Michael Mondesir

Michael Mondesir (born 6 February 1966 in London) is an English jazz bass guitarist,[1] and composer [2] He is one of the most in demand jazz bass players in Europe,[3] touring regularly with Billy Cobham,[4] Cream (band) drummer Ginger Baker [5] and James Brown musical director Pee Wee Ellis.[6] He is credited as bass player on over twenty major name jazz albums.[7]

Brother of drummer Mark Mondesir[8], Michael Mondesir started playing drums at the age of 11 and moved to bass guitar when he was 16. Like his brother, he is largely self-taught. He played jazz fusion oriented music in a trio called EMJIEM (with guitarist Hawi Gondwe). Then he and his brother visited Weekend Jazz Workshops in North London organized by Ian Carr and from the late 1980s started playing with jazz musicians including the saxophonists Courtney Pine, Iain Ballamy and Steve Williamson,[9] and with pianists Jason Rebello and Django Bates (in "Human Chain") and international musicians including Billy Cobham,[10] Jeff Beck,[11] John McLaughlin, and Annette Peacock.

The Rough Guide To Jazz describes Mondesir as "a superb bassist with phenomenal concentration and excellent time"[12]

In 2009, Mondesir joined the Thriller – Live world tour celebrating the life of Michael Jackson. The Brisbane Weekender noted that Michael Mondesir "boasted instrumental skills that made the crowd go wild".[13]

He has performed with artists including Jeff Beck, Billy Cobham, Ginger Baker, Eddie Harris, Jack DeJohnette,[14] John McLaughlin,[15] Oumou Sangare, Usher, Whitney Houston, Imogen Heap, Sir George Martin, State of Bengal, Hermeto Pascoal,[16] David Garibaldi, Jan Hammer,[11] Ty, Zoe Rahman, Jim Mullen, Ronnie Wood,[17] John Serry Jr., Andy Summers, Django Bates,[18] Gary Husband, Chante Moore, Lulu, Nitin Sawhney, Lenny White, Chad Smith, Courtney Pine, Jocelyn Brown[19] Jason Rebello,[20] Brice Wassy, Neneh Cherry, Nikki Yeoh, Bernard Purdie, Iain Ballamy[21] Bill Bruford, Julian Joseph, Leni Stern, Mory Kante, Keith More, Trilok Gurtu, Mike Lindup, Aster Aweke, S-Club 7, Talvin Singh and Pee Wee Ellis.

He has taught as a freelancer at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen.

Michael is the bass player for West End show Dream Girls in London from March 2017.[22]

Michael also has 2 children Julius and Ellis, Of which Julius is a Twitch streamer and Armature music producer

References
  1. "Michael Mondesir'S Page - The Jazz Network Worldwide "A Great Place To Hang"". Thejazznetworkworldwide.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  2. "Google". Web.archive.org. May 8, 1999.
  3. "Mark Mondesir set for UK Yamaha drum clinic tour". Jazzwisemagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  4. "Projects". Billy Cobham. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  5. "Preview: Ginger Baker in Stratford". Jazzjournal.co.uk. 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  6. "Pee Wee Ellis Swansea International Jazz Festival 2016". Sijf.co.uk. 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  7. "Mike Mondesir | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  8. Who's Who of British Jazz. Books.google.co.uk (2nd ed.). p. 250. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  9. "Steve Williamson and Courtney Pine tuck into Pizza Express Jazz Club". Jazzwisemagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  10. John L Walters. "Billy Cobham/Empirical, Ronnie Scott's, London | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  11. Alan Ticheler. "Jan Hammer & Jeff Beck Reunite For U.K. Tour!". Dynamic88.securesites.net. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  12. Ian Carr; Digby Fairweather; Brian Priestley (1966-02-06). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Books.google.co.uk. p. 97. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  13. "Thriller Live – Jackson 5". Brisbane Weekender. 2015-01-19. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  14. "Jack DeJohnette Group - Jack DeJohnette Group, Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham, 20/11/2012. | Review". The Jazz Mann. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  15. "LondonJazz: Review: John McLaughlin and the Fourth Dimension". Londonjazznews.com. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  16. "Jazz Articles: Hermeto Pascoal's 80th Birthday Concert - By Paul Wood — Jazz Articles". Web.archive.org. July 27, 2016.
  17. Martin Power. Hot Wired Guitar: The Life of Jeff Beck. Books.google.co.uk. p. 469. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  18. John Fordham. "Jazz: Django Bates/ Human Chain | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  19. "Jocelyn Brown - Saturday - STANDING ROOM ONLY". Liverpool Echo. 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  20. Ian Carr; Digby Fairweather; Brian Priestley (1966-02-06). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Books.google.co.uk. p. 97. Retrieved 2016-09-30.<
  21. Christine Steuer. "Acme by Iain Ballamy". Jazzcds.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  22. "MichaelMondersirBass". Twitter.com. 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
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