Bassist who started out playing rock and roll but was wooed by the sounds of Miles Davis when he saw him perform in Denver, Colorado, and it became a life-changing moment. Stoking the fires of his newfound musical love, he moved into a house with a jazz aficionado who owned a massive number of jazz records.
He issued his first solo album, Earth School, in 1989. Then he joined The Rippingtons, and has been performing with them ever since. In 1999, he released another album, More Often Than Not.
He has played with a variety of artists and bands, including David Benoit, The Benoit/Freeman Project, the Big Butt Trio, Larry Carlton, The Corner Stone Quartet, Firefall, B.B. King, The Rocky Mountain All Stars, and Spyro Gyra. A fixture on the jazz-festival circuit, Kim has performed at Montreaux and Newport and toured internationally in Europe and Japan.
In 2002, he unveiled a solo CD, Let’s Cool One, the title of which was culled from a Thelonius Monk song. He has his own studio with plenty of bells and whistles, including a pair of ADAT recorders interfacing with a G-4 and MOTU 828, a Mackie console and twin Yahama NS speakers.
The Big Butt trio is rounded out—pun intended—by Jimmy Mahlis and Toss Panos. Kim plays the electric bass and standup bass. For years, he plied his trade on a Roscoe but lately he has begun endorsing Fender. Don’t be surprised to see a Kim Stone bass manufactured sometime in the future.
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