Herb Bushler (born March 7, 1939, New York City) 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 ...

bassist. He plays both

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 ...

and

electric bass 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 but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

. Bushler played piano and tuba in his youth before picking up double bass; he is classically trained in bass and has performed with

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

s in this capacity. In 1966 he began a longtime association with ballet and film composer

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (June 14, 1932, Manhattan, New York or possibly (unconfirmed) Winston-Salem, North Carolina – March 9, 2004, Chicago) was an American composer whose interests spanned the worlds of jazz, dance, pop, film, televisi ...

. He worked extensively in jazz idioms in the 1960s and 1970s, including with

David Amram David Werner Amram III (born November 17, 1930) is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings.

Ted Curson Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City ov ...

, Tony Williams, and

Paul Winter Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and earth music, which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The ...

. He first played with

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

in 1967, an association that would continue on and off until 1981. Other work in the 1970s included sessions with

Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's ...

Joe Farrell Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name o ...

Ryo Kawasaki was a Japanese jazz fusion guitarist, composer and band leader, best known as one of the first musicians to develop and popularise the fusion genre and for helping to develop the guitar synthesizer in collaboration with Roland Corporation and K ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age o ...

, and

Harold Vick Harold Vick (April 3, 1936 – November 13, 1987) was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Biography Harold Vick was born on April 3, 1936, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. At the age of 13, he was given a clarinet by his uncle, Prince Rob ...

. He played with

The Fifth Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...

in the 1960s and has also worked with

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

Billy Harper Billy Harper (born January 17, 1943) is an American jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.Chris KelseyBilly Harper Biography ''AllMusi ...

Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (September 23, 1935 – December 29, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He is known for his innovations in soul jazz and his Swiss Movement, 1969 recording of the protest song "Compared to What". His music ha ...

Joe Chambers Joe Chambers (born June 25, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, and Chick Corea an ...

, and Howard Johnson.

Collaborations

With Peter Allen * ''Peter Allen'' (Metromedia, 1971) With

* ''

'' (Atlantic, 1976) With Michael Franks * '' Tiger in the Rain'' (Warner Bros., 1979)

References

*"Herb Bushler". '' 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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushler, Herb 1939 births American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists American jazz bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Living people Musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American bass guitarists The Tony Williams Lifetime members 21st-century American double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Paul Winter Consort members