Steve has long been many jazz critics‘ favo- rite electric bassist for, rather than playing his instrument in a rock- oriented manner, Swallow approaches the electric bass, to an extent, as if it were a guitar. Originally, he started on piano and trumpet. Swallow joi- ned the Paul Bley trio in 1960. With Bley he was part of avant-garde version of the Jimmy Giuffre 3 in 1960-1962. Gary Burton’s quartet (1967-1970) … actually one of the first fusion groups.
After the late ’70s he has been closely associated with Carla Bley’s groups and was part of the reunion of the Jimmy Giuffre 3. Steve Swallow worked with: Chick Corea, Andy Sheppard, Karen Mantler, Paul Motian, Don Alias, Bob Moses, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, Dave Baker, Roy Haynes, Carla Bley and so many more…
