Oteil Burbridge

Oteil Burbridge (born August 24, 1964) is an American multi-instrumentalist who is primarily known for his skill on the bass guitar. Burbridge was trained in jazz and classical music from an early age. He achieved fame primarily during the resurgence of the Allman Brothers Band (from 1997 through 2014), and as a founding member of the band Dead & Company. Burbridge was also a founding member of The Aquarium Rescue Unit and Tedeschi Trucks Band, which also featured his brother Kofi Burbridge on keyboards and flute. He has worked with other musicians including Bruce Hampton, Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Bill Kreutzmann and Derek Trucks.

Burbridge has been recognized for his ability to incorporate scat-singing into his improvised bass solos. Burbridge endorses Fodera, Modulus, Sukop and Dunlop guitars and effects. He is ranked 64th on Bass Player magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time".

Burbridge was born and raised in Washington, D.C., to an African American family with some Egyptian heritage. His name, Oteil, means "explorer" or "wanderer". When he and elder sibling Kofi showed talent for music, their mother encouraged them with classical and jazz courses hoping to nurture their musical inclinations and keep them out of trouble. Kofi remembers Oteil's first drum set: a Quaker Oatmeal box, when he was only three or four years old.

Both brothers were introduced to a wide variety of instruments, and became multi-instrumentalists, with both being taught to play the piano. Oteil gained proficiency on the bass clarinet, violin, and trumpet; however, bass guitar and drums became his instruments of choice (while Kofi developed a love for both flute and keyboards). Burbridge was also interested in the theater and became the co-host of a local children's television show called "Stuff". He was enrolled in the Sidwell Friends School, graduating in 1982.

Oteil performed regularly in a variety of D.C. bands as a teenager, gathering experience playing R&B, rock, Brazilian music and jazz among other styles. He moved to Virginia Beach and worked mostly in cover bands there, and subsequently became part of the Atlanta musical scene, where he played with different musicians and also became fluent in other genres of music.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.