Chris Wood, Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, Nat Reeves, Paul Chambers, John Medeski, John Coltrane, Doug Watkins, Scott LaFaro, Christian McBride, Sonny Rollins, Flea, Mike Gordon, Trey Anastasio, Tony Markellis, Bootsy Collins
Robert Stragnell is a young bassist based in Hartford, CT. Born in the beautiful Adirondack State Park in Upstate New York, Robert’s love of music led him to the electric bass guitar in high school, and he hasn’t looked back since. His love for bass soon spread to the acoustic bass, and for the last several years he has attended The Hartt School (of Music) as a member of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz Studies. There he has had the opportunity to study acoustic bass with Nat Reeves (bassist for Jackie McLean, Pharaoh Sanders as well as many others). Robert has had the opportunity to study in a variety of places, including National Guitar Workshop in New Milford, CT as well Victor Wooten’s Bass Nature Camp. Through these experiences, and others, he has been able to study with or attend masterclasses led by such greats as Christian McBride, Victor Wooten, Gerald Veasely, Oteil Burbridge, Stanley Clarke, Alphonso Johnson, Will Lee, Javon Jackson, Barry Harris, Rene McLean, Steve Davis and many others.
Robert spends most of his time currently as a freelance jazz musician, playing in and around the Hartford area. He plays in, and leads a variety of different ensembles, mostly with an emphasis on the Hard Bop/Post Bop sound, although he also does some work in the modern jazz genre, similar in sound to Medeski, Martin and Wood. He also has a soft spot in his heart for the sounds of James Brown and Parliament Funkadelic, and has played in a modern jazz/funk band, The Connect. He also worked in a variety of settings, from string ensembles to orchestras for musicals. He is available for lessons and for gigs.
