Known for his versatility across multiple styles, Jeff Picker is an in-demand double bassist, bass guitarist, composer, and bandleader in Nashville, TN.
Hailed as the “designated bassist to the stars” (The Willamette Week), Jeff is a touring member of platinum-selling, genre-bending, progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek (Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins), with whom he has performed extensively in the United States and Europe. Prior to that, he spent five years as a member of 15-time GRAMMY Award winner and Grand Ole Opry member Ricky Skaggs’ band Kentucky Thunder, and one year as a member of IBMA Award-winning all-star bluegrass ensemble East Nash Grass. He appears frequently as a member of the staff band at the Grand Ole Opry, accompanying country legends such as Vince Gill, John Anderson, and many more.
Jeff has also appeared on over 50 records in styles ranging from bluegrass to country to jazz to Americana, including Sarah Jarosz’s acclaimed 2024 release “Polaroid Lovers.” He has also performed or recorded on a freelance basis with dozens of other artists including Mark O’Connor, Sam Bush, John Jorgensen, Tim O’Brien, and David Grisman.
Jeff’s musical journey began as a child in Dallas, TX, where he absorbed the vibrant golden era sounds of 90’s country music. At age 11, his family relocated to Portland, OR where he became immersed in jazz and related styles of improvisational music, quickly becoming “one of the country’s most talented young jazz bassists” (The Oregonian), and garnering numerous awards including a coveted designation by the US Department of Education as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Manhattan School of Music, where he spent a year studying jazz before matriculating at Columbia University. He graduated in 2011 and began his musical career, paying his dues in the clubs and bars of New York City. In the dynamic New York scene, Jeff began to develop as a unique stylist, combining jazz virtuosity with his rediscovered love of country music and newfound appreciation of bluegrass. In 2017, Jeff moved to Nashville as a member of the band Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, where his stature in the bluegrass scene began to rise.
In 2020, Jeff ventured into the role of composer and bandleader with his first solo album, “With the Bass in Mind,” which debuted at #13 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart. Hailed as “remarkable” (Bluegrass Today), this collection of original compositions deftly weaves together Jeff’s formative training in jazz within his adopted home format of the bluegrass string band. His follow-up 2022 release, “Liquid Architecture,” co-produced by Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett), takes these sounds one step further, utilizing unique instrumentations and offering cinematic arrangements of soulful, genre-less melodies.
When not on tour, Jeff works extensively in and around Nashville, TN, where he lives with his wife.