Steve Swallow

Steve Swallow is an American bassist and composer, born in 1940. He took up the double bass as a teenager, studied composition at Yale and settled in New York in 1960, where he played with Paul Bley and Jimmy Giuffre. Around 1970 he moved to the electric bass, which he has played exclusively since. He is known for long partnerships with the vibraphonist Gary Burton and with Carla Bley. Swallow played in the Jimmy Giuffre 3 with Paul Bley (1960-1962), then with Art Farmer, with Stan Getz and in Gary Burton's quartet (1967-1970).