Melvin Gibbs is an American bass guitarist, composer, and producer who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Melvin has been called "the best bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Gibbs attended Medgar Evers College and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in Brooklyn. He first came to public notice as a member of the group Defunkt which was a mainstay of the early '80's downtown N.Y. scene. Throughout most of the '80s, he played in drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society alongside guitarist Vernon Reid, as well as playing with guitarist Sonny Sharrock and saxophonist John Zorn. He was a member of the group Power Tools along with guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. He co-led the band Eye and I and he is an original member of the Black Rock Coalition.
He was a member of the avant-metal Rollins Band from 1993 to about 1998, and again in 2006 when the group briefly reformed. As a member of the Rollins Band he was nominated for a Grammy in 1995. Gibbs has also recorded with hip-hop artists dead prez, Brazilian artists Caetano Veloso and Marisa Monte, latin jazz artist Eddie Palmieri, Nigerian artist Femi Kuti, and guitarist Marc Ribot. He has also produced albums by guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay and turntablist DJ Logic.
He formed the Punk-Funk All-Stars with guitartist/singer James Blood Ulmer, Defunkt leader Joesph Bowie, Vernon Reid and Ronald Shannon Jackson. He co-leads the band Harriet Tubman with guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer JT Lewis. His other current projects include "Melvin Runs the Hoodoo Down" featuring guitarist Pete Cosey and keyboardist John Medeski, the JFM Trio featuring guitarist Jeff Parker and percussionist Francisco Mora, and the Geechee Seminoles, a duo featuring Melvin and drummer/hand-body percussionist/dancer David Pleasant.
"Ancients Speak," the premiere album by Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity, was released on March 17 2009 by Livewired Music.
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