Bio

“Unlike some bassists who are content to compose and remain mostly as a vital cog of the rhythm section, Reed does that but also manages to solo on almost every piece. He has a lyrical touch but can swing too.”

- Jim Hynes, Making a Scene Music Magazine, July 29, 2020

Jeff Reed is an acoustic bassist, electric bassist, composer, and educator residing in Baltimore, MD. One of the most in demand sidemen in the area, Jeff has performed extensively throughout the United States and throughout the world.  As a sideman, Reed frequently works with bass vibraphonist Warren Wolf, trumpeter Sean Jones, and bass clarinetist Todd Marcus.  Jeff has also performed with a slew of musicians over the years including Gary Thomas, Miguel Zenon, David Sanchez, Dave Kikoski, Dave Liebmann, Tom Scott, Jeff Coffin, Bennie Maupin, Kirk Whalum, Take 6, and Tom Morello to name a few. Reed  has also been recorded on over fifty full length albums. 

We also say about a person that “his heart is in the right place”. In Mr Reed’s case, it certainly is, not only beating with the beat of titans such as Charlie Parker and Oscar Pettiford, but also swinging with the sheer delight of what it means to honor these and other great Black musicians who gave the world one of its most lasting forms of music. 

• Raul da Gama, JazzdaGama.com June 12, 2020

Reed leads his own group and released his first record Look for the Light on Stricker Street Records in 2020. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Music from Towson University and a Master of Music from the University of Maryland, College Park.

"We hear it in one of the album's most compelling moments. The song opens with a beautiful unaccompanied passage by bassist Jeff Reed, who plays with deliberation using rubato and artfully applied glissandi to infer breath, or perhaps sighs of sadness"

• Downbeat Magazine September 2015