Home » Jazz Musicians » Gary Wang

Gary Wang

Acoustic bassist Gary Wang has been living and playing professionally in New York for the past eight years. Growing up in the Boston and San Francisco areas, he studied classical piano for several years from the age of 6, but was more interested in playing guitar in local rock groups. As a young teenager, however, he became fascinated with jazz and switched to acoustic bass at age 17. While in high school, he competed twice in the Berklee School of Music High school jazz competition with the Andover High School small ensemble, winning 2nd place in 1989 and 1st place in 1990.

In 1991, Gary attended Columbia University. He graduated in 1995 magna cum laude with a B.A. degree in Computer Science. While in college, he studied classical bass with Linda McKnight of the Manhattan School of Music and played in some of the school classical and jazz ensembles. It was only after graduating from college, however, that he decided to dedicate himself to pursuing jazz music full time.

Since 1995, Gary has worked with in the bands of T.S. Monk, Don Braden, Stanley Turrentine, Willie Williams, Dena DeRose, David Hazeltine, Jon Gordon, Matt Wilson, Anat Fort, Vinson Valega, and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Ambassadors band, among many others. He has also worked with or played alongside with many of the great musicians in jazz such as, Steve Wilson, Eddie Henderson, Vincent Herring, Geri Allen, Mark Turner, Kenny Werner, Roy Hargrove, Nnenna Freelon, Dianne Reeves, Ben Monder, Patricia Barber, Jane Monheit, Eric Alexander, Bobby Watson, Howard Johnson, Ronnie Mathews, and Don Sickler, among others.

Gary has also appeared in many of the major venues in New York City, including Iridium, Sweet Basil, Jazz Standard, Birdland, Lincoln Center, and Town Hall, as well as many of the major clubs in other cities in the U.S., such as the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, The Kennedy Center and Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., and Yoshi’s in Oakland, among many others.

Gary has toured extensively with various bands in the U.S. and internationally, traveling to Europe, India, Canada, Japan, South America and the Middle East. He has played many of the major festivals in the world, including among others, Newport/JVC, Texaco, North Sea, Umbria, Montreal, Cork, Atlanta, Litchfield, Jazz Yatra in India and Montreux.

In 2002, Gary was selected, along with saxophonist Virginia Mayhew and drummer Allison Miller, to participate in a U.S. State Department Jazz Ambassadors tour.

Read more

Tags

Album Review

Anat Fort Trio: The Berlin Sessions

Read "The Berlin Sessions" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Non credo esista oggi nel jazz un altro piano trio che operi stabilmente da 20 anni. La pianista israeliana Anat Fort l'ha formato nei primi anni duemila col bassista Gary Wang e il batterista Roland Schneider, registrando notevoli album per l'ECM (uno ampliato al nostro Gianluigi Trovesi) e la Sunnyside. Come altri dischi usciti nel 2023, questo è stato registrato sul finire della pandemia covid, dopo i mesi d'isolamento forzato che hanno visto i tre partner confinati ...

11
Album Review

Anat Fort Trio: The Berlin Sessions

Read "The Berlin Sessions" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


"They said nobody makes CDs anymore. So I made a DOUBLE CD with stuff I've never recorded. Ever." So says Israeli pianist Anat Fort. To borrow a term from the United States' 2016 presidential election, Fort “doubled down" on the “nobody makes CDs" thing. Bless her for that. That double CD is The Berlin Sessions, featuring Fort and her longtime trio mates, bassist Gary Wang and drummer Roland Schneider. Fort released her debut recording, ...

Read more articles
108

Performance / Tour

Will Sellenraad & Root Down LIVE @ Detour feat: Victor Lewis, Abraham Burton, Gary Versace(fri), Gary Wang(sat)

Will Sellenraad & Root Down LIVE @ Detour feat: Victor Lewis, Abraham Burton, Gary Versace(fri), Gary Wang(sat)

Source: All About Jazz

get down... Friday, May 20th 9:30pm 1:30am Detour 349 East 13th Street @ 1st Ave. NYC :: 212.533.6212 ***Will Sellenraad & Root Down*** **Abraham Burton- saxophone** **Will Sellenraad- guitar** **Gary Versace- organ** **Victor Lewis- drums** *** Saturday, May 21st 9:30pm 1:30am Detour 349 East 13th Street @ 1st Ave. NYC :: 212.533.6212 ***Will Sellenraad & Root Down***

103

Performance / Tour

Will Sellenraad Trio featuring Eric McPherson & Gary Wang @ Detour NYC

Will Sellenraad Trio featuring Eric McPherson & Gary Wang @ Detour NYC

Source: All About Jazz


Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Berlin Sessions

Sunnyside Records
2023

buy

Radiance

Self Produced
2023

buy

Music For Sextet

Self Produced
2021

buy

The Architects

Next Level
2020

buy

Silent Movie

Anzic Records
2012

buy

Same Song

From: The Architects
By Gary Wang

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.