My Take
Bill Laswell is one of those musicians who quietly redefined what a bass player can be, and I find his work genuinely fascinating. Born in Salem, Illinois in 1955, he became the connective tissue between worlds that had no business touching each other — funk, dub, jazz, ambient, world music — and somehow made it all feel inevitable. His collaborations read like a who's-who of avant-garde royalty: Herbie Hancock, Mick Jagger, Motorhead, Pharoah Sanders, Sly Dunbar. He ran his own label, Material, like a mad scientist's lab. Most producers pick a lane; Laswell treated genre boundaries as suggestions and spent decades proving them wrong. He's not a household name, but he's probably on more iconic recordings than most people you could name. That kind of invisible influence is its own kind of greatness.
Overview
William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Bill Laswell
- Name (Japanese)
- ビル・ラズウェル
- Reading
- びる・らずうぇる
- Born
- February 12, 1955 (age 71)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Goat
- Origin
- Salem, Illinois, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- jazz musician / singer / record producer / composer / musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2013 Człowiek ze Złotym Uchem
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Official sitehttp://www.billlaswell.net/
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%93%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A9%E3%82%BA%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A7%E3%83%AB
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.