Dave Baron | Bass
“In case the listener needs a reminder of how wonderful an upright bass can sound, I hope that they will take the opportunity to listen to Dave Baron.”
— Ron Carter
Everyone has a story to tell. Jazz bassist Dave Baron lets his instrument do the talking. An in-demand "musicians' musician," Baron is the quintessential "big voice," powering up the rhythm sections of some of the world's top groups, and defining that 21st century sound. He has demonstrated his skills supporting such jazz luminaries as Herbie Hancock, Eric Reed, Peter Bernstein, Joe Magnarelli, Bruce Barth, Joe Lovano, Mary Stallings, Jimmy Greene, and Bill Evans (saxophonist), among others.
Dave performs all over the world, with groups in an ever-expanding traverse of the globe including Italy, Australia, Russia, Korea, Grand Cayman, and Romania.
A talent forged in the Conservatory Age, by way first of the Eastman School of Music and then The Juilliard School under the tutelage of the legendary bassist Ron Carter, Dave first heard Jazz at the age of 12 while he was a paperboy for the Hartford Courant in his home town of Simsbury, CT.
On rainy days, his father would drive him around the neighborhood along his paper route, with the music of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong playing on the radio. In his early teens, Dave played the cello and studied classical repertoire. The cello was not exactly a Jazz instrument, and, as his passion for Jazz grew, the lure of the upright bass called.
Baron was accepted to the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts during his junior year of high school. He became a protégé of saxophonist Jimmy Greene. Greene introduced Dave to bassist Reuben Rogers. On weekends, Dave would travel into New York City to take bass lessons with Rogers. He decided to pursue creating music with a purpose.
Baron was accepted by the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he received his Bachelors of Music. He was accepted by the Juilliard School for his master’s degree in 2010 where he studied with bass legend Ron Carter.
Baron performed with many of the top musicians and music educators there, most notably with Herbie Hancock at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center as part of a concert held for the 75th birthday celebration of Ron Carter.
Dave was selected as one of fifteen semi-finalists from around the world for the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition. As part of the competition, he performed with pianist Geoff Keezer and drummer Carl Allen at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
He was awarded second place at the International Society of Bassists’ Scott LaFaro Jazz Competition.
Today, Dave Baron is a performer in high demand on the New York scene and around the world. His debut album, “Introducing Dave Baron” debuted in 2015 on the OutsideIn Music label, and is available on iTunes and at other major music outlets worldwide.
He is a man on a mission: To bring the absolute joy and freedom of Jazz, the music for which he is so passionate, to new fans of his generation, and generations to come.
More From Dave:
