Oteil Burbridge

bass

Musical career [edit]Early endeavors Burbridge was born and raised in Washington, D.C., to a family with some Egyptian heritage, and was named Oteil, meaning explorer or wanderer. [1] When he and elder sibling Kofi showed talent for music, their mother felt it best to place them in classical and jazz classes 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 learned the piano, with Oteil also becoming proficient with the bass clarinet, violin, and trumpet. However, Oteil's chosen main instruments became the bass guitar and the drums, while Kofi developed a love for the flute, and the keyboards.[2] Oteil Burbridge attended the Sidwell Friends School, a private school offering a higher quality of education than Washington D.C.'s troubled public school system. Oteil Burbridge graduated in 1982. [1] Oteil drifted through the Atlanta musical scene which introduced him not only to other musicians there but also other genres of music. As one of the original members of Bruce Hampton's avant-garde band, the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Burbridge was introduced to members of the jam band scene in the southeast of the United States. This included members of Phish, Phil Lesh and Friends, and Blues Traveler, who freely sat in with one another in each other's bands. When Hampton left the Aquarium Rescue Unit, it slowly disbanded, however Burbridge had developed a reputation on the four and six string bass guitar, enjoying the less commercial nature of the Atlanta area musicians. With the death of bass player Allen Woody, from the Allman Brothers Band, Burbridge joined them, and was made a full member of the band in 1997. [3] [edit]Personal information Oteil's trademarks include performing barefoot, wearing tie-dye shirts, and performing the acoustic guitar classic Little Martha from Eat a Peach on his six-stringed bass guitar. Oteil is most notably recognized for his ability to incorporate scat-singing into his improvised bass solos. In 2006, The Derek Trucks Band played with Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Oteil had earlier befriended fellow bass player Tal Wilkenfeld when she performed with the Allman Brothers Band in New York City. Between times, she had recorded an album of her own, and one song was titled, Oatmeal Bandage, her pet name for Oteil,[4] which he at last wa...