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David Finck

Music can only be described with words, but for David Finck, music is a language all its own. “I hear music as a spoken language,” he says. “When I listen, I’m conscious of the breaths that are taken during a phrase; I hear the vocabulary, the inflection, and the syntax. I listen for all of it.”It’s a statement that makes sense given David’s skills as a bassist and the diverse artists he has played and recorded with " among them; Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, Sinead O’Connor, Natalie Cole, Rod Stewart, Herbie Hancock, Ivan Lins, Al Jarreau, Tony Bennett, Paquito D’Rivera, George Michael, Rosemary Clooney and Andre Previn, to name just a few.

Over the years, David has become one of the most sought-after musicians in Manhattan, equally revered for his work in jazz, popular, Brazilian and classical music. He’s bridged musical diversity through his skills — but even more so through his ability to hear music as language in an almost literal sense. Commented the award winning composer and songwriter Alan Bergman, “When a bass has the sound of authority, when it is a testament to time, when it has a certain wisdom in its tone, if you follow the fingers to the arms and then to the rest of the body, you'll see this all belongs to David Finck. He makes the bass sing and swing. As a sometime singer, to have David behind me is a source of security and pleasure. He is an accompanist who supports everything in a solid, original way. He is a great musician and a fine fellow.”

Becoming a musician was genetically pre-ordained for David " both of his parents are involved in music, and he began playing bass at the age of 10. While still in high school, David studied with several of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s double bassists before he began college at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. After graduation, he settled in New York City — he’d barely unpacked when he left the city to tour with Woody Herman and his Thundering Herd. Over the years, David has played with those above-mentioned and many more; his discography lists more than 100 recordings including Platinum and Gold selling records with Rod Stewart, Natalie Cole, and Elton John. From the legendary Grammy Award winning music producer Phil Ramone, “A fine and unique musician, he can drive a Rhythm section or create a sensitive solo. He has done a lot of sessions from Previn, Cincotti and pop music. The most important point is his humor and his love of his work.”

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Album Review

Michael Davis - Hip-Bone Big Band: Open City

Read "Open City" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Michael Davis is an accomplished trombonist who has had a long career of live and studio work accompanying a varied roster of big-name jazz and rock talents such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Mintzer, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, and Sarah Vaughan. He is also an established solo artist and composer who leads an imposing large ensemble, the Hip-Bone Big Band. The big band's second album is an exuberant affair which reflects the joy of getting back ...

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Album Review

David Finck: BASSic Instinct

Read "BASSic Instinct" reviewed by Jack Bowers


There's so much variety on BASSic Instinct, bassist David Finck's sixth recording as leader, that it's almost like grooving on half a dozen or more albums for the price of one. Ensembles run the gamut from duo to octet, with vocals added on three of its thirteen engaging numbers. Besides governing the rhythm, composing three of the numbers and arranging all of them, Finck shoulders melodic duties on five tracks and solos effectively throughout. As suits his temperament, every number ...

24
Album Review

Jim Snidero: Strings

Read "Strings" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Another saxophonist with strings. Ever since Charlie Parker first took the plunge in 1950, a goodly number of disciples has followed suit. Alto player Jim Snidero's deep dive, Strings, was actually recorded two decades ago, in 2001, and released to widespread acclaim on Milestone Records. The remastered edition, on Savant Records, is even better, thanks to enhanced sound and arco bass parts that breathe new life into Snidero's engaging compositions (he wrote and arranged every number save the lone standard, ...

5
Album Review

Jim Snidero: Strings

Read "Strings" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The initial recording of Jim Snidero's Strings ran into a roadblock. The session was scheduled at System Two Studios in Brooklyn, New York, on September 11th 2001. That was the date the world changed, with airplanes flying into buildings in New York City. Strings was postponed. The music eventually came together in October and November of that year, and saw its release on Milestone Records in 2003. Now, in 2021, after nearly a decade out of print, the ...

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Album Review

John Fedchock NY Sextet: Into The Shadows

Read "Into The Shadows" reviewed by Jack Bowers


If a sextet--or a group of any size--is to be measured by the sum of its parts, trombonist John Fedchock's NY Sextet succeeds with flying colors, as it embodies half a dozen of the finest jazz musicians the New York City area has to offer. As we know, however, an inclusive appraisal rests on far more than that, else the musicians could simply set their instruments onstage and await the applause. Yes, musical talent surely provides an ...

5
Album Review

John Fedchock NY Sextet: Into The Shadows

Read "Into The Shadows" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Trombonist John Fedchock's fluid slide work, celebrated composing chops and arranger's ingenuity have been put to good use in settings both large and very small in recent years, with a big band set and two live quartet records dropping between 2015 and the present. But rather than choose one of those ensemble formats over the other this time around, he looks to a middle ground with his NY Sextet. Painting with a three-horn frontline and rhythm section, ...

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Album Review

David Finck: Bassically Jazz

Read "Bassically Jazz" reviewed by Dr. Judith Schlesinger


It's hardly news that David Finck is an eloquent, inventive, and swinging bassist, with a long line of illustrious projects and collaborators. Finck has been on hundreds of top recordings and stages, performing with everyone from Rosemary Clooney to Ivan Lins and George Michael, and was the favorite bassist of the great Andre Previn. While Finck is usually celebrated for his tasteful playing, Bassically Jazz highlights his considerable talents as arranger and producer. This third release under his own name ...

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Performance / Tour

Bob Sheppard and Randy Brecker Added as Special Guests David Finck Quartet CD Release at the Jazz Standard

Bob Sheppard and Randy Brecker Added as Special Guests David Finck Quartet CD Release  at the Jazz Standard

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

This just in: Tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard and trumpeter Randy Brecker added as special guests! David Finck Quartet Featuring David Finck- bass Lewis Nash- drums Joe Locke- vibes Bill O'Connell- piano special guests: Tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard and trumpeter Randy Brecker Monday, March 31st Sets At 7:30 & 9:30PM Music charge: $15 Jazz Standard is located at 116 E. 27th Street between Lexington and ...

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Performance / Tour

David Finck Quartet Celebrating the Release of His New Soundbrush CD Future Day Monday, March 31st at the Jazz Standard

David Finck Quartet Celebrating the Release of His New Soundbrush CD Future Day Monday, March 31st at the Jazz Standard

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

David Finck Quartet Featuring David Finck- bass Lewis Nash- drums Joe Locke- vibes Bill O'Connell- piano special guests: TBA Monday, March 31st Sets At 7:30 & 9:30PM Music charge: $15 Jazz Standard is located at 116 E. 27th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues in Manhattan For reservations call Jazz Standard at 212.576.2232. One of today's most versatile and in-demand bassists, David Finck has developed into ...

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Recording

A New Kind of Blue with Randy Brecker, Andy Snitzer, David Finck, Victor Lewis and more!

A New Kind of Blue with Randy Brecker, Andy Snitzer, David Finck, Victor Lewis and more!

Source: All About Jazz

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the release of “Kind of Blue" and Gary Guthrie has plied his “what if" curiosity by producing one of the more intriguing jazz records of 2004 - A New Kind of Blue, a fresh version of Miles Davis' classic. Featuring recent Grammy winner Randy Brecker channeling the spirit of Davis, Guthrie's studio group - dubbed “g.org" (pronounced “g - dot - org") - stretches the “New Blue" well past the 45-minute limits of ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Heatin' Up

Stringtime Jazz
2024

buy

Open City

Self Produced
2023

buy

BASSic Instinct

Burton Avenue Music
2021

buy

Into The Shadows

Summit Records
2020

buy

Bassically Jazz

Burton Avenue Music
2019

buy

Moon And Sand

From: Heatin' Up
By David Finck

Falling Forward

From: Pastimes (From Times Past)
By David Finck

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