Rob Swanson - Bass

Born  in Wilmington, DE Playing Bass for over 40 years, Rob has made a name for himself as one of the most versatile working bassists in the Philly metro area. Tripling on Electric, Upright, and Vocals, Rob finds himself in up to 20 different musical configurations on any given month, ranging from straight ahead bebop, groove, world, and straight funk and rock. A graduate of the prestigious West Chester School of Music, Rob balances gigging with a bit of teaching to forward the muse that was passed onto him at an early age.  A Philadelphia Magazine "Best of Philly" Award Recipient, Rob plays regularly in the Mid-Atlantic region and can be seen in his supporting role with many of the area's top musicians. Rob has held the bass chair for  Cartoon Christmas Trio, Phyllis Chapell and Siora, Marc Adler's Flute Choir, John Coley and To The Max, The Don Eaton Band, Dave Wilson, Andy Roberts, Klingon Klezmer, Tony Smith, Ron Thomas, Tom Palmer,  Matt Niess and the Capitol Bones, Shawn Qaissaunee, Sharon Sable, The Jonathan Whitney Project, Lucky Thompson, The Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Stars, The Duke Ellington Sacred Jazz Band, Tom Pontz, The Barbone Street Jazz Band, Barbara Montgomery, Hoots and Hellmouth and an ever growing clientele.

• The Kimmel Center – Philadelphia, PA
• Clifford Brown Jazz Festival- Wilmington, DE.
• Berks Jazz Festival- Reading, PA
• Gasteig Concert Hall – Munich, Germany
• Cape May Jazz Festival- Cape May, NJ
• Rehoboth Jazz Festival- Rehoboth Beach, DE
• True Blue Jazz Festival, Rehoboth Beach, DE
• Gerald Veasley’s Jazz Base – Reading, PA
• The World Café – Philadelphia, PA
• The Queen Theater, Wilmington DE
• West Chester University Jazz Festival – West Chester,
• PA European World Music Festival, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
• Citizens Bank Park for the Philadelphia Phillies, PA 
• Chadds Ford Winery Jazz Festival- Chadds Ford, PA
• Yellow Springs Jazz Festival- Kimberton, PA
• SUNY – New York State Elkins and Davis College – Elkins, WV
• Turks Head Music Festival- West Chester, PA
• Musikfest- Bethlehem, PA
• Philadelphia Art Museum, PA
•  Chris' - Philadelphia, PA
•  CBGBs – New York City, NY
•  Delaware Art Museum- Wilmington, DE
• Franklin Institute- Philadelphia, PA
• Penn's Landing- Philadelphia, PA
• City Hall- Philadelphia, PA
• The Allen Theater – Lebanon, PA
• Seacrets- Ocean City, MD
• Longs Park – Lancaster, PA
• The Moshulu - Philadelphia, PA
• Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, PA
• The Uptown Theater, West Chester PA

The following are the groups you can see Rob perform with regularly as a leader.

The Terra Soul Project (may be trio to sextet).

Rob's latest release, The Terra Soul Project, is a compilation of original works with world and improvisation being the cornerstones of this journey. It is brought to life by world class musicians that have played with Ray Charles, John Legend, Kieko Matsui, Othello Molineaux, Ernie Watts and countless others - this is a CD not to be missed for those fans of world inspired jazz.

There are several players that are involved in this project - here are a few of the regulars;

Drums and Percussion - Jimmy Coleman, Butch Reed, Larry Marshall, Ishmael Wilburn

Keyboards - Frank Strauss, Jeff Knoettner, Andy Roberts, Terry Klinefelter.

Guitar and other string things - Shawn Qaissaunee

Sax and woodwinds - Greg Riley, Anibal Rojas, Marc Adler

Trumpet - Tony Smith, Joe Anderson

Cartoon Christmas Trio

A great trio that performs music from your favorite Christmas Cartoons in a traditional jazz trio setting. This group also does educational outreach programs and introduces audiences to the medium of jazz through familiar musical themes. Jeff Knoettner - piano, Jimmy Coleman - drums.

The Rob Swanson Trio

A classic piano jazz trio that plays standards and Rob’s originals in a traditional instrumentation of upright bass, drums, and piano.

The Three - 0

Another trio setting but this one has vocals and many configurations - some are not even a threesome....oh man...here comes the therapy....anyway...sometimes ya just gotta sing some tunes....Beatles, Hendrix, REM, Bowie, Chilis, Bob,...pretty much anything we feel like playing. Usually some combination of Q, Jimmy C, Bob Castaldi, Nelson Gilfillian, Tony Ventura...or someone else...