Primary Instrument: Bass
Born in Malaysia, raised in Australia and now living in New York City, Linda began playing piano at four, then classical bassoon in high-school. At fifteen, Linda began playing the electric bass and in 2002 she was accepted into the jazz program at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and started taking lessons on double-bass.
Linda was a James Morrison Scholarship Finalist in 2003 and in 2004 was a winner of the IAJE Sisters in Jazz collegiate competition - performing at the IAJE Conference that year. She also received an honorary mention at the 2009 Thelonious Monk Bass Competition.
She graduated with first-class honours from W.A.A.P.A, and received the award for the best graduation recital. Her honours thesis is titled, “A New Approach to Rhythmic Bass Improvisation: an exploration of rhythmic devices used by Dave Holland and the rhythmic aspects of North Indian Classical Music.”
In April 2006 Linda attended the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program, the Banff program for Creative Improvisation in May 2007 and the Steans Institute in 2008.
Linda received the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s award in 2008 performing at the Allen Room before Suzanne Vega and Judy Collins. Linda completed her Masters at the Manhattan School of Music in 2008 studying with Jay Anderson, John Riley, Phil Markowitz, Dave Liebman and Rodney Jones. She now teaches there and conducts jazz videoconference master- classes for high-schools around the US.
She is an active double bassist, electric bassist and composer, composing music for short films including the Student Academy Award nominated film “Wian Bu” about the rape of Korean comfort women in World War II. Her next film- scoring project is a documentary “An Australian Citizen’s Diary” about a Rwandan refugee now living in Perth.
Linda has performed with the likes of Slide Hampton, TS Monk, Nathan Davis, George Cables, James Morrison, Tony Gould, George Cables, Nasheet Waits, Max Sharam, JD Walter, Joel Frahm, Billy Kilson, Steve Wilson and Billy Childs.
She has just released her debut trio album “Entry” with Obed Calvaire and Ambrose Akinmusire which has received rave reviews and is one of Vijay Iyer’s top ten albums of 2009.
