Sean Riddle is a bassist, composer, improviser, and educator originally from Southern California, and is now living in Western Massachusetts.

As a bassist, Sean is known for their strong sense of time, big sound, openness and creativity as an accompanist/soloist. Sean has shared the stage with a diverse array of musicians such as Larry Koonse, Vinny Golia, Tatsuya Nakatani, Bevan Manson, Doug Webb, Theo Saunders, Robert Kyle, Brad Rabuchin, Carol Chaikin, Anthony Ty Johnson, Will Kjeer, Rob Magill, Eugene Chadbourne, and many others. Currently Sean is working on their debut album as a leader, featuring Larry Koonse, Carol Chaikin, and Anthony Ty Johnson.

Refusing to be tethered by a single style, Sean’s work as a composer draws from the realms of Jazz, the music of West Africa, traditional Balkan music, Rock, Metal, Free Improvisation, and New Music. They brings these influences together to create music that explores areas of melodic and rhythmic complexity to inspire improvisers and eviscerate the boundaries between composition and improvisation. Often Sean’s compositions are inspired by current and past political/social issues, curious about how improvisation challenges social norms.

Aside from performing and composing, Sean maintains an active presence as a music educator. They have worked in a variety of educational settings, ranging from private lessons on double/electric bass and in the classroom, ranging from grades PreK-12. Sean is able to provide lessons on the double bass, electric bass, as well as beginning piano and improvisation both in person and digitally.

Sean graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2018 with a BFA in Jazz Bass Performance and a minor in social sciences, where they studied under the guidance of Darek Oles, David Roitstein, Oscar Hildago, and David Tranchina. In the summer of 2018 Sean attended the Ravinia Steans Music Institute jazz fellowship program directed by Rufus Reid, Billy Childs, and Tim Hagans, followed by the School for Improvisational Music’s summer workshop in NYC directed by Ralph Alessi and Andy Milne. Sean has also taken lessons with Ken Filiano and Mark Dresser.

Sean is now studying at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, pursuing a combined Masters degree in Music Education and Jazz Performance, studying with Fumi Tomita, Jeffery Holmes, Lisa Lehmberg, Stephen Paparo, and Daniel Albert. They live in the town of Hatfield with their fiancé and two 17 year old cats.