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Bassist
Rodney Whitaker was among the leading lights of a new generation of contemporary jazz musicians emerging from Detroit. A native of the Motor City, he began playing the violin at the age of eight, switching to the bass five years later after hearing
Paul Chambers on a
John Coltrane album. As a teen, he joined saxophonist Donald Washington in the group Bird/Trane/Sko/Now!, which also included a young
James Carter; he later replaced bassist
Robert Hurst in the Terence Blanchard-Donald Harrison Quintet, followed by a three-year stint with
Roy Hargrove. After recording with the likes of Blanchard,
Hargrove,
Antonio Hart, Junko Onishi and
Mark Whitfield, in 1996
Whitaker issued his solo debut Children of the Light; Hidden Kingdom followed two years later, and in 1999 the bassist returned with
Ballads and Blues. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow appeared in mid-2000. ~ Jason Ankeny