Steve Rodby

Steve Rodby (born December 9, 1954, in Joliet, Illinois) is an American jazz bassist and producer known for his time with the Pat Metheny Group.

Biography Rodby was born in Joliet, Illinois, into a musical family. His father was a music teacher who bought him an acoustic bass, electric bass, and amp when he was 12. He heard classical music from a young age and was educated in classical until high school when he learned jazz. During high school summers, he went to jazz camps, where he met Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, and Danny Gottlieb, three of the four members of The Pat Metheny Group.

Rodby played acoustic bass until he graduated from Northwestern University in 1977, when he taught himself how to play electric.

Rodby collaborated with Fred Simon and Paul McCandless on two albums: Since Forever and Remember the River. In 2011 he collaborated with Paul Wertico, a former drummer for the Metheny Group, and with Israeli musicians Danny Markovitch and Dani Rabin on Marbin's album Breaking the Cycle.

Since 2018, Rodby has held a position as artist of residence in the faculty of Jazz Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Discography

With Ross Traut Great Lawn (Columbia, 1987) The Duo Life (Columbia, 1991)

As sideman With Pat Metheny Group Offramp (ECM, 1982) – bassist Travels (ECM, 1983) – bassist First Circle (ECM, 1984) – bassist The Falcon and the Snowman (EMI, 1985) – bassist, conductor Still Life (Talking) (Geffen Records, 1987) – bassist, co-producer Letter from Home (Geffen Records, 1989) – bassist, co-producer The Road to You (Geffen Records, 1993) – bassist, co-producer We Live Here (Geffen Records, 1995) – bassist, co-producer Quartet (Geffen Records, 1996) – bassist, co-producer Imaginary Day (Warner Bros, 1997) – bassist, co-producer Speaking of Now (Warner Bros, 2002) – bassist, co-producer The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005) – bassist, co-producer With Pat Metheny Secret Story (Geffen Records, 1992) – bassist, co-producer A Map of the World (Warner Bros, 1999) – bassist, co-producer Trio 99 → 00 (Warner Bros, 2000) – co-producer Trio → Live (Warner Bros, 2000) – co-producer Day Trip (Nonesuch, 2008) – co-producer Tokyo Day Trip (Nonesuch, 2008) – co-producer Orchestrion (Nonesuch, 2010) – co-producer Unity Band (Nonesuch, 2012) – co-producer The Orchestrion Project (Nonesuch, 2013) – co-producer KIN (←→) (Nonesuch, 2014) – co-producer The Unity Sessions (Nonesuch, 2016) – co-producer From This Place (Nonesuch, 2020) − co-producer With Simon & Bard Group Musaic (Flying Fish, 1980) – bassist Tear It Up (Flying Fish, 1982) – bassist The Enormous Radio (Flying Fish, 1984) – bassist With Michael Brecker Nearness of You: The Ballad Book (Verve Records, 2001) – co-producer Pilgrimage (Heads Up, 2007) – co-producer With Eliane Elias Dreamer (Bluebird, 2004) – co-producer Something for You: Eliane Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans (Blue Note, 2007) – co-producer Bossa Nova Stories (Blue Note, 2009) – co-producer Light My Fire (Concord Picante, 2011) – co-producer I Thought About You (Concord Jazz, 2013) – co-producer Made In Brazil (Concord Jazz, 2015) – co-producer, recorded Dance of Time (Concord Jazz, 2017) – co-producer Love Stories (Concord Jazz, 2019) – co-producer Mirror Mirror (Candid, 2021) – co-producer Quietude (Candid, 2022) – co-producer Time and Again (Candid, 2024) – co-producer

With Lyle Mays Street Dreams (Geffen Records, 1988) – bassist, co-producer, conductor Fictionary (Geffen Records, 1993) – co-producer Solo (Improvisations For Expanded Piano) (Geffen Records, 2000) – co-producer Eberhard (KMG Distribution, 2021) – bassist, co-producer With Pat Coil Schemes And Dreams (Sheffield Lab, 1994) – bassist, co-producer Gold (Sheffield Lab, 1996) – bassist With Fred Simon Usually/Always (Windham Hill Records, 1988) – bassist, producer, editing Open Book (Columbia, 1991) – bassist, co-producer Remember the River by (Naim, 2004) – bassist Since Forever (Naim, 2009) – bassist, producer, editing With Steve Cole Spin (Narada Jazz, 2005) – bassist True (Narada Jazz, 2005) – bassist With Paul McCandless Heresay (Windham Hill Records, 1988) – bassist Premonition (Windham Hill Records, 1992) – bassist, producer Navigator (Landslide Records, 1994) – bassist With others Madelaine, Who Is She... (United Artists Records, 1978) – bassist John Prine, Bruised Orange (Asylum Records, 1978) – bassist Jimmy Raney, For You To Play . . . Ten Favorite Jazz Standards, Volume 20 (JA Records, 1979) – bassist Jamey Aebersold, Gettin' It Together (JA Records, 1979) – bassist Ramsey Lewis, Ramsey (Columbia, 1979) – bassist Tyrone Davis, I Just Can't Keep On Going (Columbia, 1980) – bassist Ross Traut, Ross Traut (Headfirst, 1981) – bassist Chuck Mangione, Save Tonight For Me (Columbia, 1986) – bassist Tom Paxton, And Loving You (Flying Fish, 1986) – bassist Fareed Haque, Voices Rising (PAND, 1988) – bassist Toninho Horta, Moonstone (Verve/Forecast, 1989) – bassist Montreux, Let Them Say (Windham Hill Records, 1989) – mixing, producer Michael Manring, Drastic Measures (Windham Hill Records, 1991) – bassist, producer Noa, Noa (Geffen Records, 1994) – bassist, co-producer Clifford Carter, Walkin' Into The Sun (Soul Coast, 1994) – bassist Kim Pensyl, Quiet Cafe (Fahrenheit Records, 1998) – bassist Jim Hall & Pat Metheny, (Telarc, 1999) – co-producer Oregon, Oregon in Moscow (Intuition, 2000) – producer Brian Culbertson, Come On Up (Warner Bros. Records, 2003) – bassist Simon Apple, River To The Sea (Trunk Records, 2004) – bassist Lisa Lauren, Loves The Beatles (Planet Jazz Records, 2006) – bassist Charlie Haden, Rambling Boy (Universal, 2008) – co-producer Esperanza Spalding, Radio Music Society (Heads Up, 2012) – mix preparation Ryan Cohan, The River (Motéma Music, 2013) – producer Marbin, Last Chapter Of Dreaming (Moonjune Records, 2013) – bassist The Impossible Gentlemen, Internationally Recognized Aliens (Basho, 2013) – bassist, producer Tyrone Davis, Love And Touch (Solid Records, 2015) – strings John Moulder, Earthborn Tales Of Soul And Spirit (Origin Records, 2016) – bassist

Grammy Awards With Pat Metheny Group: Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental – Offramp Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental – Travels Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental – First Circle Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental – Still Life (Talking) Best Jazz Fusion Performance – Letter From Home Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Instrumental – The Road to You Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Instrumental – We Live Here Best Contemporary Jazz Performance – Imaginary Day Best Rock Instrumental Performance – "The Roots of Coincidence" Best Contemporary Jazz Album – Speaking of Now Best Contemporary Jazz Album – The Way Up