Rodney Whitaker

Bassist Rodney Whitaker was among the leading lights of a new generation of contemporary jazz musicians emerging from Detroit. A native of the Motor City, he began playing the violin at the age of eight, switching to the bass five years later after hearing Paul Chambers on a John Coltrane album. As a teen, he joined saxophonist Donald Washington in the group Bird/Trane/Sko/Now!, which also included a young James Carter; he later replaced bassist Robert Hurst in the Terence Blanchard-Donald Harrison Quintet, followed by a three-year stint with Roy Hargrove. After recording with...