Versatile world music maestro speaks with us about Snarky Puppy, “odd” meters and why he chose Bartolini pickups for his signature seven-string bass
Exclusive video interview with FBPO’s Jon Liebman
May 8, 2017
By David Sands
The well-traveled Jason Everett, also known as Mr. E, is known for his embrace of unconventional time signatures and his penchant for unusual basses including a seven-string fretless Conklin and a piccolo sitar bass made from a modified Rickenbacker 4001. His eclectic approach to music has led to a fascinating career that’s brought the Seattle-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger into the orbits of jazz musicians like Spyro Gyra’s Kim Stone as well as Indian music stars like V. Selvaganesh.
Drawn to music at an early age, Everett began gravitating towards the bass when he was just ten years old. As a teenager, he got a music scholarship to Northern Arizona University where he became a member of their big band and performed with jazz greats like Stone, Louis Bellson and Rich Matteson. During his third year, however, he dropped out to begin his journey as a professional musician.
In the late 1980s, Everett moved to Minneapolis, where he played with the space jazz ensemble Little Green Men and help found the flamenco outfit Machete’ and the Indian-influenced world music ensemble Tal Maya. More recently, he’s played around Seattle with groups like Andre Feriante and The Bohemian Entourage, Tarana (World Fusion), Shoruk (Traditional Arabic), Deseo Carmin (Flamenco Rock), and Gina Sala’ (Kirtan).
Lately, Everett has been working on an epic four-part composition called Moksha: The Elimination of All Duality, which has allowed him to collaborate with respected world fusion musicians like V. Selvaganesh (Shakti), Fareed Haque, Suhail Yusef Kahn, Vishal Nagar and Ujwal Nagar. Right now, he’s also playing with two Bay area world fusion groups, Ancient Future and Facing East.
FBPO’s Jon Liebman jumped at the opportunity to speak with this dynamic bass player at the 2017 Winter Namm show in Anaheim, California.
Watch our interview with Jason:
