Essiet Okon Essiet (born September 1, 1956) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

ist. He is the leader of the group "Intercontinental Bush Orchestra", founded in 1995.

Early life and education

Essiet Essiet was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Nigerian immigrant parents. His family moved frequently due to his father's work with both the U.S. and Nigerian governments, exposing Essiet to various cultures, languages, and musical traditions from an early age. He began his musical studies on the violin at the age of 10 but switched to the bass at 14 while living in Portland, Oregon. Essiet attended Mount Hood Community College, where he further honed his musical skills

Biography

Essiet's parents were

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n immigrants to the United States.Lara Pellegrinelli, "Essiet Essiet". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...

. Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, he studied violin as a child, then learned both bass guitar and stand-up bass as a high schooler 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, ...

. After attending

Mount Hood Community College Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount Hood. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well as ...

, he played briefly in Los Angeles before working in Europe during the early 1980s with fellow American jazz musician

Famoudou Don Moye Donald Moye, Jr. (born May 23, 1946), known as Famoudou Don Moye, is an American jazz percussionist and drummer. He is most known for his involvement with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and is noted for his mastery of African and Caribbean percuss ...

. In 1983 he moved to New York City, playing with

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Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

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, and Ralph Peterson Jr. Essiet Essiet has had many collaborations, including with George Adams,

Ron Affif Ronaldo Antunacci Charles Affif (December 30, 1965), known professionally as Ron Affif, is an American jazz guitarist of Lebanese and Italian origin. He is the son of boxer Charley Zivic, who was a jazz fan and encouraged his son. Career Born R ...

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, the Blue Note All-Stars,

Paul Bollenback Paul Norris Bollenback (born June 6, 1959) is a jazz guitarist who has appeared on ''Entertainment Tonight'', ''The Tonight Show'', ''The Today Show'', ''Joan Rivers'', and ''Good Morning America''. He has performed with Scott Ambush, Charlie ...

, Donald Brown, Bruce Cox,

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

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Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and 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 p ...

Jim Hartog James Paul Hartog (born March 10, 1950, San Mateo, California) is an American jazz saxophonist, known primarily as a baritone saxophonist. Hartog attended Grinnell College and the New England Conservatory of Music, taking a bachelor's from the la ...

David Hazeltine David Perry Hazeltine (born October 27, 1958) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Early life Hazeltine was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 27, 1958. He began studying the piano at the age of nine, and first pe ...

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, Victor Jones,

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Kevin Mahogany Kevin Bryant Mahogany (July 30, 1958 – December 17, 2017) was an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. Particularly known for his scat singing, his singing style has been compared with those of Billy Eckstine, Joe William ...

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, and the group Bluesiana Triangle (with

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

and

David “Fathead” Newman David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

Discography

With Bluesiana Triangle (

and

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

) *'' Bluesiana Triangle'' (Windham Hill, 1990) *'' Bluesiana II'' (Windham Hill, 1991) With

George Cables George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Art ...

*'' My Muse'' (HighNote, 2012) *'' In Good Company'' (HighNote, 2015) *'' The George Cables Songbook'' (HighNote, 2016) With

Vincent Herring Vincent Dwyne Herring (born November 19, 1964) is an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, and educator. Known for his fiery and soulful playing in the bands of Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, and Nat Adderley in the earlier stages of h ...

*''

Ends and Means ''Ends and Means (an Enquiry Into the Nature of Ideals and Into the Methods Employed for Their Realization)'' is a book of essays written by Aldous Huxley. Published in 1937, the book contains illuminating tracts on war, religion, nationalism ...

'' (HighNote, 2006) With

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

*'' Reflections'' (HighNote, 2006) With

Benny Powell Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr. (March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010) was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone. Biography Born Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played pr ...

*''

Nextep ''Nextep'' is an album by trombonist Benny Powell. Featuring ten original compositions by Powell, his band members, and his ex-wife, it was recorded on February 9 and 10, 2007, at Alleycat Studio in South Orange, New Jersey, and was issued on CD ...

'' (Origin, 2008)

References

American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Mt. Hood Community College alumni Musicians from Portland, Oregon Jazz musicians from Nebraska American male jazz musicians 1956 births Living people American musicians of Nigerian descent The Jazz Messengers members {{US-jazz-musician-stub