Bob Hurst – Bass

Robert L. Hurst III (born October 4, 1964) is an American jazz bassist and educator.

Hurst played guitar early in his career before concentrating on bass. He performed with the jazz group Out of the Blue in 1985 and also did work with musicians including Tony Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Harry Connick Jr., Geri Allen, Russell Malone, and Steve Coleman. From 1986 to 1991, Hurst played in Wynton Marsalis’s ensemble and played with Branford Marsalis in the early 1990s. He was also a member of The Tonight Show Band with Jay Leno from 1992 to 1999. His 1993 debut as a leader, Robert Hurst Presents, reached No. 13 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. He currently teaches jazz bass at the University of Michigan.

Hurst has also recorded with a range of musicians that includes Paul McCartney, Charles Lloyd, Dave Brubeck, Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Sting, Carl Allen, Pharoah Sanders, Barbra Streisand, Willie Nelson, Yo-Yo Ma, Ravi Coltrane, Chris Botti, and Diana Krall.

Hurst has cited bassists Ray Brown and Ron Carter as influences.

(biographical information Wikipedia)

This is the complete Hurst bass performance of the ballad ‘Melōdiqúe’ from the 1986 Wynton Marsalis album, ‘J Mood’. Some interesting compositional choices in terms of bar lengths but a nice thing to play.