Steve Rodby
Steve Rodby 'I used the Tri 112L the whole Pat Metheny tour & it KICKED ASS! It's now my favorite cabinet!" Steve Rodby, Producer, bass player for Pat Metheny
In addition to being the bassist in the Pat Metheny Group for the past 30 years, Steve has conducted orchestras, recorded with many other artists in both jazz and pop, and lately has spent much of his time producing and editing, both audio and video.
Steve has performed with numerous jazz greats, including Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Tony Bennett, Teddy Wilson, Milt Jackson, Art Farmer, Sonny Stitt, George Coleman, Ira Sullivan, Zoot Sims, Lee Konitz, Jackie McLean, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Kenny Burrell, James Moody, Johnny Griffin and Monty Alexander.
Steve uses a Tri 112L and Tri 115L
Biographical Overview
Acoustic and electric bassist, audio and video editor and producer Steve Rodby was born in Joliet, Illinois. He began studying classical orchestral bass at age 10, and quickly developed parallel interests in pop and jazz. A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in classical bass performance, Steve spent many years as a multi-style studio musician on both acoustic and electric bass in Chicago recording studios, while also playing with the leading contemporary classical chamber music group in the city, the University of Chicago's CCP. Playing regularly at the Jazz Showcase also gave him the opportunity to play with numerous jazz masters. In 1981, Steve joined the Pat Metheny Group, and would play with the PMG for 3 decades. In the early 80s, he became involved in record production for the PMG and many others, as well as working as a video editor for both PBS music specials and other music DVDs. Steve has worked as producer on Grammy award winning albums for Pat Metheny, Eliane Elias, and Michael Brecker, and in all has won 15 Grammy awards. Recently, Steve has been touring and recording with the international group The Impossible Gentlemen. In 2019, he joined the faculty of the University of Washington as Artist In Residence.
Awards
Pat Metheny Group Offramp Grammy - Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1982
Pat Metheny Group Travels Grammy - Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1983
Pat Metheny Group First Circle Grammy - Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1984
Pat Metheny Group Still Life (Talking) Grammy - Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1987
Pat Metheny Group Letter From Home Grammy - Best Jazz Fusion Performance 1989
Pat Metheny Group The Road To You Grammy - Best Contemporary Jazz Performance 1993
Pat Metheny Group We Live Here Grammy - Best Contemporary Jazz Performance 1995
Pat Metheny Group Imaginary Day Grammy - Best Contemporary Jazz Performance 1997
Pat Metheny Group Roots Of Coincidence Grammy - Best Instrumental Performance 1997
Pat Metheny Group Speaking Of Now Grammy - Best Contemporary Jazz Album 2002
Pat Metheny One Quiet Night Grammy - Best Contemporary Jazz Album 2003
Pat Metheny Group The Way Up Grammy - Best Contemporary Jazz Album 2005
Michael Brecker Pilgrimage Grammy - Best Jazz Instrumental Album 2007
Eliane Elias Made In Brazil Grammy – Best Latin Jazz Vocal Album 2015
Eliane Elias Dance Of Time Grammy (Latin) – Best Latin Jazz Vocal Album 2017
Pat Metheny Group Imaginary Day Live (Video - SR Editor) Swing Journal - Best Jazz Video
Pat Metheny Group Imaginary Day Live (Video - SR Editor) Adlib Journal - Best Video Oregon Northwest Passage Indie Award - Contemporary Jazz 1998
Performing / Touring
Jazz Artists (Selected) 1974 – 1983
Joe Henderson
Roy Haynes
Teddy Wilson
Milt Jackson
Art Farmer
Sonny Stitt
George Coleman
Ira Sullivan
Lee Konitz
Zoot Sims
Al Cohn
James Moody
Johnny Griffin
Monty Alexander
Lee Konitz
Vocalists
Michael Franks 1980
Tony Bennett 1997
Boz Scaggs 2008
Pat Metheny Group Actively touring and recording 1981 - 2010
Contemporary Chamber Players @ U of Chicago, Ralph Shapey dir. 1978 - 1981
Partial Discography
Pat Metheny Group Offramp - 1982 bass 1982
Pat Metheny Group Travels - 1983 bass 1983
Pat Metheny Group First Circle - 1984 bass 1984
Pat Metheny Group The Falcon & The Snowman bass & conductor 1985
Pat Metheny Group Still Life (Talking) bass & co-producer 1987
Pat Metheny Group Letter From Home bass & co-producer 1989
Pat Metheny Group More Travels (Video) bass & co-producer 1992
Pat Metheny Group The Road To You bass & co-producer 1993
Pat Metheny Group Secret Story Live (Video) bass & co-producer 1993
Pat Metheny Group We Live Here - 1995 bass & co-producer 1995
Pat Metheny Group Quartet - 1996 bass & co-producer 1996
Pat Metheny Group Imaginary Day 1997 bass & co-producer 1997
Pat Metheny Group Speaking Of Now - 2002 bass & co-producer 2002
Pat Metheny Group he Way Up - 2005 bass & co-producer 2005
Pat Metheny Unity Band Unity Band - 2012 associate producer 2012
Pat Metheny Unity Group Kin - 2014 associate producer 2014
Pat Metheny Secret Story bass & co-producer 1992
Pat Metheny Group (video) Secret Story Live bass 1993
Pat Metheny Jim Hall & Pat Metheny co-producer 1999
Pat Metheny A Map of The World bass & co-producer 2000
Pat Metheny Trio 99/00 co-producer 2000
Pat Metheny Trio Live co-producer 2000
Pat Metheny One Quiet Night co-producer 2003
Pat Metheny Orchestrion associate producer 2010
Adlib Magazine (Japan): Best Video 2001 – Imaginary Day Live – Pat Metheny Group
Swing Journal (Japan): Best Jazz Video – Imaginary Day Live – Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny (video) The Orchestrion Project co-producer 2012
Pat Metheny Group (video) Imaginary Day Live bass & co-producer & video editor 2001
Pat Metheny Group (video) The Way Up Live bass & co-producer & video editor 2006
Lyle Mays Street Dreams - 1988 bass & conductor 1988
Lyle Mays Moses The Lawgiver - 1993 bass & producer 1993
Lyle Mays Fictionary - 1993 co-producer 1993
Lyle Mays Mustang - 1994 bass & producer 1994
Lyle Mays The Lion & The Lamb - 1994 bass & producer 1994
Lyle Mays Solo: Expanded Piano co-producer 2000
Eliane Elias Dreamer co-producer 2004
Eliane Elias All Around The City additional production 2006
Eliane Elias Something For You co-producer 2007
Eliane Elias Bossa Nova Stories producer 2008
Eliane Elias Eliane Elias Plays Live digital preparation 2009
Eliane Elias Light My Fire producer 2011
Eliane Elias I Thought About You producer 2013
Eliane Elias Made In Brazil producer, assistant engineer 2015
Eliane Elias Dance Of Time producer 2017
Eliane Elias Man Of La Mancha digital preparation 2018
Eliane Elias Love Stories producer 2019
Michael Brecker The Nearness Of You co-producer, audio editor 2001
Michael Brecker Pilgrimage producer, audio editor 2007
Charlie Haden Rambling Boy co-producer 2008
Paul McCandless Hearsay bass 1988
Paul McCandless Premonition bass & producer 1992
Oregon Northwest Passage producer 1997
Oregon Oregon in Moscow producer 2000
Oregon Live At Yoshi's producer 2002
Nancy Zeltsman Intermediate Masterworks for Marimba audio editor 2009
Maria Schnieder Sky Blue digital mix preparation 2007
Esperanza Spalding Chamber Music Society mix preparation 2010
Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society mix preparation 2012
Recent Productions
The Impossible Gentlemen Internationally Recognised Aliens - 2013 bass, producer
The Impossible Gentlemen Let's Get Deluxe - 2015 bass, co-producer
Ryan Cohan The River - 2013 producer
Omar Rhabany Passport - 2015 co-producer
Baladino Nedudim – 2016 producer
Alla Zingerese Alla Zingerese - 2018 producer
Eliane Elias Dream Of Time – 2017 producer
Eliane Elias Love Stories – 2019 producer
Guaco Bidimensional - 2017 editor/producer
Video Editing
PMG Imaginary Day Live (2008) video editor
PMG The Way Up - Live (2006) video editor
PMG Unity Sessions (2015) video editor
Anúna Celtic Origins (on PBS) - 2007 video editor
Styx One With Everything (on PBS) - 2009 video editor
Zeltsman/Norsworthy Poèmes pour mi - Messiaen - 2013 music producer, audio & video editor
Eberhard Weber Homage Concert - DVD - 2015 video editor
Pat Fleming & Project 13 I Can Understand It - 2014 music producer, audio & video editor
Pat Metheny Group The Unity Sessions - DVD - 2015 producer and video editor
Pat Metheny Side-Eye Side-Eye Live at Sony Club - 2020 video producer & editor
Publishing
Bass Player Magazine "Modern Acoustic" column 1990 - 1993
The Way Up (score) score editor Hal Leonard 2005
Studies and Degree
Northwestern University Bachelors of Music 1973 - 1977 degree in Classical Performance
Warren Benfield, CSO & NU classical bass studies, private & NU-1971 to 1977
Rufus Reid jazz bass studies, private 1972 - 1974
Teaching
Summer Jazz Clinics large and small groups summers of 1978 & 1979
Smith McNally College of Music diverse topics & student groups March 2012
Sligo Jazz Project, Ireland individual and group coaching July 2014, 2015,2016
Zeltsman Marimba Festival master class on recording July 2011
Northwestern University master classes
Roosevelt University master class
Royal Academy of Music master class London - Oct 2013
Private Instruction bass, Pro Tools, Final Cut Pro 1975 to present
University of Washington jazz bass, guitar, ensemble 2018 to present