Dave Sharp

Dave Sharp is a Detroit-born bassist, composer, band leader and total music enthusiast who has spent his career blending sounds from every corner of the planet. Growing up in Southeast Michigan’s vibrant scene before heading out to California, Dave studied under jazz bassist Herbie Lewis and with Hindustani classical vocalist Salamat Ali Khan. He has collaborated with incredible global musicians from Kenya, Lebanon, Armenia, Senegal, Niger and India, and has played bass with legendary rock acts like The Melvins and Iggy & the Stooges. When he is not making music, Dave is busy building community as the founder of A2 Jazz Fest and artistic director of the Blue LLama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor.

In 2015, Dave launched Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet to bring together global folk traditions—like Middle Eastern maqams, Indian rhythms, and Eastern European Roma tunes—with the exploratory freedom of jazz improvisation. With a unique lineup featuring the oud, tabla, and violin alongside bass, synthesizer and percussion, the group crafts a wide cross-cultural dialogue. Armed with a philosophy and education degree from the University of Michigan, Dave takes an open-ended, experimental approach to his music, proving that great music knows no borders.