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Verified Global Musician

Ari Roland

Ari Roland is a New York double bassist and bandleader whose work spans leader recordings and long-running groups with Chris Byars and Pasquale Grasso.

Double bassBandleaderComposer0 current shows
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Photo source · Official artist media

Career Overview

About Ari Roland

SmallsLIVE identifies Roland as a New York-born bassist who began the instrument at twelve, studied at Juilliard, and worked in bands led by Lou Donaldson, Barry Harris, and Betty Carter. The venue's archive documents a sustained club practice extending across leader and sideman settings.[1]

The archive also shows recurring work with Chris Byars, Pasquale Grasso, Yaala Ballin, and other New York leaders. Roland's catalog includes the leader albums Sketches from a Bassist's Album, And So I Lived in Old New York, and New Music, alongside later ensemble and archival releases.[1][2]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, bassist, and composer

Ari Roland leader groups

Roland's Smalls Records leader work places the bass at the center of original small-group recordings and New York repertoire.[1][2]

Bassist and member

Chris Byars ensembles

SmallsLIVE documents Roland across Byars-led quartets, sextets, septets, octets, and larger groups over many years.[1]

Bassist and trio member

Pasquale Grasso groups

The venue archive records a sustained trio and quartet relationship with guitarist Pasquale Grasso in New York club performances.[1]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

2006 · Smalls Records

Sketches from a Bassist's Album

Leader and bassist

Roland's Smalls profile identifies the album as a leader statement centered on his bass playing and original small-group work.[1]

Release details

2007 · Smalls Records

And So I Lived in Old New York

Leader and bassist

The second Smalls-era leader album extends Roland's New York quartet catalog and remains available through his canonical streaming profile.[1][3]

Release details

2009 · Independent

New Music

Leader and bassist

The 2009 leader album appears in Roland's platform catalog alongside later recordings that document his continuing ensemble work.[2]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

SmallsLIVE archive

Hear Roland across leader dates and recurring New York ensembles in the venue's long-running performance archive.

Canonical artist stream

Browse Roland's leader and featured recordings through the streaming identity linked from MusicBrainz.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

No current Jazz DateBook dates are listed for Ari Roland. The career guide remains available while the calendar changes.

Evidence-Based Connections

Related Musician Guides

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Alex BellegardeDouble bass · ComposerShared documented roles: Bassist · Composer · BandleaderAsante Santi DebrianoDouble bass · GuitarShared documented roles: Bassist · Composer · BandleaderBuster WilliamsDouble bass · ComposerShared documented roles: Bassist · Composer · BandleaderChristian McBrideDouble bass · Electric bassShared documented roles: Bassist · Composer · BandleaderChuck IsraelsDouble bass · ComposerShared documented roles: Bassist · Composer · BandleaderClark SommersDouble bass · ComposerShared documented roles: Bassist · Composer · Bandleader

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Artist biography and New York performance archive

    SmallsLIVE

  2. [2] Artist recording catalog

    Apple Music

  3. [3] Canonical artist streaming catalog

    Spotify