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Bobby West has performed across Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East, with appearances in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Croatia, Morocco, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China (Shanghai and Beijing), Dubai, Oman, Manila, and throughout the United States.
He has performed and/or recorded with an extraordinary range of artists across jazz, soul, R&B, and popular music, including; Kamasi Washington Branford Marsalis Wynton Marsalis Pharoah Sanders Ray Charles Donald Byrd Ravi Coltrane Art Davis Roy Hargrove Wilson Pickett Eddie Harris Gladys Knight Albert Heath Smokey Robinson Lamont Dozier Billy Higgins Dwight Trible Joe Cocker José Feliciano Mick Fleetwood Steve Winwood Dionne Warwick Willie Jones III Horace Tapscott Sam & Dave Linda Hopkins Ndugu Chancler Harold Land Bobby West was born a fifth-generation Louisianian with deep ancestral roots in New Orleans—lineages that recent research
has traced to the Caribbean and West Africa. At birth, the attending physician noted his unusually long fingers and joked that he would become either a pickpocket or a piano player. He chose the piano. By age six, West was recognized as a prodigy. His musical inheritance came from his father, a gifted blues and gospel singer, and from the rich cultural traditions of Louisiana itself. At eight, he moved to South Central Los Angeles, where he was shaped by the enduring jazz legacy of Central Avenue and the creative ferment of Leimert Park. He absorbed the influence of piano masters such as Hampton Hawes and, most significantly, his mentor Horace Tapscott, whose community-centered vision of jazz left a lasting imprint. West later returned to Louisiana to attend Grambling State University. Beginning in the 1970s, he divided his time between Los Angeles—and engagements throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Although widely respected as a pianist and composer for decades, West did not release a formal debut album until 2021. Leimert Park After Dark received critical acclaim and was followed by Big Trippin’ in 2023; both albums reached the Top 20 on the jazz charts and the Top 10 on the roots charts. His earlier recording HipProphecy was re-released that same year. Requiem for Mary Turner marks his fourth album and represents a major artistic statement in his evolving body of work. |
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