Bio: Russell Sledge

Russell Sledge began playing bass and drums in North Carolina and has since added tuba to his list of instruments. While attending East Carolina University, Mr. Sledge studied percussion with Harold Jones and Mark Ford, bass with Carroll Dashiell and played numerous concerts, musicals and shows, graduating on both bass and percussion.

Continuing his musical studies at Howard University in Washington, DC, he quickly became a sought-after bass player with performances including concerts with the Washington Civic Symphony, recordings with university ensembles and other national artists, a tour to Hong Kong with the theater production of Dreamgirls and many small group engagements in and around the city while studying with the late Keter Betts, bassist with the late Ella Fitzgerald.

Following a move to Houston, Texas, Mr. Sledge spent a year as assistant band director at Texas Southern University, performed with Ernie Watts, Gene Chandler, Sebastian Whittaker And The Creators and various engagements throughout the city.

Returning once again to Washington DC, Mr. Sledge has performed with Al Grey, Winard Harper, Stephen Scott, Antonio Hart, Marcus Printup, the premier of Darrin Atwater's Song in a Strange Land!: Spirituals for a New Generation, as well as various engagements in and around Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New York.