Patrick John O'Hearn (born September 6, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist. Known primarily as a

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

ist and keyboardist, O'Hearn came to prominence with

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

and co-founded the early 1980s new wave band Missing Persons with several other veterans from Zappa's bands. O'Hearn's musical repertoire spans a diverse range including new-age. In addition to solo albums, he has composed soundtracks for movies and television.

Biography

Formative years

Born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California and raised in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, O'Hearn began his professional music career at age 15 when he joined the Musicians Union and began playing night clubs in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Upon graduating from Sunset High School in 1972, he moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. There, he briefly attended

Cornish College of the Arts Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) was a Private college, private art school, art college in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1914 by music teacher Nellie Cornish. The college's main campus is in the Denny Triangle, Seattle, Denny Triangle ...

, and as well, studied privately with bassist

Gary Peacock Gary George Peacock (May 12, 1935September 4, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist. He recorded a dozen albums under his own name, and also performed and recorded with major jazz figures such as avant garde saxophonist Albert Ayler, piani ...

. In 1973, he moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California and soon became involved in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

jazz scene of that time, playing bass for established artists Charles Lloyd,

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

, Joe Pass,

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the 20th century's most important and influentia ...

, Eddie Henderson, and Bobby Hutcherson. He also collaborated with musicians his own age, including

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons, U.K., and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missi ...

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic music, electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of Film ...

and Peter Maunu. While on tour in Los Angeles in 1976, O'Hearn met musician

, who offered him a job as bass player in his band—a position he held for over two years. During this period, O’Hearn shifted from the acoustic bass to the electric bass guitar, and also became increasingly interested in electronic music. Zappa encouraged O’Hearn to explore his collection of synthesizers, and also introduced him to the technical aspects of music production, audio engineering, and home studio audio recording equipment. In 1979, O'Hearn teamed with trumpet player Mark Isham and guitarist Peter Maunu to form Group 87. Group 87 only produced two LPs—''Group 87'' in 1980, and ''A Career in Dada Processing'' in 1984, but Patrick O'Hearn was a member of the band only on the first album, as he would soon thereafter join Missing Persons. Isham and Maunu would appear as collaborators on several of O'Hearn's later solo releases.

1980s and solo career

In 1981, drummer and former Zappa bandmate

invited O’Hearn to join his emerging new wave band, Missing Persons along with guitarist and fellow Zappa alumnus Warren Cuccurullo and

Dale Bozzio Dale Frances Bozzio (née Consalvi; born March 2, 1955) is an American rock and pop vocalist. She is best known as co-founder and lead singer of the '80s new wave band Missing Persons and for her work with Frank Zappa. While with Zappa, she p ...

, who had performed vocals in several Zappa productions and recently married Terry. O'Hearn shifted from electric bass to synthesizers. Missing Persons recorded three albums for Capitol Records: '' Spring Session M'' (1982), '' Rhyme & Reason'' (1984), and '' Color In Your Life'' (1986). The band dissolved in early 1986; subsequently, O'Hearn joined with former

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

guitarist Andy Taylor and former

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

guitarist Steve Jones for one album, ''

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

'' (1987), and a brief tour. O'Hearn's solo career was spurred in large part by former

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

member Peter Baumann, who had been conceiving of a new music label that would showcase progressive instrumental music—a niche earlier explored by Group 87. Baumann formed the

Private Music Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his for ...

label in late 1984, and produced O'Hearn's debut solo album, ''Ancient Dreams'' (1985). O'Hearn followed ''Ancient Dreams'' with two more albums—''Between Two Worlds'' (1987), which earned the artist his first

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination, and ''Rivers Gonna Rise'' (1988). O'Hearn began to receive greater airplay on jazz and new-age radio stations. O'Hearn also co-produced several tracks for guitarist Colin Chin's ''Intruding on a Silence'', featuring Mark Isham on trumpet. O'Hearn released his fourth solo album ''Eldorado'' in 1989, which blended elements of World Music with warm keyboard textures.

1990s

The next O'Hearn release was ''Indigo'' in 1991. Winding up their contract, Private Music assembled a compilation album in 1992 titled ''The Private Music of Patrick O'Hearn.'' This album included three previously unreleased tracks titled "Down Hill Racer", "Irene", and "Step". In 1992, O'Hearn composed and performed the music score for '' White Sands,'' a crime thriller starring

Willem Dafoe William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...

and Samuel L. Jackson. The film was directed by

Roger Donaldson Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian and New Zealand film director, screenwriter, and producer. His 1977 debut film, ''Sleeping Dogs (1977 film), Sleeping Dogs'', is considered landmark work of Cinema of New Zealand ...

. Later that year he composed the score to '' Silent Tongue'', written and directed by

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

and starring

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the Cinema of the United Kingdom#The 1960s, 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from ''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down ...

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

, River Phoenix and

Dermot Mulroney Dermot Patrick Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles in a wide variety of genres, including romantic comedy, western, and drama films. After making his film debut in ''Sunset'' (1988), Mulro ...

. O'Hearn released ''Trust'' in 1995 under the newly formed Deep Cave record label. Featuring contributions from

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

and former bandmates Terry Bozzio and Warren Cuccurullo, ''Trust'' earned O'Hearn his second

nomination. Shortly after the release of his next album, ''Metaphor'' (1996), the Deep Cave record label folded. Also released in 1996 was the soundtrack to the film '' Crying Freeman.'' There have been a few various artists albums that O'Hearn has contributed new material to. In 1998, his 12-minute composition "35th Parallel" appeared on the five-artist album ''The Ambient Expanse''. In 2000, his version of a Johann Sebastian Bach piece called "Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1" appeared on the compilation ''A Different Prelude: A Contemporary Collection''. In 2003 his version of the Joaquín Rodrigo composition "Adagio from Fantasy for a Gentleman" appeared on the compilation ''Adagio: A Windham Hill Collection''. This last track can also be found on the various artists compilation ''Sundown: Windham Hill Piano Collection'', released in 2006.

2000s

O'Hearn's next solo project, ''So Flows the Current'' (2001), was recorded over a three-year period from 1997 to 2000. In 2002, cinematographer David Fortney created a film of landscape images paired with O'Hearn music. The result was ''Timeless - A National Parks Odyssey'' which was released on DVD in 2002. This also includes a new version of the track "Beauty In Darkness," originally from O'Hearn's debut album. ''Beautiful World'' was O'Hearn's next release in 2003, and it was voted the No. 1 album on the nationally syndicated radio program '' Echoes''. This was followed by ''Slow Time'' in 2005. O'Hearn dedicated the track "Music For Three Vibraphones" in memory of his mentor Frank Zappa. In 2006, O'Hearn released three recordings via iTunes online delivery only. The first two of these are the soundtrack EP to Sean Garland's short film ''The Wheelhouse'', and the soundtrack album to the Sam Shepard stage play '' Simpatico'' (originally recorded in 1994). These were followed by ''The So Flows Sessions'', which is a full-length album of previously unreleased material from the recording sessions in 1997–2000 that produced ''So Flows The Current''. The next year in 2007 O'Hearn released the CD ''Glaciation'', inspired by images of Earth's Arctic regions. In the summer of 2007, O'Hearn was introduced to singer-songwriter

John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New wave music, new wave, blues, and country music, country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Gramm ...

and played bass on Hiatt's '' Same Old Man'' album. Hiatt subsequently asked him to join his band and tour in support of the album's 2008 release. O'Hearn continued to tour with Hiatt through 2010 and recorded on his following releases: '' The Open Road'' (2010), '' Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns'' (2011), and '' Mystic Pinball'' (2012).

2010s

O'Hearn's 13th album ''Transitions'' was released digitally on August 23, 2011, and on CD on October 4. It was voted No.1 album of 2011 on the ''Echoes'' Listener's Poll. In December 2013, a various artists album titled ''Nashville Indie Spotlight'' was released, which includes a new piece by Patrick O'Hearn and Peter Maunu called "Out of Reach". His daughter, Rachel, is an electronic musician, performing under the names Chromatiq and Black Sound Effects.

2020s

In October 2020, Patrick O’Hearn released a new track online titled ''Rivulet'', which also had a second version titled ''Rivulet (Tranquility Mix)''. In August 2024, O'Hearn released an EP titled ''Quattro Amici'', which is four tracks from his first album ''Ancient Dreams'' that have been reworked in varying degrees. ''Malevolent Landscape'' and ''Beauty in Darkness'' have new music added to the start and end of the song. ''At First Light'' and ''Ancient Dreams'' don’t have new music, but they’ve been remixed with some additional piano. The song titles on the EP have mostly been given ethnic derivatives of the original titles.

Discography

Solo albums

Compilations

Soundtracks

Additional music for film and television

Patrick O’Hearn did the soundtrack music for these, without releasing a soundtrack album.

Notes

External links

Official sitePatrick O'Hearn Discography
* Patrick O'Hearnat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohearn, Patrick 1954 births Living people American electronic musicians American new-age musicians Private Music artists Windham Hill Records artists Missing Persons (band) members Musicians from Los Angeles People from Malden, Massachusetts Musicians from Portland, Oregon American new wave musicians Cornish College of the Arts alumni American male musicians Sunset High School (Beaverton, Oregon) alumni The Tony Williams Lifetime members