Instructors

Gerald Veasley’s musical odyssey has taken him to the top of the contemporary music world as a bassist, bandleader, composer, producer and educator. His performance as a bassist has been top shelf, as his memorable work with the late, great Grover Washington Jr., Joe Zawinul, and the Jaco Pastorius Big Band attests.

He has recorded and/or performed with many of the world’s top performers in various genres of music such as Chuck Loeb, Special EFX, Pieces of a Dream, McCoy Tyner, Gerald Levert, Teddy Pendergrass, Nnenna Freelon, Philip Bailey, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Phil Perry, Will Downing and Pat Martino.

Gerald currently has a residency at Philadelphia’s most prestigious jazz venue, SOUTH, where he is curator of the “Unscripted Jazz Series”. The series has presented more than 75 events featuring notable guest artists such as Kirk Whalum, Raul Midón, Alex Bugnon, Kim Waters, Keiko Matsui, Maysa, Rick Braun, and Gerald Albright. He is in the process of producing two recording projects, “The Purple House” and a salute to the legacy of The Sound of Philadelphia.

When not collaborating with notable artists, Gerald tours and records with his band, which features talented musicians in their own right. Gerald’s recordings as a bandleader are: Look Ahead, Signs, Soul Control, Love Letters, On The Fast Track, Velvet, Live at The Jazz Base, Your Move and The Electric Mingus Project.

Veasley is on the faculty of the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), where he shares his knowledge of the electric bass and jazz performance. He is founder and artistic director of Gerald Veasley’s Bass BootCamp, which has nurtured a growing army of bassists of all skill levels. Whether performing, recording, collaborating, or teaching, Gerald brings a joyous, polished professionalism to the process of making music.

Joe found his passion for bass in 1983 at age 16 while attending Siena Heights College and later at Washtenaw Community College focusing on jazz. He has studied with great mentors such as Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Marcus Miller and Dan Pliskow.

Joe currently teaches bass privately and also is a member of the John E. Lawrence Band and has recently performed with national jazz artists Jessy J, Eric Marienthal, Chris Standring and Jay Rowe.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Freekbass was an only child who initially wanted to be a magician. He later developed his own obsession for cartoon superheroes and comic books, relating to the underlying themes. Living in Cincinnati exposed Freekbass to genres of music he may have missed otherwise. While most kids were listening to Nirvana and Green Day, he connected with the bottom-heavy sounds coming out of the boom boxes like Zapp and Midnight Star. While working in a music shop to pay off his first electric bass he had in lay-away, he began to study the classics of Larry Graham, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, Parliament and Bootsy with a bass in one hand, and an MPC2000 in the other.

Freekbass has released six full-length CDs, including “Concentrate” (available here for free download) with guests Bootsy Collins, DJ Spooky, Adam Deitch, and Steve Molitz, and “Junkyard Waltz,” which includes guest appearances by Phish bassist Mike Gordon, guitarist Buckethead, keyboard wizard from P-Funk/Talking Heads Bernie Worrell, and is produced by funk legend Bootsy Collins. Also, national music DVD instruction company, The Rock House Method, recently released two Freekbass instructional DVDs “Learn Funk Bass with Freekbass (Level 1 & Level 2)” and TrueFire.com just released the instructional DVD/download “50 Freekbass Licks You Must Know.” In 2010 Freekbass connected with DJ Logic, and Particle keyboardist Steve Molitz to form the funktronica trio, Headtronics.

Going into 2015 Freek has a lot of things on the table. He just released his next album, “Everybody’s Feelin’ Real,” which is produced by Duane Lundy (My Morning Jacket’s Jim James/Ben Sollee) and includes P-Funk/Rubberband keyboardist Razor Sharp Johnson, horn man Skerik, and Trey Anastasio Band vocalist/trumpet Jennifer Hartswick . Also, he was a part of this year’s London Bass Guitar Show in the UK giving a master class and performing. Plus he will be doing extensive touring with his mainstay funk group, “Freekbass & The Bump Assembly,” which also includes Razor Sharp Johnson (Bootsy’s Rubberband/P-Funk) on keys and synths and Rico Lewis (George Clinton & P-Funk) on drums. And just last month, he signed with the esteemed label Ropeadope, which you can read about by clicking here.

Tim Hutson is in high demand as a musician and has traveled the world with artists such as John Legend, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Maysa Leake (formerly of Incognito), Grammy Award winner Regina Belle, Billy Paul, Jeff Majors, Gato Barbieri, Ronnie Laws, Myles Jaye, Cece Peniston, Walter Bell, Kindred the Family Soul, Ray Goodman, and Brown, The Stylistics, The Manhattan’s, Joey Sommerville, Marian Meadows, The Delphonics, Simone (daughter of the great jazz vocalist Nina Simone), Brian Simpson, Oli Silk, Huge Groove, Alex Bugnon, Tom Braxton, Jeff Bradshaw, Jakiem Joyner, Jaguar Wright, Steve Cole, Frank McComb.

Her journey started on the burgeoning music scene in Atlanta, GA after falling in love with the bass guitar while studying Journalism at UC Berkeley. Her career as a bass-player skyrocketed after attending a bass camp led by the legendary Victor Wooten where she was invited to tour with him merely three months after the bass camp.

With limited funds, a heart full of passion and an energy that exudes resilience, she auditioned for Beyoncé and was selected as a band member and assistant Musical Director. While touring and working with the super-star for over 5 years, Divinity appeared on countless television shows including: The Grammy’s, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America with personal highlights including a special performance at The White House for President Barack Obama.

Divinity also acted as the Musical Director for K-Pop sensation, 2NE1 and joined them on their first worldwide New Evolution Tour in 2012. She played The Arsenio Hall Show, 106 and Parkand The Queen Latifah Show with rapper B.o.B. and has backed legends like Patti Labelle, Kelly Rowland, Erykah Badu and Gladys Knight on BET’s Black Girl’s Rock television show.

Despite these appearances with so many legendary and iconic figures, it is in her solo performance Divinity shines the brightest. Her ability to simultaneously play bass guitar while fronting her own band captivates audiences around the world. Her 2012 ‘Roxx Boxx Experience’ received critical acclaim as the ultimate funk mash-up of hip-hop and rock, featuring appearances by Grammy award winning artists and musicians Bootsy Collins and Killa Mike.

2016 has been the year of evolution as Divinity released her highly anticipated album, ‘ImPossible.’ From jazzy riffs to dub bass lines, hip-hop and rock, to straight r&b sensibilities, the resilience, bold and honest approach to the music sets this up to be Divinity’s breakout project. We truly get a sense of the artist she has evolved into and the purpose of her art. The first single, ‘We Are’, was released in 2015, produced by the great Keith Harris and inspired by the late June Jordan, her most influential professor while studying at UC Berkeley.

“We Are is more than a song, it’s the message I want to give to the world. We are the only ones who can positively effect the change we want to see in this world”. -divinity

Rob Smith is a professional bassist, teacher, and clinician. He has taught over 25,000 lessons and has been an instructor at Gerald Veasley’s Bass BootCamp for the past eight years. He won the WMMR Building the Band contest and was previously named Philadelphia’s best rock bassist by Origivation magazine. Rob is currently performing and recording with Dave Weiner, Rob Balducci, and Matthew Landis. He proudly endorses Skjold Basses.

Bass Guitar Impresario, Al Turner, affectionately called “The Burner” returns with his latest record “This Is”, his fifth solo recording! Self-produced, “THIS Is” features upbeat, joyful and melodic tunes and like all of Al’s recordings, the groove is the central theme throughout. Stellar musicians including, Marlon McClain, Tom Braxton, Ron Otis, Dana Davis, Darryl Wakefield, Calvin Rodgers, Jeff Canady, Monty Q. Pollard, Mark Mitchell, Jordache Grant, Darryl Dixon, Rick Watford, Melvin Jones, Mike Burton, Shedly Abraham, Gino Castillo and Eric Willis lend their talent and skill to help tell the musical story of each track.

“Earl Klugh, Bob James and James Jamerson are three of my musical heroes. I have learned so much about melody, production and the groove from these legendary musicians” Al says as he reflects upon some of the influences that helped shape this exciting new recording. As a tribute to his longtime friend and bandmate Earl Klugh, Al does his rendition of the classic “Living Inside Your Love”, which features the beautiful vocal stylings of L’Renee. Al is very excited to share his new music with the world.

Turner is certainly no stranger to the industry and many artists. A bassist since age 12, Turner has played with some of the brightest luminaries in the business. Al is currently the Musical Director for Kem as well as Jazz great, Earl Klugh, and has performed with some of the top names in the music industry. You can hear his cleverly and meticulous bass lines on recordings by Kem, Aretha Franklin, Oleta Adams, Anita Baker, Nancy Wilson, Randy Crawford, Gladys Knight, Bob James, Earl Klugh, Ron Isley, Will Downing and Patti LaBelle to name a few. In addition, Al has written and produced songs for recording artists Earl Klugh, Bob James, Kem, Tim Bowman, Edgar Wallace, Jr., Guy Ensley & Ron Otis. Always in demand, Al has toured the world with Earl Klugh, Kem, Bob James, Cheryl Lynn, Oleta Adams, David Benoit and Everette Harp. Television performances include, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The View, The Steve Harvey Show, Good Morning America, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Mo’Nique Show, as well as several performances at the White House. Al’s artistry exceeds category and has been featured on many television and radio commercials.Driven by artistic mastery, Al Turner “The Burner” is an A-List side man and has performed hundreds of live shows nationally and internationally and continues to amaze and thrill audiences who will undoubtedly find themselves grooving to “This Is”.

Grammy Award-winning bassist Bakithi Kumalo’s musical career has been characterized by a series of serendipitous events, ranging from his debut gig as a precocious seven-year-old filling in for the bassist in his uncle’s band to his enlistment into Paul Simon’s group during the recording sessions of the pop star’s landmark Graceland album in 1985.

Kumalo creates a singular electric fretless bass sound teeming with double stops that sound like human voices and the African grooves of his homeland, which has garnered him a stellar reputation as a sideman. In addition to touring with Simon, he’s also recorded and/or toured with Gloria Estefan, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Chico Ceasar, Laurie Anderson, Gerald Albright, Miriam Makeba, Randy Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., Bob James, Angelique Kidjo, Jon Secada, Josh Groban and Chris Botti.

Kumalo has also been active as a solo artist, with five albums to his credit — 1998’s San’ Bonan, 2000’s In Front of My Eyes, 2008’s Transmigration, 2011’s Change, and 2016’s After All These Years.