James Genus


James Genus is an American jazz bassist. He plays both electric bass guitar and upright bass and currently plays in the Saturday Night Live Band. Genus has performed as a session musician and sideman throughout his career, having worked with an impressive list of artists.
Genus was born in Hampton, Virginia. He began on guitar at age six and switched to bass at 13. He studied at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1983 to 1987 and played for a summer at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Then moved to New York City, where he quickly began working with many noted players on the city's jazz scene. He has played with Out of the Blue, Horace Silver, Roy Haynes and Don Pullen, Nat Adderley, Greg Osby and New York Voices, Jon Faddis, T.S. Monk, Benny Golson, Dave Kikoski, Bob Berg, Geoffrey Keezer, Lee Konitz, Michael Brecker, Bob James, Michel Camilo, Elysian Fields, Branford Marsalis, Chick Corea, Didier Lockwood, Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Global Theory, Ravi Coltrane, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and Daft Punk.

Discography

As sideman

With Nat Adderley
With Uri Caine
With James Carter
  • Present Tense
With Dave Douglas
  • In Our Lifetime
  • Stargazer
  • Moving Portrait
  • Magic Triangle
  • Soul on Soul
  • Leap of Faith
  • The Infinite
  • Strange Liberation
  • Meaning and Mystery
  • Live at the Jazz Standard
With Benny Golson
  • Domingo
With Alex Han
  • Spirit
With Lee Konitz
  • Jazz Nocturne
With Geoff Keezer
  • World Music
With Pat Martino
  • Stone Blue
With Steve Masakowski
  • What It Was
With T. S. Monk
  • Take One
With Don Pullen
  • Random Thoughts
With Daft Punk
With James Williams'