Steve Messick
bassist, composer, producer, bandleader

Steve Messick at Tula's Steve Messick at Tula's Steve Messick at Egan's Steve Messick at the North City Bistro Steve Messick at Egan's Steve Messick at the North Bend Jazz Walk

Holiday Jazz Showcase

My annual holiday jazz show is back on Friday, December 22, 2023 at Egan's Ballard Jam House at 7:00 PM. Due to limited seating, please make reservations by emailing reservations@ballardjamhouse.com or by calling 206-789-1621 after 6pm Thu-Sat.

Steve Messick's Holiday Jazz Showcase - Egan's - December 22, 2023

Listen

Here are a few of my recent tunes to listen to.

Sugar Ant

The Snort

About Steve Messick

Steve Messick is a bassist, composer, producer, and bandleader based in Seattle, Washington.

Steve is the founder and bandleader of the Endemic Ensemble, which has been performing original modern mainstream jazz at clubs in the Seattle area since 2010. The Endemic Ensemble’s debut album, Lunar, made Lucid Culture's The 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2012. Steve also co-founded the Random Access Quartet in 2013 and the New Bop Brigade in 2002.

Steve has been co-principal double bass for Orchestra Seattle / Seattle Chamber Singers, directed by William White and founded by George Shangrow, since 2011, and he has been a member of the bass section since 1999. Steve has also performed with the Lake Union Civic Orchestra, Seattle Chinese Orchestra, Cascade Symphony, Northwest Mahler Festival, and Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society.

Steve started composing and arranging music while attending the University of Washington (B.S. in mathematics, 1993), where he was the bassist for the University of Washington’s Studio Jazz Ensemble I (from 1990-1992) under the direction of Roy Cummings. In both high school and college, Steve studied electric and double bass with Peter Vinikow.

Steve is the owner of Opus Funkus Music, an independent jazz record label and music publisher.

Press Quotes

Messick's resonant bass seals any gaps (Jack Bowers, All About Jazz)

Enter Steve Messick on his double bass, calming the moment with tonal security and his big bass sound. (Dee Dee McNeil, Musicalmemoirs's Blog)

Bassist Steve Messick plays with a full-bodied, woody tone and makes every note count (Lucid Culture).

Sounding somewhat like Scott LaFaro, Messick favors a fuzzy, soft tone and straight-ahead arrangements reminiscent of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers' mid-'60s recordings (Matt Collar, All Music Guide).

Sprightly and tuneful--yet never smooth--Steve Messick's compositions recall an era when jazz routinely fused the artistic explorations of bebop with the catchiness of R&B (download.com).