KCBASS HISTORY: Gerald is a lifetime faculty member to kcbass. He has always come and helped on faculty and behind the scenes since the beginning of the workshop. He is also Johnny Hamil’s jazz bass teacher (before the workshop ever started) and is a big reason kc jazz is always represented at the workshop. Many of Geralds bass ensembles are used at the workshop. He is a master player and teacher.
Gerald Spaits, a native of Kansas City, is one of the foremost bass players in the Kansas City area. Spaits has enjoyed an active career including playing with jazz legends Jay McShann and Claude “Fiddler” Williams. Appearing with national recording artists Herb Ellis, Rob McConnell, Marilyn Maye, Gary Foster, and The Woody Herman Orchestra, he has also provided soundtracks for TV and radio commercials. He has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, and the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain. Mr. Spaits was the adjunct assistant professor of jazz string bass at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is the teacher to many youngsuper stars in the kc area. He also teaches private lessons at the Toon Shop and with Kansas City Young Audiences.