Amy Shook profile picture

Amy Shook

Acoustic Bass

About Me

The FAB Trio has received a FABulous review in the Jazztimes October 2007 issue!

"Together, the FAB Trio has uncommon cohesiveness and passionate positive energy. All three players write nice tunes that reflect the group's orderly, muscular mainstream approach."
"If you have a high-resolution audio system, the power and depth of Amy Shook's bass on "Just You/Just Me" will remind you why you spent all that money."
~Thomas Conrad, Jazztimes Magazine, Oct. 2007~
ANGUS DEI: To play with a divinely beefy tone.
"NEW FAB TRIO RELEASE NOW AVAILABLE! Get your copy from us at one of our shows or from CD Baby:

"The Shook/Russo Quartet featuring Greg Gisbert" is available at CD Baby:


And it's available for download at:
iTunes
emusic.com
Watch The FAB Trio perform at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (Requires Real Player ): THE FAB TRIO Live at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

A native of Boise, Idaho, Amy Shook started on violin at the age of nine and at the age of thirteen, taught herself to play the acoustic bass as a second instrument. She attended the University of Idaho, earning two bachelor's degrees, one in violin performance and one in music composition, as well as a master's degree in violin performance, at the university's Lionel Hampton School of Music. Every year, the university hosted the world-renowned Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, which provided her with a priceless jazz education through hearing the greatest musicians in the world perform, as well as getting the opportunity to perform with many of them in festival concerts and clinics, and in the "Jazz In The Schools" outreach program funded by the festival. Amy won first place in the college division bass soloist competition at the festival two years running, and in 1999 she won the college division Outstanding Overall Jazz Soloist out of all the instrumentalists competing. While at the University of Idaho, Amy was the bassist in the jazz quintet, Crosscurrent, comprised of faculty members from the University of Idaho and Washington State University, performing a variety of jazz standards and original compositions by it's members. She was also the bassist in the Spokane Jazz Orchestra, in Spokane, Washington. After graduating, Amy and her husband, saxophonist Pat Shook, were invited to perform on cruise ships, later leading and co-leading a variety of ensembles, most notably their own jazz trio, and eventually, quartet, providing them with the perfect vehicle for composing their own music and having it performed regularly.
In 2003, Amy moved to the east coast with her husband when he won the lead tenor saxophone chair in the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors, and has since become one of the most in-demand upright bassists in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area, coveted for her huge sound and infectious, driving groove. She is an incredibly versatile musician who enjoys playing jazz standards as well as new music by her local colleagues. She is also an accomplished composer, and her personality truly comes through in her writing. She has received national recognition in reviews for her performance on the album "Uncertain Path" by the Rob Levit Trio, an exciting trio she performs regularly in, with guitarist/leader Rob Levit, and drummer Frank Russo. As a result, she was featured in Bassics magazine on their CD Sampler published with the magazine.
Along with being a member of the Rob Levit Trio, Amy co-leads her own quartet with drummer Frank Russo, and her husband, Pat. Their first album, "The Shook/Russo Quartet featuring Greg Gisbert" was released on Summit Records in July, and it features all original compositions by Amy, Pat, and the group's pianist, Tim Young. Amy and Frank also co-lead the FAB Trio with jazz pianist extraordinaire, Bob Butta, and the trio's first album debuting new music by both Amy and Bob has just been released on Summit records.
Amy has performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and many festivals such as the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and the East Coast Jazz Festival, and has shared the stage with such notables as Lionel Hampton, Maureen McGovern, Monica Mancini, Dee Daniels, Lanny Morgan, Jane Jarvis, Claudio Roditi, Al Grey, Bill Watrous, John Stowell, Greg Gisbert, Ingrid Jensen, Ethel Ennis, Slide Hampton, Paquito d'Rivera, Bill McHenry, Jim Snidero, and Dave Ballou to name a few.
Amy's bass, "L'Oscuro" (The Darker), is made by Luciano Golia of Torino, Italy.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/23/2006
Band Website: amyshook.com
Band Members:THE SHOOK RUSSO QUARTET: Amy Shook-bass, Frank Russo-drums, Pat Shook-tenor sax, and Tim Young-piano

THE FAB TRIO: Bob Butta-piano, Amy Shook-bass, Frank Russo-drums

THE ROB LEVIT TRIO: Rob Levit-guitar, Amy Shook-bass, Frank Russo-drums

Watch Pat Shook perform with The US Army Jazz Ambassadors at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (Requires Real Player ):

The US Army Jazz Ambassadors Live at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

Visit Rob Levit's Website

Visit Frank Russo's Website

Visit Felicia Carter's Website

View Washington Post documentary of vibraphonist Lennie Cuje


Myspace Graphics on CD



Influences:Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Garrison, John Clayton, Dave Holland, Christian McBride, Bob Hurst, David Finck, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball and Nat Adderly, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, Thelonius Monk, Wynton Marsalis, Gene Harris, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Getz, Lewis Nash, Benny Green, Clark Terry, John Scofield, Medeski Martin and Wood, Earth Wind and Fire, Chaka Khan, Thad Jones Mel Lewis Orchestra, Chris Potter, Jaco Pastorius, Elvin Jones, Jeff Hamilton, Ed Thigpen, James Brown, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Paquito d'Rivera, Claudio Roditi, you name it...if it swings, grooves, and hits my soul, it has influenced me.


Myspace Graphics on CD



Sounds Like: I was honored to be invited to perform an improvised bass solo that is featured on a washingtonpost.com slideshow documentary about Antarctica. Photographer George Steinmetz (a regular contributor to National Geographic Magazine) recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to photograph the Polar Desert of Antarctica. Follow the link below, click on "The Frozen Desert" and select "Dry Valleys" from the menu to watch an amazing slideshow of his photographs accompanied by my earnest attempt to capture the essence of these amazing landscapes and images. Enjoy!

EXPLORING ANTARCTICA


Record Label: Summit
Type of Label: Indie