Piano with James B.

A professional musician whose performance experience over the past 20 years spans jazz, classical, hip hop, rock, R&B, funk, and latin, James started his musical studies playing bass guitar in rock bands and jazz ensembles. Soon after he began classical training on the upright bass. He became principal bassist for the Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra in Seattle where he went on to win the regional solo competition, and performed at the state level competition several times. This formal training provided James the opportunity to perform across the country as well as internationally in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary. James received his Bachelor's Degree in Music with a focus in Jazz Competition from Berklee College of Music. During his time at Berklee, he recorded extensively with the film scoring department as well as with student ensembles. He performed on the BIRN (Berklee Internet Radio Network) twice and arranged songs for the Musical Theater department. Additionally, James spent a semester in Spain at Berklee's Valencia campus and performed on keyboards in a dance/pop group at some of Valencia's largest night clubs. James began teaching bass 5 years ago and has since expanded his teaching studio to include piano, music theory and ear training. A native of Seattle, James currently lives in NYC where he continues to teach, perform, and produce. He is a founding member, DJ, bassist, and producer for hip hop group, Abstract Irony.