Steve LaSpina

Born Steven Frank LaSpina on 24 March 1954 in Wichita Falls, Texas, the musician first took up the bass under his father’s guidance, although he could not reach the fingerboard of the upright acoustic model until later childhood. He pursued formal training at university level before continuing his studies in Chicago under Rufus Reid. There he launched his professional career at fifteen, performing alongside Bunky Green and Larry Novak. During the mid- and late 1970s he joined Chet Baker’s ensemble, appeared with Red Norvo, and began a lasting association with Marian McPartland that continued into the mid-1980s and yielded recordings such as Personal Choice. Settling in New York City at the close of the decade, he performed with Mel Lewis’s orchestra and with Stan Getz, while also collaborating at various points with guitarists Jim Hall, Mary Osborne, Jack Wilkins, and Vic Juris. Additional associations included work with Andy LaVerne, Dave Liebman, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Benny Carter, and Bob Brookmeyer. Over the years he has accompanied vocalists including Bill Henderson, Mark Murphy, Susannah McCorkle, Michael Feinstein, and Carol Sloane, and for several years he taught bass and improvisation at New York University and other academic institutions. An established composer, LaSpina presents much of his own relaxed and tuneful material on his leadership dates, most often in a quartet format featuring Billy Drewes on saxophone, Marc Copland or Jim McNeely on piano, and Jeff Hirshfield on drums. Beyond the upright acoustic instrument he also performs on both fretted and fretless electric bass; his style remains fluid and technically assured, supplying lift and forward momentum to any ensemble.