World Renowned Bass Performer and Educator
Rodney Whitaker is a Michigan treasure and one of the world’s renowned bass performers and educators. A Detroit native, he grew up in the city soaking in the sounds of jazz and classical music and working with the finest musicians in the city.
Building on his Detroit roots and enormous talent, Whitaker went on to earn an international reputation as one of the world’s finest jazz double bass performers. He completed a seven-year tenure as bassist with Wynton Marsalis’ Sextet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He has toured the world over the last twenty years, collaborating with legendary performers such as Dianne Reeves, Mulgrew Miller, Diana Krall, John Lewis, Terence Blanchard, Kathleen Battle, Cyrus Chestnut, Chick Corea and Roy Hargrove as well as with leading symphony orchestras.
Now based in East Lansing, Whitaker continues to remember his Detroit roots, serving many of the city’s talented students as Director of the Detroit Civic Jazz Orchestra, Musical Director for Jazz Education at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Director of the Jazz and Studio Mentorship Program and summer jazz camp in cooperation with the Arts League of Michigan. He has also joined Michigan State University’s faculty as Director of Jazz Studies and has built a leading jazz degree program and performing faculty. His legacy of teaching promises to be distinguished, with former students currently performing with jazz greats such as Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, and Stephon Harris.
