Bassist, educator, composer, and bandleader Ron Kadish has been a staple of the phenomenal music scene in and around Bloomington, Indiana since 1993 when he dropped out of graduate school to pursue a freelance career.

In the ensuing years, his musical journey has taken him down many roads: from touring string sections backing up John Denver and the Moody Blues to rhythm sections backing up Mark Robinson, Merrie Sloan, and the mainstays of the Bloomington music scene; from jamming in a hotel room with the Master Musicians of Jajouka to jamming on stage during the 1997 Lillith Festival tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sarah Mc Lachlan, and Paula Cole; from the bass section of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra to cutting demos with John Mellencamp. In the process he has played in concert halls, arenas, university student buildings, school auditoriums, outside ampitheaters, private golf courses, public downtowns, bars, and countless other venues throughout the United States and Europe …. and been in a ton of hotel rooms all over.

As an educator, Ron has maintained a small private studio of serious, dedicated students since 1992, and was Instructor of Double Bass at Indiana State University from 1993-1999. Many of his students have won awards at the high school level; most recently two won gold medals at the 2007 ISMA Solo and Concerto Competition. Others have gone on to such prestigious music schools such as Indiana University and Berklee College of Music and still others are themselves working as bass players throughout the US. From 1998 to 2004 Ron toured the elementary and junior high schools of Indiana under the auspices of Young Audiences of Indiana as part of educational Middle Eastern ensemble Salaam, which he helped form in 1993.

As a composer, Ron has written for local bands Salaam and Off Ramp Quartet (www.offrampquartet.com) and has written jingles and theme songs for Bloomington area businesses- his most recent commission being tutto bene wine café and more! (http://www.bloomingtonwinecafe.com)

Ron leads or has led many bands throughout the years in Bloomington, including the seminal world music fusion ensemble Salaam which toured regionally and release several CDs during the 1990s. Recent projects include original jazz group Off Ramp Quartet (www.offrampquartet.com), the Ron Kadish Trio, and Ron Kadish/Jeff Isaac Duo (clips of the duo and trio can be heard on the audio page).

Currently, Ron is back in school getting that Masters in Jazz Studies that he never finished in the 90s. He’s having a great time studying at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with David Baker, Pat Harbison, Steve Houghton, Bruce Bransby, and Jeremy Allen. He’s hoping to finish and get back on the road by 2009- stay tuned!!