Biography
Hailed among the premier jazz bassists of his era, Robert “Bob” Hurst built his reputation through extended stints alongside Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, and the Tonight Show Band. A Detroit native, he turned professional at fifteen when trumpeter Marcus Belgrave brought him into local ensembles. His first recording session arrived in 1985 on the Blue Note young-artist collective Out of the Blue, followed the next year by an appearance on trumpeter Woody Shaw’s Bemsha Swing.
Recommended by drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, Hurst became a member of Wynton Marsalis’s group from 1986 through 1991, contributing to J Mood (1986), Live at Blues Alley (1987), Standard Time, Vol. 1 (1987), and Standard Time, Vol. 2: Intimacy Calling (1990). During those same years he also recorded with Harry Connick, Jr., Terumasa Hino, and Vincent Herring, among numerous others, and joined Branford Marsalis and trumpeter Terence Blanchard on the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s 1990 film Mo’ Better Blues.
In 1991 Hurst entered the Tonight Show Band under Branford’s leadership; after Branford relinquished the post in 1995, he continued to perform intermittently with guitarist Kevin Eubanks. From the nineties onward he toured or recorded with Geri Allen, Russell Malone, Dianne Reeves, Steve Coleman, and Yo-Yo Ma, among additional artists. As a leader he issued Robert Hurst Presents: Robert Hurst (1992), One for Namesake (1993), Unrehurst, Vol. 1 (2002), Unrehurst, Vol. 2 (2010), and Bob Ya Head (2010).
Hurst’s sixth studio album, Bob: A Palindrome, appeared in 2013 and featured longtime associates Belgrave, Branford, drummer Watts, and pianist Robert Glasper. He next collaborated with Béla Szakcsi, Tim Ries, and Rudy Royston on the 2015 release Climate Change, then delivered the rhythmically varied Bob’s Black Current Jam in 2017.
Recommended by drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, Hurst became a member of Wynton Marsalis’s group from 1986 through 1991, contributing to J Mood (1986), Live at Blues Alley (1987), Standard Time, Vol. 1 (1987), and Standard Time, Vol. 2: Intimacy Calling (1990). During those same years he also recorded with Harry Connick, Jr., Terumasa Hino, and Vincent Herring, among numerous others, and joined Branford Marsalis and trumpeter Terence Blanchard on the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s 1990 film Mo’ Better Blues.
In 1991 Hurst entered the Tonight Show Band under Branford’s leadership; after Branford relinquished the post in 1995, he continued to perform intermittently with guitarist Kevin Eubanks. From the nineties onward he toured or recorded with Geri Allen, Russell Malone, Dianne Reeves, Steve Coleman, and Yo-Yo Ma, among additional artists. As a leader he issued Robert Hurst Presents: Robert Hurst (1992), One for Namesake (1993), Unrehurst, Vol. 1 (2002), Unrehurst, Vol. 2 (2010), and Bob Ya Head (2010).
Hurst’s sixth studio album, Bob: A Palindrome, appeared in 2013 and featured longtime associates Belgrave, Branford, drummer Watts, and pianist Robert Glasper. He next collaborated with Béla Szakcsi, Tim Ries, and Rudy Royston on the 2015 release Climate Change, then delivered the rhythmically varied Bob’s Black Current Jam in 2017.
Albums
