About

Ryan Roberts is a skilled electric and double bassist living in Los Angeles. He has played, recorded and taught steadily over the past 20 plus years. Ryan’s repertoire covers a broad range of music and includes classic and modern jazz, R&B, fusion and his own original compositions.

Born in Phoenix, AZ, Ryan’s interest in the bass started at age 15. He began playing electric bass and after a short time of being self taught, he began teaching professionally at the local music store by age 17. His love of playing and studying the instrument lead him to take up the acoustic bass at age 20. His respect for the tradition of jazz and the bass has lead to significant study of the genre and musicians who formed the frame work and culture of jazz and brought innovation on the bass.

Over the years, Ryan has trained with a variety of musicians with local and national recognition including freelance acoustic/electric bassist and educator Steve Millhouse, bass player of The Tonight Show, Joel DiBartolo (under the leadership of Doc Severensen) and Alphonso Johnson, former member of jazz- fusion group Weather Report and accomplished studio musician. He has also had the pleasure of studying with Assistant Principal Bassist of The Colorado Symphony, Nicholas Recuber, and one of Ryan’s musical heroes, electric and acoustic bassist John Patitucci.

While in Phoenix, Ryan taught private lessons at several local music stores including; Metro Music, Monkey Mambo Music, Music & Arts Center and at the age of 19, taught for the Magnet Program at South Mountain High School for 2 years. During this time in Arizona, Ryan had the opportunity to perform with Jazz Giants; Bob Mintzer and Jack Wilkins.

Ryan moved to Los Angeles in 2006 where he has continued his involvement in a variety of musical activities such as writing, recording and producing. His talents and musical flexibility allow him to contribute to a diverse mix of unique projects.

Ryan has collaborated ; “Segal”, who has engineered albums for Eminem, Dr. Dre, recording  on hip/hop albums for Top Dawg Entertainment. While continuing to freelance in Los Angeles, Ryan toured with the live stage show of Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Ryan later went on to perform with Actress/Performer Ana Gasteyer for her album release concert. As a studio musician, It was a highlight to work with record producer and engineer for the Beatles, Geoff Emrick, and Brian Garcia who has engineered albums for Avril Lavinge, Kelly Clarkson and King’s X.

Being invited to perform at Jazz Festival in Colorado, Ryan assembled his first group, the 818 Project, that would showcase his original compositions. As a composer, Ryan has gone on to compose and perform a feature length movie score, with solo upright bass, for an award-winning film “The Show Can’t Go On” directed by Cherie Kerr, a founding member of the world-famous The L.A. Groundlings. In addition, he was the orchestrator/arranger for the short film, and 2018 Louisiana Film Prize winner “Funky Butt”.

In 2019 Ryan founded The Bass Shed, a membership website for bass instruction. The focus of Ryan’s instruction is “Learning from the Legends”. The Bass Shed focuses on teaching the techniques and artistry of bass legends. With the launch of The Bass Shed, Ryan also created and hosts The Bass Shed Podcast. Ryan’s weekly podcast interviews bass players and other musicians from around the world about career, culture and artistry. In a few short years, The Bass Shed Podcast has grown to be rated in the top 10% of ALL podcast.

In late 2022, Ryan founded a non-profit organization, The Bass Shed Academy. The Bass Shed Academy (in partnership with Lemur Music) presents unique performance opportunities for middle-school and High School students, seasonal workshops, and has partnered with Kahuna Cares Foundation to create music appreciation workshops for those with special needs.

In 2023 Ryan joined the staff at Los Angeles College of Music to give a “real world experience” to young music students. Ryan performs in a diverse settings including; rock, jazz, studio performance and workshops for young vocalists. Also in 2023, Ryan started working as a music journalist for Bass Magazine. The magazine (formerly known as BASS PLAYER) is the leading publication in the field and meant a lot to Ryan in his formidable years. “It’s a huge honor to be a part of the magazine and give that experience for someone else.” - Ryan

Ryan also released his debut album as a composer/bandleader. Smile - Ryan Roberts Street-artsemble is a collection of 7 tunes influenced by the jazz tradition and contemporary classical composers. The album is focused on composition and collective storytelling. Ryan’s 5 original pieces are a response to his time in Los Angeles. Other compositions on the album are by Zane Musa and the title track by Charlie Chaplin, and “Generations” that was composed in collaboration with Ryan’s dad James Roberts.

In recent years, Ryan co-designed his signature bass (D. Lakin 6035) with Dan Lakin (founder of Lakin Basses and D. Lakin Basses). In addition to collaborating with Lakin on all aspects of design and construction, Ryan worked with pick-up builder Howard Ulyate to construct a custom pick-up for the signature instrument.