David Belove has been a mainstay bassist in the jazz and Latin music communities in the San Francisco Bay area for over 30 years. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, he cut his teeth first playing in local r&b (soul) bands followed years later playing jazz on the acoustic bass with pianist Paul Smith and the young guitarist Pat Metheny.
A year in Miami and Ft Lauderdale, Florida brought more gigs with Metheny and a stint as bassist with the Peter Graves Orchestra at the Bachelors III nightclub (owned by the famous NFL quarterback Joe Namath) and the Marco Polo Hotel backing a diversity of artists such as Charro, Patty Page, Joel Grey, Bobby Rydell, Della Reese, Gladys Knight, and The Four Tops.
Moving to the West Coast in the mid 70's he continued to play jazz with Blue Mitchell, Mark Levine, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, Max Roach, Danilo Perez, Louis Bellson, and Eddie Harris, to name a few.
It was in San Francisco in the 70's that his love of Cuban and Brazilian music began. Many, many salsa bands and Latin jazz gigs later brings us to today where Afro Cuban music (and Gospel) continue to be his focus.
He currently performs with Pete and Juan Escovedo, Ray Obiedo, and the Wayne Wallace Latin jazz quintet, nominated for three consecutive Grammys in the Latin Jazz category including 2016. In addition, he teaches Afro-Cuban ensembles for both the community school and the bachelor's degree program at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, California. David is a writer, contributing the chapter on the Cuban clave to Oscar Stagnero's 'Latin Bass Book' by Sher Publishing.
Rounding out his playing is his long association with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir under the direction of Terrance Kelly, with whom he has played the bass for over 25 years. In the summer of 2015 OIGC completed a tour of Scandinavia playing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Molde jazz festival in Norway, and in Copenhagen, Denmark. And, of course, he plays in church in Oakland.
Recorded tracks with David playing bass are not hard to find in the world of San Francisco bay area Latin music as he has recorded on well over a hundred cd's. 2 double albums where David plays on tracks with several different groups is the compilation "Salsa de la Bahia" (salsa of the bay) Volume 1 and Volume 2. Other albums include jazz singer Mark Murphy (Grammy nominated), The Machete Ensemble (2 Grammy nominations), Grupo Folklorico Kindembo (2 grammy nominations), Ray Obiedo, Sandy Cressman (Brazilian), Que Calor, Pete Escovedo Orchestra (Grammy nominated), Edgardo Cambon y Candela (salsa), The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, and The Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet (3 Grammy nominations). Wayne's latest cd, 'Intercambio', received a 4 star review in Downbeat magazine and a Grammy nomination. David is honored to be a nine time Grammy nominee.
Playing his Bass Mods bass has become special for David. Over the years he has owned and played many instruments including the Fender classics. "I love that my Bass Mods bass has a custom hand made look and feel with a killer tone yet at an 'off the rack' reasonable price. It's easy to understand why players are now discovering this instrument...you should too".