James Genus (January 20, 1966) 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 ...

bassist. He plays both

electric bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and sc ...

and

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

and currently plays in the

Saturday Night Live Band The Saturday Night Live Band (referred to in the closing credits as The Live Band) is the house band of the NBC television program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Role on ''Saturday Night Live'' The band consists of mostly jazz, R&B, and ...

. Genus has performed as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

and

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo ...

throughout his career, having worked with an extensive list of artists. Genus was born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. He began on guitar at age six and switched to bass at 13. He studied at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

from 1983 to 1987 and played for a summer at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he quickly began working with many noted players on the city's jazz scene. He has played with Out of the Blue (1988–89),

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 sch ...

(1989),

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

and

Don Pullen Don Gabriel Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed pieces ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The great ...

(1989–91),

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition " ...

(1990),

Greg Osby Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with Jaki ...

and

New York Voices New York Voices is a jazz vocal group that was founded in 1987 by Peter Eldridge, Caprice Fox, Sara Krieger, Darmon Meader, and Kim Nazarian. All except Krieger were members of an alumni group from Ithaca College that toured Europe in 1986. They ...

(1990–91),

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

(1991), T.S. Monk (1991),

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

(1991),

Dave Kikoski Dave Kikoski (born September 29, 1961) is an American jazz pianist and keyboardist. Biography Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Kikoski learned piano from his father and played with him in bars as a teenager. He studied at the Berklee Colle ...

(1991),

Bob Berg Robert Berg (April 7, 1951 – December 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Berg was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Berg started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He be ...

(1991–96),

Geoffrey Keezer Geoffrey Keezer (born November 20, 1970) is an American jazz pianist. Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, playing piano for Art Blakey at age 18 and touring with Joshua Redman, Benny Golson and Ray Brown in his 20s. He has toured w ...

(1992),

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

(1992),

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

(1992–96), Bob James (since 1994),

Michel Camilo Michel Camilo (born April 4, 1954) is a Grammy-award winning pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Camilo lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Ja ...

(since 1995), Elysian Fields (since 1995),

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

(1996),

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

(1996),

Didier Lockwood Didier Lockwood (11 February 1956 – 18 February 2018) was a French violinist. He played in the French rock band Magma in the 1970s, and was known for his use of electric amplification and his experimentation with different sounds on the electri ...

(1996), Dave Douglas (1996),

Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956, Philadelphia, United States) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early years The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began ...

(1997), Global Theory (1997),

Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is the son of sa ...

(2000),

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

(2005),

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

(2008), and

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

(2013).

Discography

As sideman

With

*''

The Old Country ''The Old Country'' is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by A. V. Bramble and starring Gerald McCarthy, Kathleen Vaughan and Haidee Wright. Cast * Gerald McCarthy – James Fountain * Kathleen Vaughan – Mary Lorimer * Haidee Wr ...

'' (Alfa, 1990) With

The Brecker Brothers The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael and Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania ...

* '' Return of the Brecker Brothers'' ( GRP, 1992) * '' Out of the Loop (Brecker Brothers album)'' ( GRP, 1994) - 37th Annual Grammy Awards Best Contemporary Jazz Performance With

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) 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 he ...

*''

Generations A generation is "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively." Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Gen ...

'' (Concord, 2004) With

*''

Blue Wail ''Blue Wail'' is an album by pianist Uri Caine which was released on the Winter & Winter label in 1999. Reception In his review for Allmusic, David R. Adler notes that "Caine and company imbue every tune with an extraordinary blues feeling and a ...

'' (Winter & Winter, 1999) *'' The Sidewalks of New York: Tin Pan Alley'' (Winter & Winter, 1999) *'' The Goldberg Variations'' (Winter & Winter, 2000) With James Carter *''

Present Tense The present tense (abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present ...

'' (EmArcy, 2008) With Dave Douglas *'' In Our Lifetime'' (New World, 1995) *'' Stargazer'' (Arabesque, 1997) *'' Moving Portrait'' ( DIW, 1998) *'' Magic Triangle'' (Arabesque, 1998) *'' Soul on Soul'' (RCA, 2000) *''

Leap of Faith A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason. Overview The phrase is commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard; however, he never used the term, as he ...

'' (Arabesque, 2000) *''

The Infinite Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

'' (RCA, 2002) *'' Strange Liberation'' (Bluebird, 2003) *'' Meaning and Mystery'' (Greenleaf, 2006) *'' Live at the Jazz Standard'' (Greenleaf, 2007) With

*''

Domingo Domingo may refer to: People * Domingo (name), a Spanish name and list of people with that name * Domingo (producer) (born 1970), American hip-hop producer * Saint Dominic (1170–1221), Castilian Catholic priest, founder of the Friars popularly ...

'' (Dreyfus, 1992) With Alex Han *''Spirit (3 Deuces, 2017)'' With

*'' Jazz Nocturne'' (Venus/Evidence, 1992

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

With

Geoff Keezer Geoffrey Keezer (born November 20, 1970) is an American jazz pianist. Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, playing piano for Art Blakey at age 18 and touring with Joshua Redman, Benny Golson and Ray Brown in his 20s. He has toured w ...

*'' World Music'' (DIW, 1992) With

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...

*'' Stone Blue'' (Blue Note, 1998) With Steve Masakowski *'' What It Was'' (Blue Note, 1993) With

T. S. Monk Thelonious Sphere "T. S." Monk III (born December 27, 1949) is an American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader. He is the son of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. Biography Born in New York City, he began his music career early in his life, honin ...

*'' Take One'' (Blue Note, 1992) With

*'' Random Thoughts'' (Blue Note, 1990) With

*''

Random Access Memories ''Random Access Memories'' is the fourth studio album by the French electronic music, electronic duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records. The album pays tribute to late Music history of the United States in the 1970s, 197 ...

'' (Columbia, 2013) With James Williams *'' Up to The Minute Blues'' (DIW, 1994)

References

*Mark Gilbert, "James Genus". '' Grove Jazz'' online.

External links

Conversation With James Genus, 4/01/2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genus, James American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists American jazz bass guitarists Guitarists from Virginia 1966 births Living people Musicians from Hampton, Virginia American male bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists Saturday Night Live Band members Jazz musicians from Virginia 21st-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians