Avery Sharpe

Avery Sharpe is an American jazz bassist and composer. Born on August 23, 1954 in Valdosta, Georgia, he first started in music by playing the piano at eight years old. This interest in music would lead him to the electric bass, and eventually the double bass. Soon he was playing gigs as a sideman for musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, and Pat Metheny. In the early 80s, he gained a spot in McCoy Tyner’s group, which sent him traveling around the world and playing hundreds of gigs with the piano jazz legend. He recorded over 20 records as a member of McCoy Tyner’s band. Avery Sharpe’s first recording as a bandleader was the album Unspoken Words (1988). The following year, Avery Sharpe wrote and conducted the soundtrack for the film An Unremarkable Life. In 1994, he founded his very own record label, JKNM records. During that decade, he was commissioned by the classical group Fideleo to write three extended works. He continued to tour and release studio and live albums, such as 2010’s Avery Sharpe Trio Live, featuring tracks such as “Blues on the Corner” from his 1988 debut. In 2019, Avery Sharpe released 400: An African American Musical Portrait, an album that explores the African American music tradition in observance of the 400th anniversary of the first African slaves brought to the United States.

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