Behind the Band: David Wong, an Ace on the Bass

Early on, in my second post on this blog, I wrote about two young bassists I had seen at Small's Jazz Club, Corcoran Holt with Ethan Iverson, and David Wong with John Mitchell. I said at the time that one of the greatest things about hearing live music is the chance to really hear the bass player, who often is lost on CDs and unless a leader, unknown to the average jazz fan.  While I mentioned some of David Wong's recordings then, I wanted to return to him today, having thought about the excitement of his live performances while listening to another great performance with Pete Zimmer called "Chillin', Live at the Jazz Factory" (Tippin' Records 2008). While live, it still cannot capture the feeeling of actually watching David in action.

Over the past couple of years I have been fortunate to see a number of shows in the New York area with bands featuring David on bass, and I am always deeply impressed with his dexterity, resonant sound, and interplay with the other members either providing rhytmic support, coloration, or expressive solos. He performs regularly at Smalls with a number of trios and quartets, and has been playing with such notables as Wessell  "Warm Daddy" Anderson and Aaron Diehl to name just two performances.

David Wong was born and raised in New York City and is a graduate of the LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts. In 2004, he graduated from the Juilliard School in classical music. He has studied classical bass with Orin O'Brien of the New York Philharmonic, and jazz bass with legends Ron Carter, Ben Wolfe, and John Clayton. From 2003 to 2004, as part of the Eric Reed Trio, he performed in Europse and the United States, and with Jazz at Lincoln Center.  

He is currently a member of Roy Haynes' Fountain of Youth band  as well as bassist with the Heath Brothers quartet, led by jazz legends Jimmy and Albert "Tootie" Heath. David has also beeen performing with singer Sachal Vasandani, and pianists Jeb Patton. and Dan Nimmer, among others.

David has an impressive discography for a player only in his first decade of professional playing. To hear him playing, try listening to any of the following: 

• Roy Haynes "Roy-alty" (Dreyfus 2011),
• Sashal Vasandani "Hi-Fly" ( Mack Avenue 2011), and
• Dmitri Baevsky "Down with It" (Sharp Nine 2011)
• The Heath Brothers "Endurance" (JLP 2009)
• Pete Zimmer Burnin' Live at the Jazz Standard (Tippin' 2006)
• Pete Zimmer Chillin' Live at the Jazz Factory (Tippin'2008) 

David Wong is not widely known to jazz listeners, even as he is a widely known and used bass player to other jazz players, most likely because he has yet to be a leader, either live or on CD. When that happens, I am sure others will hear a player I believe will be a long standing, first call bassist.

   

Christmas in New York City: a shout out to Smalls Jazz Club

It's tough to sit in the suburbs for two days while everything is closed for those who are not celebrating Christmas, and are not with their families, so every year we come into New York, stay at a hotel, see some shows, and in my case visit one of the clubs on Christmas Eve. Three years ago it was the wonderful Cedar Walton at the Vanguard, and for the last two seasons it has been Spike Wilner's wonderful Small's Jazz club, which featured John Mitchell's quartet. Great atmosphere, good crowd, and wonderful music. Who knew John could sing. It was my second visit in about a month, with the last featuring Ethan Iverson in a trio setting.

I have to say, one of the greatest things about hearing live music is the chance to really hear the bass player, who often is lost on CDs. Watching the two young bassists, David Wong with John Mitchell and Corcoran Holt with Ethan Iverson, was a joy. The big sound they get out of the instrument, the wonderful solos, seeing the intricate fingerings, for me they are what made the nights really special. No disrepect to Sacha Perry, Tardo Hammer, Jimmy Wormsworth, and the others intended.

I have some recommended recordings with David Wong that readers may want to listen to, as each is a great listen:  Roy Haynes "Roy-alty" (2011), Sashal Vasandani "Hi-Fly" (2011), and Dmitri Baevsky "Down with It" (2011) are all recent, and if you want to go back some, look for Pete Zimmer's discs. Corcoran Holt evidently is new on the scene and I am sure his fabulous sound will appear soon on many recordings. Right now, I have him in my collection on a Stan Killian disc from 2011 "Unified" and a 2010 disc of Steve Turre's called "Delicious and Delightful". I'd watch for him playing live in your town and try to catch him if I were you.