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As a professional musician, composer, arranger, and educator, I have devoted my life to the art of music, especially jazz. It is through music that one is able to listen to the heart and soul of a people and to create a common consciousness.
My love and passion for music has been with me since childhood. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, I started taking ukulele lessons as a young child. At age 11, inspired by the innovative and creative style of Jimi Hendrix, I switched to the guitar. After listening to Howard Roberts and Jimmy Smith in high school, I became fascinated with the unique harmonies of jazz and my musical direction was forever altered. I began to seriously study and play jazz, first on the guitar, and later, on the saxophone and trumpet during my college years at UC Berkeley. My instrumental epiphany occurred, however, when I was working on my Master’s Degree in Composition at CSU Hayward, and I fell under the spell of the bass, captivated by its endless possibilities and sounds. The acoustic and electric basses are now my main instruments. I have since studied bass with Carl Stanley, Brian Marcus, Alex Glickman, Frank Tusa, and the electric bassist Kai Eckhardt. I am currently a student of Timothy Spears.
After receiving my M.A., I assiduously pursued my professional career. I began by co-leading the jazz quintet, The Zone, for several years, composing most of the music for the group’s first CD Grand Canyon Blue. In addition, I performed on the soundtrack for the film Lifeline, which aired on KQED in December 1999, and spent two years as a member of the Diablo Symphony Orchestra. In conjunction with these projects, I spent time leading my own duo, trio, and quintet and teaching jazz history at Berkeley City College and jazz band/improvisation at UC Berkeley and the Hayward-La Honda Music Camp.
My first solo CD Learning Curve was released in 2003 to a receptive audience at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland, California. I recently released my second solo CD New Day which premiered at The Jazz School in Berkeley in December 2006. This highly successful concert was recorded for broadcast on KCSM’s (91.1 FM) Sunday Night Series. My CD also
has received significant airplay on KCSM, the Bay Area’s premier jazz station, KSDS (Jazz 88) in San Diego, and WGBH in Boston.
I am currently the leader of The Fred Randolph Quintet (Fred Randolph, basses; Erik Jekabson, trumpet; Rob Roth, saxes; Dan Zemelman, piano; and Alan Hall, drums) and have performed in that capacity at The Jazz School, The Hillside Club, Anna’s Jazz Island, Joe’s of Lafayette, and The Octavia Lounge. Moreover, I continue to perform as a bassist for many of the Bay Area’s finest jazz orchestras and musicians, including the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra and Collective West Jazz Orchestra at Pearl’s, Sandy Cressman’s Homenagem Brasileira, Michael Smolen’s Kriya, Bobbe Norris and Larry Dunlap, Kenny Washington, Marcos Silva, Anton Schwartz,and Frank Martin. I have also played at the World Music Festival in Shanghai, Vallejo Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and Fillmore Street Jazz Festival.
Education continues to be an integral part of my musical life. I teach several private students and am the director of The Groove Merchants, the Stanley Middle School jazz combo. In addition, I periodically give a course in Musical Notation at The Jazz School and most recently accepted a position at Bishop O’Dowd High School, developing the school’s jazz program.
Throughout my life, I have found my musical experiences to be deep and rewarding. I am constantly seeking to refine and expand my knowledge as a musician and, hopefully, touch somebody’s soul.
cds are available at:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/fredrandolph2
and are downloadable at: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=212589298
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