Happy Birthday Oteil Burbridge: Career-Spanning Spotify Playlist

Today, bassist Oteil Burbridge celebrates his 55th birthday and is set to lead an Oteil & Friends set at Lockn’ featuring his Dead & Company band mate Bob Weir. Throughout his distinguished career, Oteil has performed alongside an extraordinary number of talented musicians.

His resume includes membership in Col. Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Vida Blue and the aforementioned Dead & Co. In addition to playing with Phish keyboardist Page McConnell in Vida Blue, Oteil and his late brother Kofi Burbridge participated in Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio’s 1996 free jazz project Surrender To The Air. Oteil’s former ABB band mate, guitarist Warren Haynes, has also enlisted Burbridge’s bass for solo projects and with Gov’t Mule.

In 2017, Oteil contributed to the album released by his D&C band mate, drummer Mickey Hart, entitled RAMU as well as the North Mississippi Allstars’ album Prayer For Peace. Oteil’s solo album, Water In The Desert, also came out in 2017. Over the years Burbridge also recorded with fellow bass masters Victor Wooten and Tal Wilkenfeld, as well as ARU/Widespread Panic guitarist Jimmy Herring, keyboard whiz Herbie Hancock, and others.

The below playlist features Oteil with ARU, ABB, TTB, Vida Blue and more. The Dead & Company selections include Oteil singing lead, save for “Eyes Of The World” which contains a sublime bass solo. Stream the Spotify Playlist below:

Oteil discussed many of the playlist’s projects during his appearance on The JamBase Podcast. Listen to his interview below: