamaria recorded his composition "Afro Blue" in 1959 when playing with the Cal Tjader Sextet. The first recorded performance was on April 20, 1959, at th ...

'' (Smoke Sessions) *'' The Iron Man: Live at Smoke'' (Smoke Sessions, 2018) *'' Mabern Plays Mabern'' (Smoke Sessions, 2018) *''Mabern Plays Coltrane'' (Smoke Sessions, 2018) With

Cecil Payne Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...

*'' Payne's Window'' (Delmark, 1999)

References

*Gary W. Kennedy, "John Webber". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld. Living people 1965 births American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Musicians from St. Louis Jazz musicians from Missouri 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians One for All (band) members {{US-jazz-musician-stub de:John Webber