Biography
1968, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Whitaker started out in music playing violin at the age of eight, then switched to bass at the start of his teenage years after hearing Paul Chambers playing on a John Coltrane album. At Wayne State University, he studied with Robert Gladstone, principal bass with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and with jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. During these university years he played with the city’s Civic Orchestra, twice visiting Europe under the auspices of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also played in a group that included saxophonist James Carter. Whitaker’s first engagement with a name band was as a member of the Terence Blanchard - Donald Harrison Quintet, after which he was with Roy Hargrove’s group. He also played and recorded with Ron Blake, Kenny Garrett, Wycliff Gordon, Stefon Harris, Antonio Hart, Junko Onishi, Joe Temperley and Mark Whitfield. Whitaker’s own quartet, Foresight, has recorded successfully, and...
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