03/22/17 Abraham Laboriel Sr. - Bassist with Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton

Abraham Laboriel Sr. is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Born and raised in Mexico City to Honduran (Garifuna) parents, he received his earliest training from his father… a gifted composer and guitarist.
 Abraham was a founding member of pioneering jazz groups Friendship with Ernie Watts, Lee Ritenour, and Alex Acuna as well as the band Koinonia with Justo Almario and Alex Acuna. He has recorded and performed with a remarkable array of jazz artists including Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves, George Benson, Larry Carlton, Dave Grusin, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock, Joe Lovano, Manhattan Transfer, Joe Sample, the Crusaders, Kirk Whalum, and Joe Williams.
 Additionally, Laboriel has recorded with a variety of artists including Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Clint Black, Henry Mancini, Burt Bacharach, Herb Alpert, Barbra Streisand, and Placido Domingo.
 He is also in demand in the Latin music world… recording and performing with Ruben Blades, Julio Iglesias, Paco de Lucia, Roberto Carlos, Luis Miguel, Ana Gabriel, Juan Gabriel, Jose Jose, Dori Caymmi, Djavan, Gilberto Gil, Joao Gilberto, Ivan Lins, Patricia Sosa, and Marco Antonio Solis. He has played bass on dozens of movie soundtracks from Tootsie and Terms of Endearment to Forrest Gump, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, MI4, Frozen Inside Out and Jurassic World.  He can currently be heard as the bassist on the theme of Hawaii 5-0.  
 Abraham has also contributed to many of the best loved Gospel and worship recordings of the past few decades. He has recorded with Andrae Crouch, Take Six, Keith Green, Second Chapter of Acts, Phil Driscoll, the Imperials and Chuck Girard. He played on the debut (and subsequent) albums of the Winans, Bebe and Cece Winans, Donnie McClurkin, and Helen Baylor. He played on the pioneering worship series from Integrity Music including Ron Kenoly, Alvin Slaughter, Don Moen, Marcos Brunet, and many others. He has collaborated with the Spanish pastor and worship leader, Marcos Vidal.
 Abraham is in demand as a teacher of music and worship in settings as diverse as Berklee College of Music, Shepherd University, the University of Pittsburgh, and as a teacher and visiting worship leader at Saddleback and Willow Creek Community Churches and other churches throughout the United States and the world.