Biografia
Bassist Oteil Burbridge, a two-time Grammy winner, has been active in the music industry for over thirty years, touring and recording extensively. He first gained national attention in 1991 as a founding member of the Aquarium Rescue Unit alongside Col. Bruce Hampton, a cult favorite that endures. This led to his tenure with the legendary rock group The Allman Brothers Band. Since joining in 1997, Oteil earned two Grammy nominations for Best Rock Instrumental in 2003 and 2004. Throughout his career, he has performed with icons such as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Levon Helm, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Billy Gibbons, Chuck Leavell, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Johnny Winter, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, and Trey Anastasio. In 2012, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his 15 years as the longest-serving bassist in Allman Brothers Band history.
Despite his commitments with the Allman Brothers, Oteil pursued numerous collaborations. He founded Oteil and the Peacemakers in 1998, touring widely and releasing three albums through 2007. In 2001, he formed Vida Blue with Phish’s Page McConnell and The Funky Meters’ Russell Batiste. Additionally, in 2008, he created an improvisational trio with Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann and Max Creek guitarist Scott Murawski.
Oteil reunited onstage with his brother Kofi in 2010 when Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band, featuring the Burbridge brothers in the rhythm section. Their debut album, Revelator (2011), won a Grammy in 2012. The band performed at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2011, with Oteil’s composition "Love Has Something Else to Say" included on both the DVD and their Grammy-winning album. In 2012, they released their second album and first live record, Everybody’s Talkin.
Oteil has also collaborated with jazz and jazz-rock fusion greats including Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Randy Brecker, John Scofield, Jerry Goodman, Bob Moses, Lenny White, Steve Smith, Béla Fleck, Jimmy Herring, Howard Levy, Victor Wooten, and Branford Marsalis.
In 2015, Oteil joined forces with Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and John Mayer to form Dead & Company, with Jeff Chimenti on keys. Since then, the band has completed six tours, performing for over 2 million fans and becoming a top stadium act. Dead & Company has headlined major venues such as Folsom Field, Autzen Stadium, Citi Field, Fenway Park, and Dodger Stadium, breaking Wrigley Field’s all-time concert attendance record. Between tours, they host the annual "Playing in the Sand" Caribbean concert vacation in Mexico.
Oteil’s fourth solo album, Water In The Desert, was released on October 27, 2017. He brought together an all-star lineup including his late brother Kofi on keyboards and flute, Little John Roberts and Sean O’Rourke on drums, vocalists Alfreda Gerald and Mark Rivers, guitarist Dave Yoke, string player Miguel Atwood Ferguson, and producer David Ryan Harris. Oteil & Friends, featuring a rotating ensemble of notable musicians such as Melvin Seals, Eric Krasno, John Kadlecik, Tom Guarna, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti, John Morgan Kimock, Jennifer Hartswick, Jason Crosby, Natalie Cressman, Lamar Williams Jr., Weedie Braimah, and Alfreda Gerald, toured the Northeast in November 2017 to support the album and continued touring through 2019. Oteil & Friends planned a mini-tour in the Northwestern US in April 2020, along with several festival appearances throughout the year.
