Steve Bailey is an American bassist. He is the chair of the bass department at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Career

Bailey began playing bass guitar at age 12 and started playing

fretless bass A fretless bass is an electric bass guitar whose neck lacks frets and thus is smooth like traditional string instruments, and like the neck of an acoustic double bass. While the fretless bass is played in all styles of music, it is most common in ...

after he ran over his fretted Stuart Spector with his car. He started playing double bass after hearing

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

playing with

Return to Forever Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhun ...

. He has been a faculty member at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

and the

University of North Carolina Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a Public university, public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Caroli ...

. He was also a faculty member at Hollywood's BIT for 10 years. He is a co-founder of Victor Wooten's Bass/Nature Camp, which helps to teach bassists of all ranges
Thebassvault.com
is also a joint project by Bailey and Wooten. Bailey has worked with Ernestine Anderson, Bass Extremes, David Benoit, Tab Benoit, Michel Camilo,

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts including Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought after guitarists of his era, Carlton has ...

, Paquito D'Rivera, Chris Duarte, Bryan Duncan, Brandon Fields,

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

, Scott Henderson,

Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (née Smith; born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 65 years. Kaye began play ...

, Kitaro,

T Lavitz Terry "T" Lavitz (April 16, 1956 – October 7, 2010) was an American keyboardist, composer, and Record producer, producer. He is best known for his work with the Dixie Dregs and Jazz Is Dead (band), Jazz Is Dead. Biography Born on April 16, 19 ...

, James Moody, Mark Murphy,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing the electric bass at age 10, performing and composing at age 12, and at age 15, s ...

, Ray Price,

Toni Price Toni Price or Luiese Esther Price (March 13, 1961 – November 22, 2024) was an American country blues singer from Austin, Texas, United States. Price began her career in Nashville, where she recorded a few country music, country and western sin ...

, Emily Remler, The Rippingtons,

Claudio Roditi Claudio Roditi (May 28, 1946 – January 17, 2020) was a Brazilian jazz trumpeter. In 1966 Claudio was named a trumpet finalist at the International Jazz Competition in Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna, Roditi met Art Farmer, one of his idols, an ...

, Billy Joe Shaver, Billy Sheehan,

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

, and Jethro Tull. His latest Album, CAROLINA, is a collection of 17 duets (one track of bass and another person doing what they do) featuring 17 different guests including Willie Nelson, Ian Anderson, Ron Carter, Victor Wooten, Mike Stern, Becca Stevens, Dennis Chambers and much more. Bailey has "authored" 3 different signature bass models. * Aria AVBSB 1992-2002 * Fender SRB Jazz BASS 6 2008-2010 * Warwick Signature Steve Bailey models, 4, 5, & 6 string 2010–present

Discography

As leader

* ''Dichotomy'' (Victor, 1991) * ''Evolution'' (Victor, 1993) * '' Bass Extremes "Cookbook"'' with Victor Wooten (Tone Center, 1995) * '' Bass Extremes Vol. 2'' with Victor Wooten (Tone Center, 1998) * '' Bass Extremes Just Add Water'' with Victor Wooten (Tone Center, 2001) * ''So Low...Solo'' (BATB, 2007) * ''Carolina'' (Treehouse, 2020) * '' Bass Extremes S'low Down'' (Vix Records, 2022)

As sideman

With David Benoit * ''Inner Motion'' (GRP, 1990) * ''Letter to Evan'' (GRP, 1992) * ''Shaken Not Stirred'' (GRP, 1994) With Tab Benoit * ''Nice & Warm'' (Justice, 1992) * ''What I Live For'' (Justice, 1994) With Paquito D'Rivera * ''Live at the Keystone Korner'' (Columbia, 1983) – live * ''Taste of Paquito'' (Columbia, 1994) – compilation With

Steve Reid Steve Reid (January 29, 1944 – April 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer who played with Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Kieran Hebden, and Sun Ra. He worked as a session drummer for Motown. Biography Born in ...

* ''Bamboo Forest'' (Sugo, 1994) * ''Water Sign'' (Telarc, 1996) With The Rippingtons * ''Tourist in Paradise'' (GRP, 1989) * ''Welcome to St. James' Club'' (GRP, 1990) * ''Curves Ahead'' (GRP, 1991) * ''Weekend in Monaco'' (GRP, 1992) With Harry Sheppard * ''This-a-Way That-a-Way'' (Justice, 1991) * ''Points of View'' (Justice, 1992) With

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

* ''Yin-Yang'' (Compass, 1999) CD* ''Soul Circus'' (Vanguard, 2005) * ''Palmystery'' (Heads Up International, 2008) – recorded in 2004–07 * ''Words and Tones'' (Vix, 2012) * ''Sward and Stone'' (Vix, 2012) With others * Doug Cameron, ''Rendezvous'' (Higher Octave Music, 1996) * Jesse Dayton, ''Raisin' Cain'' (Justice, 1995) * Bryan Duncan, ''Strong Medicine'' (Modern Art, 1989) * Russ Freeman, ''Holiday'' (GRP, 1995) * Jeff Kashiwa, ''Remember Catalina'' (Fahrenheit, 1995) * Kitaro, ''Dream'' (Geffen, 1992) * Masi, ''Downtown Dreamers'' (Metal Blade, 1988) * Roberto Perera, ''Erotica'' (Epic, 1990) – recorded in 1988 * Ray Price, ''Prisoncer of Love'' (Justice, 2000) *

, ''Lowdown & Up'' (Antone's, 1999) * David Rice, ''Released'' (Justice, 1994) * Shaver, ''Highway of Life'' (Justice, 1996) * Starfighters, ''In-Flight Movie'' (Jive, 1982) * Jethro Tull, ''Roots to Branches'' (EMI, 1995) * Robin Williamson, ''The Old Fangled Tone'' (Pig's Whisker Music, 1999)

Books

* ''Advanced Rock Bass'' (1991) * ''Five String Bass'' (1991) * ''Fretless Bass'' * ''Rock Bass'' (1991) * ''Six String Bass'' (1991) * ''Bass Extremes'' (1993) by Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten

Videos

* ''Fretless Bass'' REH (1992) * ''Bass Extremes: Live'' (1994) * ''The Day Bass Players Took Over the World, Victor Wooten, Oteil Burbridge'' (2006) * ''Warwick: Fuss on the Buss 1, featuring Larry Graham, Bootsy, TM Stevens, etc.'' (2009) * ''Warwick: Fuss on the Buss II, featuring Bootsy, Robert Trujillo, Lee Sklar, Verdine White, etc.'' (2011) * ''Warwick: Fuss on the Buss III, featuring Ralph Armstrong, Larry Graham, Jonas Hellborg, Ryan Martini, TM Stevens, etc.'' (2012)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Steve Living people 1960 births 20th-century American bass guitarists People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina The Rippingtons members