Music
Robert Hurst
born 1964 · jazz bassist, composer, educator
Detroit-born bassist who played with Wynton and Branford Marsalis, spent the 1990s in The Tonight Show Band, and now teaches jazz bass at the University of Michigan.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 61- Birth name
- Robert L. Hurst III
- Also known as
- Robert Hurst III
- Detroit years
- 1964–1980s, 2000s–
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Hurst grew up in Detroit, where he started on guitar before settling on the bass, and he came of age in the circle of musicians mentored by trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. In 1985 he joined the Blue Note band Out of the Blue, and from 1986 to 1991 he was the bassist in Wynton Marsalis's influential ensemble, then worked with Branford Marsalis in the early 1990s. When Branford became musical director of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Hurst joined the house band, staying from 1992 to 1999. His debut as a leader, Robert Hurst Presents (1993), reached No. 13 on Billboard's jazz albums chart. Beyond jazz he has recorded with Paul McCartney, Yo-Yo Ma, Barbra Streisand and Willie Nelson. In 1986 he was part of the quartet heard on Woody Shaw's Bemsha Swing, recorded at Baker's Keyboard Lounge with fellow Detroiters Geri Allen and Roy Brooks. He now teaches jazz bass at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Highlights
- Bassist with Wynton Marsalis, 1986–1991
- Member of The Tonight Show Band, 1992–1999
- Robert Hurst Presents (1993) reached No. 13 on the Billboard jazz chart
- On Woody Shaw's Bemsha Swing, recorded at Baker's Keyboard Lounge (1986)
- Teaches jazz bass at the University of Michigan
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1986
Baker's Keyboard Lounge
The Livernois Avenue club where Woody Shaw's Bemsha Swing was recorded in 1986 with Hurst, Geri Allen and Roy Brooks.