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Abe Laboriel

Abraham Laboriel is a world renowned bassist and the founder of the band KOINONIA. He was born and raised in Mexico City where he received his earliest musical training from his father, a gifted guitarist and composer. His first recording was at age 10 as part of a "rock and roll" group called "Los Traviesos". After performing in Mexico thru his teen years as both a musician and an actor, he moved to Boston where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the Berklee School of Music in 1972. During that time he recorded with faculty member, famed vibraphonist Gary Burton. He traveled with Johnny Mathis, Michel Legrand, and Henry Mancini and moved to Los Angeles in 1976 to begin a very diverse and fruitful studio recording career.

He has performed and recorded with many jazz artists including George Benson, Larry Carlton, the Crusaders, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Grusin, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Al Jarreau, John Klemmer, Manhattan Transfer, Joe Pass, Joe Sample, Lalo Shifrin, Diane Schuur, Sara Vaughan, and Joe Zawinul. He recorded with Lee Ritenour, Ernie Watts, and Alex Acuna in a band called "Friendship" and has continued to record and travel with Lee and Dave Grusin for GRP Records. He also has been much in demand for work with artists like Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Jeffrey Osborne, Chaka Khan, Robbie Robertson, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins, Ruben Blades and countless others. He was in fact voted by his peers in the LA Chapter of NARAS as the "Most Valuable Player" in the Bass chair for the three years in a row, joining Ray Brown and Chuck Domanico in that honor.

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Album Review

Abe Laboriel / Peter Donald / Tom Ranier: 3Prime

Read "3Prime" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Pianist Tom Ranier, bassist Abe Laboriel and drummer Peter Donald are 3Prime, and the music they produce on this self–titled album, recorded live at Rocco in Bel Air, California, is Grade A Choice. While these are brash and assertive players who don’t tiptoe around the changes, the result of their endeavor is so synchronous that one would assume (correctly) that they’d been playing together for years. In other words, besides good hands they also have good ears and use them ...

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Christian de Mesones
bass, electric

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

3Prime

Fuzzy Music
2002

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