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Jacob William

Born and raised in India, Jacob arrived via rare routes to play on the vast fields of Jazz and other creatively improvised and composed music. Jacob grew-up in a syncretic milieu; he attended parochial school and traveled extensively from a very young age. His earliest years in music were spent singing in choirs and being engaged in informal learning of a wide array of diverse hybrid music and playing various instruments. In his teens, Jacob started playing the bass guitar and soon began playing concerts and festivals all over India in the company of many forward-looking elder musicians who had a particularly deep interest in Jazz. Jacob moved to the U.S. in 1991 after receiving a scholarship to study music.

In 2001, Jacob received a Master of Arts in Music degree from Wesleyan University, where his studies and work combined ethnomusicology, world-music and experimental composition under  Anthony BraxtonNeely Bruce and Alvin Lucier.  He also studied South-Indian Carnatic vocal music with T. Viswanathan and percussion music with Ramanad Raghavan and David Nelson. During 1998-1999, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music and studied in the department of Third Stream Music / Contemporary Improvisation under Ran Blake and studied the bass with Cecil McBee and John LockwoodIn 1997 
he earned a Bachelor of music degree from Berklee College of music, completing his studies focused on Jazz Bass performance under Bruce Gertz, Whit Browne and Rich Appleman while studying Theory, Composition and Arranging. During this time, he also participated in Kenny Werner and Bob Brookmeyer master classes in composition and improvisation. He also privately studied jazz improvisation with John Laporta, Hal Crook and Charlie Banacos.

Jacob has worked with a diverse range of renowned personalities in Jazz and World-Music arenas such as, Abraham K. AdzenyahLouiz Banks, Ranjit Barot, Maynard Ferguson,  Joe Hunt,  Jay HoggardRudresh MahanthappaCharlie MarianoGustavo Ovalles,  Len 'Boogsie' SharpeOmar Sosa among many others. He has also appeared in concert halls, festivals, clubs, studios and other venues in Asia, Europe and the United States, as well as on Indian National Television and Radio DRS (Zurich). Jacob was also founding member of the group J.E.R.M. with drummer Ed Nicholson, saxophonist Rolf Schlonvogt and pianist Michael Beck with whom he recorded and toured in the US and Europe between 1998 and 2003.

Jacob has contributed to over 20 recordings; some of which have been released on labels such as WarnerIntuitionMagnasound, and Not Two, among others. In 2009, Jacob's Quartet recording titled Secondary Deviations was released internationally by Swedish record label Ayler

Jacob has also performed with Allan ChaseTom HallNeil LeonardDave Bryant, Croix Galipault, George GarzoneJorrit DjikstraJoe MorrisKen VandermarkNate WooleyForbes GrahamAmit HeriJim HobbsJeff GalindoSteve LantnerPandelis KarayorgisLaurence CookLuther Gray, Chris BowmanJunko FujiwaraJerry SabatiniJeff SongCurt NewtonEric RosenthalSyd SmartGlynis LomonJon DamianEric HofbauerGarrison FewellJason RobinsonAndria NicodemouBill LoweRoyal HartiganCharlie KohlhaseNoah KaplanJoe MoffettBob GullottiEric Zinman, among others.

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Gnome Notes

Jacob William Quartet: Secondary Deviations

Read "Jacob William Quartet: Secondary Deviations" reviewed by Chris Rich


Jacob William made his way to the Boston area from Chennai, India. He made the music school rounds well after formative years in the homeland among his peers there. He cites reed multi- instrumentalist Anthony Braxton as an important mentor and makes a fabric of community in Boston over the course of his sojourns through Wesleyan, Berklee and New England Conservatory.He is now extending his participation in higher education with positions at Bridgewater State University and University of ...

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Performance / Tour

Outpost 186 March Highlights: Jacob William

Outpost 186 March Highlights: Jacob William

Source: Chris Rich

Jacob William returns his Para Quintet to Outpost 186 on Saturday March 24th after an interlude of gigs in other dubious roosts. Now that he is once more in the cozier confines of the Outpost, free of the concerns attending tavern work, he'll shine at his usual level of dazzle with his astute and earnest compadres. Laurence Cook will once again demonstrate his agile defiance of the aging process til the walls well ring as sonic cascades, thunderclaps and whirlwinds ...

“ Jacob is a true breath of fresh air......special spirit.....one of my favorite musicians ..... formidable bass skills...rare and wonderful...inspiring and motivational...one of the most exciting I'd ever experienced." ( Joe Hunt - 4/2/04) "...refined tone... fluid... bassist William..." J. Nannen (Jazz Review) 'William is at the heart of these pieces, working with Galipaut to push the music forward. He never overwhelms the soloist and frequently provides a running commentary to complement what they’re doing....compositions (Welcome Steps / Palm Dance / Rishi Ways / Upload Method / Repetition

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