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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 bassBandleaderComposer2 current shows

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

Tue, Aug 25, 7:00 PM

Yaala Ballin Quartet at One Flight Up

One Flight Up · New York

Show details

Tue, Aug 25, 7:00 PM

Yaala Ballin Quartet at One Flight Up

One Flight Up · New York

Show details

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