Bruce Gertz — artist
Every morning, world-renowned jazz bassist, composer, and educator, Bruce Gertz, makes himself a cup of coffee and sits at the baby grand piano of his Melrose, MA living room. Surrounded by quirky plants, records of his esteemed inspirations, and albums of his own, Gertz composes something every day, regardless of the day’s events ahead. He says, "Sometimes I only get a short idea but that can be the seed of a beautiful composition." His counterparts applaud him for his restless commitment to self-improvement. Gertz is known for his superb mastery of the upright bass and was named “Outstanding Bassist” by Boston Music Awards. What some fans don’t know is that he grew up playing electric bass from the age of 14 and still plays (and teaches) the electric quite often. His extraordinary contribution to music education has earned him multiple recognition awards from The International Association of Jazz Educators and the Jazz Education Network. He has been serving as a Professor of Bass at Berklee College of Music since 1976. Additional educator credits include serving on the advisory board of the International Society of Bassists and as an adjudicator at the Clark Terry UNH Jazzer's Festival. Gertz has performed and recorded with such artists as Gary Burton, Jerry Bergonzi, John Abercrombie, Joey Calderazzo, Kenny Werner, Mick Goodrick, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Billy Hart, Bill Frisell, Bob Berg, George Cables, Gil Evans, Tom Harrell, Jon Hendricks, Diane Schuur, Dave Brubeck, George Garzone, Mike Stern, Larry Coryell, Joe Lovano, Cab Calloway, Maynard Ferguson, Count Basie and many others. He is an author of six books and contributing editor to Bass World Magazine. As a bandleader, Gertz has recorded more than twenty albums. His 2017 quartet release, Blue Cube received four stars in Downbeat, December, 2017. Singularity, solo bass received 3.5 stars in the same issue. Other recent recordings include Blue Shadow, Trio-Now, Tone of Spirit, solo bass, 2017, Running in the Background, 2020 and Gently Said, 2022 Bruce Gertz Quintet, In Real Time, solo pizzicato bass. 2023, Waltz 1/19, single, Quintet 2023