Bass Player: Robert Hurst

ROBERT HURST, A 1982 NEA PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR AWARDEE, WHO IMMEDIATELY MATRICULATED TO INDIANA UNIVERSITY, HAS EVOLVED INTO ONE OF THE MOST IN-DEMAND AND TOP TEN POLLS RANKED BASSIST OF THIS CENTURY. 

A Detroit native, Hurst has enjoyed a stellar career spanning 30 years, and is a highly respected and well recognized composer, electric and acoustic bassist, educator, recording artist, and business man. His cultivation into a membership of talented musicians from around the world was fostered by lengthy tours and GRAMMY® Award winning recordings featuring: Sir Paul McCartney, Charles Lloyd, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, Harry Connick Jr., Terrence Blanchard, Tony Williams, Nicholas Payton, Sting, Carl Allen, the legendary Pharaoh Sanders, Barbara Streisand, Willie Nelson, Yo Yo Ma, Ravi Coltrane, Chris Botti and Diana Krall. Robert Hurst has performed on over 150 diverse and critically acclaimed recordings. A select group of these productions have garnered him performances yielding seven GRAMMY® Awards, several RIAA ® certified- Multi-Platinum and Gold recordings whilst his own seven recordings as a Bandleader have all generated Top Ten and Five Star recognition around the Globe. It is probable that you have identified Hurst amongst the jazz world’s most promising new groups and established artists; however, you may also recognize Robert Hurst as the inaugural bassist in the house band of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno for eight seasons, from 1992 to 1999. His work in performing, directing, arranging, and composing on the NBC program were highlighted with four EMMY® Awards in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999.   Robert‘s music, which transcends genre while keeping the improvisational genius and fascination of jazz glowing at its center, has also penned original music scores for several films including: “The Wood”- MTV/ Paramount Productions, “Brown Sugar”- Fox Films. Hurst appears on over 30 Major Motion Film & Video Soundtracks and has featured solos and performances captured on Block Busters: “Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen,” and “Good Night, and Good Luck “the soundtrack, featuring Dianne Reeves, on Concord Records (A 2006 Grammy Awardee- Jazz Vocal). As a result of Hurst’s virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique multi-lingual styling, he has been recognized as a huge, authoritative presence in the music industry. Adored by students, critics, master musicians and fellow educators alike, Robert Hurst has expanded his reach of influence and presently serves as a dedicated Associate Professor of Music, with Tenure, and the Director of Small Jazz Ensembles in the Department of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Ann Arbor. In addition to his activities as a full-time professor of music, globetrotting bandleader and sideman and fulfilling ongoing requests as a special guest performer & visiting arts fellow to over 40 Institutions and counting, Hurst maintains membership on the ISIM Advisory Council, has written skill and exercise materials published for the Woodshed Master Class Series in DownBeat Magazine, and has thoughtfully served, since 2002, on the Board of Directors for The John and Alice Coltrane Foundation. Robert returns triumphant to the CD scene with his newest release and third consecutive Critic’s Top Pick (2011-2014): “BoB: a Palindrome” 2013. “Bob Ya Head”, (Nationally Ranked #9 on CMJ charts, 2011) and “Unrehurst” Vol. 2, (Nationally Ranked Top Ten Jazz CD for 2011)

Robert Hurst discography

• Bob: a Palindome, 2013″
• Bob Ya Head, 2011
• Unrehurst, Vol. 2 2011
• Unrehurst, Vol. 1 2002
• Family Album, Volume One, (Unreleased)
• Robert Hurst: One for Namesake, 1993
• Robert Hurst Presents: “Robert Hurst”, 1992

Wynton Marsalis

• J-Mood (Grammy Awardee), 1986
• Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1 (Grammy Awardee 1991 & RIAA-Gold 1994), 1991
• Live at Blues Alley, 1988, 1991
• Marsalis Standard Time, Intimacy Calling, Vol. II, 1986, 1991
• Marsalis Standard Time, Resolution of Romance, Vol. III, 1990
• Thick in the South: Soul Gestures in Southern Blue, V, 1998, 1991
• Trio, 2004

Branford Marsalis

• The Steep Anthology, 2004
• Renaissance, 1986
• Crazy People Music, 1990
• The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born, 1991
• I Hear You Twice the First Time (Grammy Awardee), 1992
• Buckshot La Fonque, 1994
• Mo Better Blues Soundtrack (Grammy Nominated), 1991. Jazz Thing: Kenny Kirland, Robert, Hurst, Gangstarr
• Stolen Moments: Red, Hot & Cool, GRP – Various Artists, 1993

Harry Connick, Jr.

• “20” (Grammy Awardee 1991), 1991

Donald Brown

• Born to be Blue, 2013
• Fast Forward to the Past, 2008
• Early Bird, 1995
• People Music, 1992

Yo-Yo Ma

• Songs of Joy & Peace, 2008

Ellis Marsalis

• Ellis Marsalis Trio, 1990
• Whistle Stop, 1993

Tony Williams

• Native Heart, 1990
• Best of Tony Williams, 1985

OTB

• Out of the Blue, 1985
• Inside Track, 1986, 1990

Michael Buble’

• It’s Time, 2005 (RIAA-Gold 2005) (RIAA-Platinum 2005)
• Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, “Too Close for Comfort”, Verve, 2007

Chris Botti

• To Love Again: The Duets, 2005 (2006 Grammy Awardee)
• Live in Boston CD/DVD, 2009 (Best Long Form Music Vide Grammy Nominee + Best Pop Instrumental Nominee)
• This is Chris Botti, (2011)
• Impressions, 2012 (2013 Grammy Awardee)

Sir Paul McCartney

• Kisses on the Bottom, 2012 (2013 Grammy Awardee)
• The Christmas Song, Holiday Rules | Various Artists, 2012

Diana Krall

• Christmas Songs, Featuring the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Verve, 2005 (No. 1. Billboard, RIAA-GOld 2006) & (Juno Awardee, Xmas CD of the year 2006)
• Live in Montreal, Canada – DVD, Verve, 2005 (Juno Awardee, DVD of the year 2006)
• From This Moment On, Verve, 2006 (Grammy Nominated 2006 & Juno Awardee, best vocal jazz album 2007)

Kenny Garrett

• Beyond the Wall, Nonesuch Records, 2006 (Grammy Nominated 2006)

Luis Miguel

• Navidades, Warner Music Latina, 2006 (No 2 Billboard, Latin Album-12/06)

Greg Osby

• St. Louis Shoes, 2003
• Public, 2004
• Live at the Jazz Standard, 2005

Bette Midler

• Bette Midler sings Peggy Lee, 2005

Lou Rawls

• Seasons 4 U, 1998

Chihiro Yamanaka

• Outside by the Swing, 2005

Diane Reeves

• That Day, 1997

Kevin Eubanks

• Live at Bradley’s, 1994

Miki Coltrane

• I think of You, 1997

Bill Mobley

• New Light, 2002
• Moodscape, 2007

Wayne Kramer’s Lexington Arts Ensemble

• Lexington, 2007

Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, Los Angeles

• Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, 2007

Various Artists

• Jazzy Wonderland, 1990
• Columbia Jazz: Limited Edition, 1994
• Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool, 1994
• RCA Victor 80th Anniversary [Collector’s Edition], 1997
• Fish-Tree-Water Blues, 1999
• Live at the Baked Potato, Vol. 1, 2001
• Blue Note ’86, 2007

Jill Scott

• Collaborations, 2007

Geri Allen

• The Nurturer, 1990

Patti La Belle

• Miss Patti’s Christmas, 2007

Lisa Lovbrand

• Embraceable, 2007, 2010

Karriem Riggins

• The Virtuoso Experience, 2009

Scott Kinsey

• Kinesthetics, 2007

David Virelles

• “In Production” 2013

Isley Brothers

• I’ll Be Home for Christmas, 2007

Willie Nelson

• Willie and the Wheel, 2009

Barbara Streisand

• Love is the Answer, 200(RIAA-Gold 2010 & Grammy Nominated 2010

The attached transcription is Hurst’s bass part to the tune ‘In The Afterglow’, a Wynton Marsalis tune from the 1991 album, ‘Standard Time Volume 1’. Subtle ballad playing is often considered to be a relatively easy part of the repertoire but listen to these lines and you can hear how sophisticated phrasing can become even at these slow tempos.