Zebadiah Briskovich
"Zeb" Briskovich, Jazz Bass Instructor for Southern Illinois University, is the top call bassist in the St. Louis region on both electric and acoustic bass. He is known for his versatility and expertise in a wide range of musical genres. This skill has brought him success as a studio musician and performer in major music markets and has been featured on national and international recordings in the genres of jazz, pop, country, rock, and fusion. Having parents in the music industry, Zeb was always surrounded by music and musicians. From all the instruments that were around his home, the bass was the instrument that kept calling back. At age 9, his talent was recognized when he won the Illinois State Fair talent competition on his bass. He then started studying with Bill Jenkins to begin to learn to read music to supplement his strong ear. By age 10, he started to play professionally when he was called to fill in for a bass player who could not make a performance. Zeb stepped in, and this began his professional career. At this young age, he then began to tour in his mother’s band, Lonesome Dove. Zeb knew his calling was to become a professional bassist, and he attended SIUE for his BM and MM in jazz performance to study with the esteemed Tom Kennedy.
As a young bassist, Zeb recorded and toured with groups such as Commonwealth, Vargas Swing, and Dropkick the Robot, which received regional and national success. In recent years, he has performed with jazz greats Bucky Pizzarelli, Clark Terry, Grady Tate, Ann Hampton Calloway, and Reggie Thomas. Zeb has also played for long-term engagements with Laverne Butler and Mary Stallings at the famous Half-Note Club in Greece. He performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as a guest artist with Grammy award-winning artist Debby Boone. Zeb’s mission as an instructor is to inspire students to be well-rounded and versatile musicians. Currently, he leads the group Rare Departure, which is his own jazz-fusion project. As well as performing frequently in the St. Louis music scene, his versatility to play any music style continues to make him one of the most sought-after session players, recording on countless projects.
