Biography
Born and raised in Birmingham, UK, ReedBass is one of the most versatile and charismatic musicians to come out of the city in recent years. With nearly 30 years experience performing and recording with countless artists covering a wide variety of styles, Reed is a dedicated musician who complements any band situation while maintaining a high professional standard.
Raised in a musical family, he sites his early musical influences as his uncles, which includes Carl Nembhard (keyboardist for Ali Campbell (UB40), the Marley brothers {Julian, Stephen and Damian} Sly & Robbie, Alexander O'Neal, Shalamar).
Reed’s musical training began at the age of 6 when his eldest sister Denise, taught him to play piano. Four years later his mother taught him the basics of playing guitar and he began to sing and play in church. During this time, Reed was privileged to witness legendary session musicians (bassist) Freddie Thompson and (drummer/keyboardist) Nicky Brown, perform at a Gospel concert held at his church. This proved to play a crucial role in his musical development, setting the standard of excellence to be attained.
Reed displayed an early affinity for all types of music. By the age of thirteen he was already proficient on the piano and guitar. The bass guitar, however, was his love and by the age of 19 he was working regularly as a bassist in Birmingham with various bands.
Following the advice of his cousin, Reed attended Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, studying music alongside future sessioning stars Gareth Brown (Lily Allen, Kelly Rowland, Paloma Faith); Phillip Brown (Sir Elton John, Barry Manilow); Martin Meredith (UB40); Peter Daley (Ronny Jordan, Aaliyah, Paloma Faith);
On successfully completing his A-levels in Music and Music Technology, also gaining an ABRSM Grade 8 in Music Theory and Grade 6 in Orchestral Percussion, he continued his studies at the prestigious Birmingham Conservatoire, earning a first-class Bachelors of Music degree, graduating with honours.
His breakthrough came in 1999, when he was recommended by Gareth Brown to play bass for Day One’s [Virgin/Melankolic] debut gig supporting Everlast at the Astoria in London. (Music from their album ‘Ordinary Man’ was used in film soundtracks such as Cruel Intentions, The Big Tease and TV productions such as Six Feet Under and Trigger Happy TV). Over the next 18 months, Day One built up a cult following across Europe, allowing Reed the opportunity to tour extensively throughout the UK and Europe, performing at most of the major European music festivals (Glastonbury, T in the Park, V2000, Reading Les Inrockuptibles, Quart plus others) and television appearances in the UK, France and Japan.
This then led to performances, recordings and programming for many artists including Hannah Barrett (X-Factor 2014) Wiley, Soweto Kinch, Mis-teeq, Busted, Lighthouse Family, The Drifters, Heatwave, Musical Youth, Andy Hamilton, Lady Leshurr and Relley C (X-Factor 2016) to name a few.
 
During the last ten years, Reed has added teaching to his growing list of roles as a musician. As well as his ever-increasing number of private students, Reed has also led a number of workshops for young people, enabling them to explore creativity through music. Most recently, Reed has organised and hosted Gospel BassFest in Birmingham, an all day workshop aimed primarily at bassists that aims to pass on knowledge to the musicians of tomorrow from prominent bass guitarists in the Gospel industry.
Outside of his duties as a session musician and educator, Reed leads his own band, ReedBass Live, playing a mixture of original compositions and 21st Century re-working of Jazz, Soul and Reggae standards. The music has been described as a fusion of the music he grew up listening to (Gospel, Funk, Reggae and Pop) with the current urban music (Hip Hop, R&B, Drum & Bass) embraced by a Jazz sensibility.
​
With an ever-increasing demand as a musician and bandleader, Reed has also been in demand as a musical director for various projects and theatre shows including:
​
-
One Moment In Time (theatre tour)
-
This Is Me (Shirley Bassey tribute)
-
Stevie One (Stevie Wonder tribute
-
Bruno Mars tribute by Rob Glenn
-
Motown In Dub
​
Reed has an outstanding technical ability and his performances are often described as electric and mesmerizing. However, when it comes to ‘groove’, few players can do it with the creative style and musicality that has made Reed one of Birmingham’s first-call bassists for many of the visiting artistes to the city.