Gary Willis
Gary Willis (born 28 March 1957) is an American bassist and composer known foremost as the co-founder (with Scott Henderson) of the jazz fusion band Tribal Tech. Aside from his work in Tribal Tech, Willis has worked with numerous other jazz musicians including Wayne Shorter, Dennis Chambers, and Allan Holdsworth. "Slaughterhouse 3", released in 2006, continued his collaboration with drummer Kirk Covington as well as saxophonist Llibert Fortuny to form a modern jazz/funk/groove power-trio.
Gary Willis
- Born
- 1957 · Longview.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- composer · musician
- Fields
- jazz · jazz fusion
- Education
- University of North Texas College of Music
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Gary Willis (born 28 March 1957) is an American bassist and composer known foremost as the co-founder (with Scott Henderson) of the jazz fusion band Tribal Tech. Aside from his work in Tribal Tech, Willis has worked with numerous other jazz musicians including Wayne Shorter, Dennis Chambers, and Allan Holdsworth. "Slaughterhouse 3", released in 2006, continued his collaboration with drummer Kirk Covington as well as saxophonist Llibert Fortuny to form a modern jazz/funk/groove power-trio.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Gary Willis (born 1957) is a composer, jazz musician and musician, of American nationality. The composer was born in Longview. Gary Willis was educated at University of North Texas College of Music. The work spans jazz and jazz fusion.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Gary Willis. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
museum · 021ddda0-ee1e-4740-9ead-052bfa8285a8 · wikidata · Q979596 · wikipedia · Gary Willis
In this article
CD reviews
CD reviews
Willis's latest solo CD Larger Than Life was released on the Abstractlogix label in 2015. In addition to "Larger Than Life", Willis's solo career includes Retro from 2013, Actual Fiction from 2007, No Sweat from 1996 and Bent in 1998. Willis is also the author of four books for bass guitar, "Fingerboard Harmony for Bass", "The Gary Willis Collection", "Ultimate Ear Training for Guitar and Bass" and "101 Bass Tips" all published by Hal Leonard. Willis, a Texas native, studied composition and improvisation at The University of North Texas College of Music, where he switched from guitar to bass. He is currently an instructor at the Catalonia College of Music in Barcelona, Spain. Willis uses his signature model Ibanez fretless 5-string bass guitar, Aguilar Amplifiers and D'Addario strings. He is currently an instructor at Berklee's campus in Valencia, Spain.
• Gary Willis | "Actual Fiction" and "Slaughterhouse 3" • "Retro"
Identity
Identity
Gary Willis is recorded as composer and musician.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Gary Willis
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
reference work
- “Gary Willis”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q979596: Gary Willis
General reference · Wikidata
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Gary WillisMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
43,265 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Gary UsherPerson
- Gary ValencianoPerson
- Gary WallisPerson
- Gary William FriedmanPerson
- Gary WrightPerson
- Gary YershonPerson
- Gary YoungPerson
- Gaspar Agüero BarrerasPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Gary Willis?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.