Eddie Gomez Puerto Rican jazz double bassist Date of Birth: 04.10.1944 Country: USA

1. Eddie Gomez - Jazz Bassist
2. Early Career and Education
3. Collaboration with Bill Evans and Other Notable Achievements

Eddie Gomez - Jazz Bassist

Eddie Gomez is a Puerto Rican jazz bassist, best known for his tenure as a member of the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Born on October 4, 1944, in Santurce, a business district in San Juan, the capital and largest city of Puerto Rico. At a young age, Eddie Gomez moved with his family from Puerto Rico to New York, where he grew up in the bustling city. He began playing the double bass at the age of eleven at his New York school, and at thirteen, he became a student at the New York City High School of Music and Art, a specialized school for talented children opened in 1936 by then-Mayor Fiorello Henry La Guardia.

Early Career and Education

From 1959 to 1961, Gomez played in the Newport Festival Youth Band, led by jazz conductor and music educator Marshall Brown. In 1963, he graduated from the Juilliard School of Music. Throughout his career, Eddie Gomez has performed with jazz giants such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, John Coltrane, Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Bruford, Scott LaFaro, Marian McPartland, Paul Bley, Michael Brecker, Wayne Shorter, and the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead, in which he played from 1979 to 1984. He has also collaborated with Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Al Foster, Steve Gadd, Chick Corea, Carli Muñoz, and more.

Collaboration with Bill Evans and Other Notable Achievements

Eddie Gomez spent a total of eleven years with the Bill Evans Trio, performing with the legendary pianist in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He also recorded dozens of albums with the trio. Two of the Bill Evans Trio releases featuring Gomez were awarded Grammy awards. Additionally, Gomez was a member of the Manhattan Jazz Quintet. In musical ensembles, Eddie Gomez is often assigned the role of an accompanist due to his quick reaction and flexibility necessary for jazz improvisation. In addition to his work as a studio musician for many renowned jazz artists, he has also recorded as a soloist on Columbia Records, Projazz, and Stretch. Most recently, Gomez has recorded several albums with jazz pianist Mark Kramer.