Rodney Whitaker

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Rodney Whitaker

Rodney Thomas Whitaker (born February 22, 1968 in Detroit ) is an American jazz bassist and university professor.

Life

Rodney Whitaker first learned violin and switched to double bass at the age of 13. He first played with Donald Washington and studied at Wayne State University , also with Robert Gladstone , bassist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and with trumpeter Marcus Belgrave . In the 1990s he worked a. a. with Terence Blanchard , Orrin Evans , Kenny Garrett ( Pursuance , 1996), Wycliffe Gordon , Antonio Hart , Roy Hargrove ( With the Tenors of Our Time , 1994), Joe Lovano , Kevin Mahogany , Eric Reed , Joe Temperley , Mark Whitfield , Walter Blanding and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra together. In 1999 he worked on Wynton Marsalis ' album The Marciac Suite .

Whitaker also recorded a number of albums under his own name for the DIW and CrissCross labels from 1995 onwards , on which musicians such as Nicholas Payton , Wallace Roney , Ron Blake , James Carter , Stefon Harris , Wycliffe Gordon and Wynton Marsalis played. He is also director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Jazz Orchestra . In addition to his involvement in numerous record productions as a sideman, Whitaker has worked on film scores such as China , directed by Jeff Wray in 2002.

Whitaker has taught on the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) program and is now professor of bass and director of jazz studies at the College of Music at Michigan State University . He has also taught numerous master classes at Duke University , Howard University , the University of Iowa , the University of Michigan , New York New School , Lincoln Center and the Detroit International Jazz Festival . He is also involved in the development of jazz music education within the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the Juilliard Institute of Jazz .

In 2006 Whitaker was nominated for a Juno Award , Canada's Grammy equivalent , for his work on the album "Let Me Tell You About My Day," (Alma Records).

Discographic notes

  • Children of the Light (DIW, 1995) with Nicholas Payton, Wallace Roney
  • Hidden Kingdom (DIW, 1996) with James Carter, Ron Blake
  • The Brooklyn Session: Ballads and Blues (CrissCross, 1998) with Wycliffe Gordon, Stefon Harris
  • Yesterday Today and Tomorrow (Sirocco Jazz, 1999) with Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Dianne Reeves
  • When We Find Ourselves Alone ( Mack Avenue Records , 2014) with Bruce Barth , Antonio Hart , Greg Hutchinson , Rockelle Fortin

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Whitaker, Rodney
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Whitaker, Rodney Thomas (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz bassist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit