Jimmy Haslip
| Jimmy Haslip | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Robert Haslip |
| Born |
December 31, 1951 Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz fusion, world, rock, R&B, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, producer |
| Instruments | Bass |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Heads Up |
| Associated acts | Yellowjackets, Holdsworth Pasqua Haslip Wackerman, Blackjack, Jing Chi, Tommy Bolin Band |
| Website | jimmyhaslip |
James Robert "Jimmy" Haslip (born December 31, 1951) is an American bass player and record producer who was a founding former member of the jazz fusion group the Yellowjackets. He was also an early user of the five-string electric bass.
Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican immigrants, Spanish was Haslip's first language and he learned to speak English in kindergarten. His father, James Joseph (Jaime) Haslip (1915–1999) served in the United States Customs Service, beginning as a Merchant Marine until moving to patrolman and eventually deputy commissioner, marrying Jimmy's mother Virginia (Viera) Haslip (1912-2009) in 1937.
Haslip moved to Huntington, New York when he was four years old. At age seven, he began playing drums and then moved onto other instruments such as trumpet and tuba until playing bass at age 15. Although he took music lessons and went to a private music school, he considers himself self-taught. He has said that he went to a local music shop with his father and purchased a right-handed bass (he is left-handed) and learned to play it upside down.
In an interview with magazine JazzTimes, Haslip said he was surrounded by music as a young boy, from visiting nightclubs and concert venues to his peers. He explains that there was music in his house as well, from his older brother Gabriel listening to classic jazz, his father listening to Latin and orchestra jazz and his aunt listening to "sappy stuff like Jerry Vale and Johnny Mathis". In high school, Haslip created his first band called Soul Mine with his high school classmates, playing soul music at school dances and parties.
In the early 1970s, he toured alongside musicians, and moved to Los Angeles in 1976, where he played with guitarists Tommy Bolin and Harvey Mandel. in addition to the Yellowjackets, he has worked with Jeff Lorber, Eric Marienthal, Bruce Hornsby, Rita Coolidge, Gino Vannelli, Kiss, Tommy Bolin, Allan Holdsworth, Marilyn Scott, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Donald Fagen, and Anita Baker.
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