Andy

Seal

Bassist Andy Seal has been playing with Greg Burgess and Steve Mitchell since 2002 (and is the recording engineer on two of the trio’s albums).  Andy has performed with national artists Perry Robinson (clarinetist with Dave Brubeck), David Darling (Grammy-nominated cellist, formerly of the Paul Winter Consort), and Kenny “Blue Boss” Wayne, and continues to perform and record with EG Kight and Ann Rabson.  He was a founding member of the acid jazz quartet ’72 Flood, the jazz/rock/world ensemble The Threads, the Lip Smackin’ Blues Band (semifinalist for the 2003 International Blues Challenge in Memphis), and the Electric Volcano Experiment.  He is also a member of the Bloomsburg University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and is currently pursuing a degree in music education.  Andy has contributed bass music and compositions on the Moog synthesizer to the WVIA-TV documentary Voices from Vietnam and to the Bieber and Brafa films All Is Normal and Neck Deep. 

     Like Steve Mitchell a musician much in demand, Andy has played with many other central PA musicians, including Jonathan Edwards, Mary Knish, John Johnson, Averie Clark, Ann Kerstetter, Sascha Feinsein, Infinite Bliss, Flora Eyster, Jack Fries, Steve Rudolph, Arthur Goldstein, Terry Rogers, Terry Wild, and the Reverend Ann Keeler Evans.

“He fires the ignition with the first note, sending a current through the band that sets the pulse-rate of the tune…Whether Seal straps it on or stands it up, you can’t draw a line between the musician and the instrument.  Watch him play...Andy doesn’t make music, he releases it.  He is a player with impeccable timing and a natural ability to let the music inside flow out.  It never sounds pinched or rough, as he plays the parameters, artfully staying inside the rhythm and outside of the lead line.  Having studied all types of music gives Seal an edge, an ability to play spontaneous bass line riffs specific to the genre…”

             — Annie Clark, The One

Burgess, Mitchell & Seal have done hundreds of gigs, and Greg, Steve, and Andy thank the following bass players for subbing for Andy when he couldn’t make it:  Chalie Holmes, Bill Stetz, Chris Whelan, Kenny Wittman, Dave Kessler, and James Burgess.

Photo by Ralph Wilson