Saadi Zain

Upright & Electric Bass

About Saadi

Active in a multitude of musical genres, including jazz, western classical, world and popular music, New York City-based Saadi Zain is respected as a highly skilled and versatile bassist. Adept at both double (upright) bass and electric bass, Saadi performs with a wide variety of exceptional musicians and ensembles in various genres, both domestically and internationally. Saadi also plays for Broadway shows and other theatrical productions. He is currently the bassist with “Sugar Hill-the Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker,” debuting at the Chicago Auditorium Theater in December 2023. In Spring of 2022, Saadi was the bassist with the off-Broadway musical Little Girl Blue, a new and dramatic piece about the enigmatic and world-renowned Nina Simone. He also served as principal bassist of the South Asian Symphony Orchestra for their first concert since the pandemic, in Chennai, India (July 2022). Some of Saadi’s performing highlights have been touring Africa on a U.S. State Department tour with vocal and saxophone sensation Camille Thurman as part of the Darrell Green trio; touring Europe with diva Jessye Norman on her final “My Roots, My Life” tour, performing live with Diana Krall as part of the orchestra at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (playing her hit arrangements by Claus Ogerman) and performing a week-long engagement at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York with the Ron Carter Nonet, playing bass alongside the legendary bassist who plays piccolo bass in that ensemble.

Just Prior to the pandemic lockdown of 2020, Saadi had recorded for the cast album for the off-Broadway musical Einstein’s Dreams, which premiered in New York in late 2019, and for which he was the bassist. He was also playing bass with the National Tour of Wicked during their stay in Baltimore, MD and simultaneously preparing to conduct for a series of concerts across the US with Turkish pianist Fahir Atakoglu, which were all canceled due to the pandemic. Like all musicians, Saadi had the rest of his forthcoming dates canceled which included another performance with the Ron Carter Nonet at the Manhattan School of Music.

In spite of the Pandemic, Saadi was able to perform a string of dates in late 2020, and during this time also filmed a music video with pop artist Dua Lipa for her hit We’re Good which was released in February of 2021. As pandemic restrictions eased in New York in 2021, Saadi performed some outdoor concerts with Antoine Roney and his son Kojo Odu Roney in Central Park, as part of the “Walk with the Wind” festival dedicated to former senator John Lewis. In June, A live album is now available online of those performances, released in late 2021. That Summer, Saadi also performed at the Provincetown Cabaret Festival with Sidney Myer, and then played a month-long run of Little Girl Blue at the Goodspeed Opera House, in preparation for the subsequent Off-Broadway Run. Later that year, Saadi also toured with Singer/pianist Tony DeSare across the central USA.

A multi-instrumentalist in high school, Saadi enthusiastically performed in the school orchestra and many of the school bands on different instruments, played in a rock band, and also school musical productions. But by the time he went to college he settled on the bass with his focus on jazz. Since then, as a developing jazz musician, Saadi was quite fortunate to have learned and refined that artform directly through meaningful relationships with jazz masters.

As an undergraduate at the Hartt School of Music, Saadi received an education which was built and run by saxophonist Jackie McLean, with whom Saadi studied with and also performed with on several occasions. Saadi studied bass with Nat Reeves and also with Rick Rozie, principal of the Hartford Symphony, while at Hartt and participated in several master classes with the renowned bass soloist Gary Karr. After moving to New York City, Saadi studied with Homer Mensch (formerly of the New York Philharmonic) for two years before enrolling at the City College of New York where he began a long-time mentorship under bassist Ron Carter, which continues through today.

For over 12 years Saadi served as the bassist of the contemporary jazz big band “Supersound” led by master drummer Charli Persip, with whom he formed a friendship and which was a formidable learning experience. For a few years, Saadi was the bassist with Wade Barnes’ “Brooklyn Repertory Ensemble” and his spin-off projects which included many NYC jazz luminaries. Saadi also studied Latin Jazz, playing in Ray Santos’ Latin Jazz Orchestra at CCNY and later playing in Latin Bands and also Brazilian bands in New York City. Saadi also performed regularly in a club date band covering contemporary pop tunes, oldies and classic disco hits. During this time, he also lent his services out to agency bands, particularly Steven Scott Orchestras and also played in the classical society string orchestra Empyreal Strings which performed for many high-profile events around the country and also Europe.

Saadi has performed with various local and regional classical orchestras, including the New York Concerti Sinfonietta, the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra, the PA Sinfonia, the Dicapo Opera orchestra and the Orchestra of the Bronx. In 2019, he performed the inaugural concert of the South Asian Symphony Orchestra at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, India as principal bassist. He has been involved in some film and commercial work and can be heard in the film “The Savages” with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney. For many years, Saadi worked with pianist Roy Meriwether and can be heard on two of his recordings. He is also featured on the latest CD release of Carol Woods, “Aint We Got Fun,” (2017) featuring the music of Richard Whiting with arrangements by Hubert “Tex” Arnold, who also played piano on the project.

With a passion for foreign cultures and travel, and with a multi-cultural background, Saadi naturally has an affinity for world music, and has performed with international artists such as Greek composer Pericles Kanaris, and Indian/Canadian singer Kiran Ahluwalia. He has toured extensively in the US and abroad, including France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland, Mexico, China, Taiwan. Malaysia, India, Mozambique, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and Mauritania.

Saadi has been performing regularly around New York City in various venues (see "Performances" page) including the Birdland Jazz Club, 54 Below, Carnegie Hall, and the Broadway orchestras of “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” “Camelot” and “Parade.” He has also performed in other theatrical productions and national tours, including “Chicago” with John O’Hurley, “Wicked” with John Davidson, the revival of “West Side Story” and “Sweet Charity” with Molly Ringwald. He also played in the Broadway orchestras of “Motown the Musical,” “Mary Poppins,” the “Evita” revival with Ricky Martin, "The Phantom of the Opera" and the revival of "The Color Purple" with Jennifer Hudson, Heather Headley and later Jennifer Holliday with whom Saadi had also toured previously.

Other artists with whom Saadi has performed include: Rez Abbasi, Muhal Richard Abrams, Eddie Allen, Joshua Bell, Joe Cohn, Eric Comstock, Jon Davis, Tony DeSare, Natalie Douglas, Al Grey, Loston Harris, the Jimmy Heath big band, Buck Hill, Jennifer Holliday, Ronny Jordan, Sheila Jordan, Linda Lavin, Marilyn Maye, Tony Middleton, the Mingus Orchestra, Patrick Page, Valery Ponomarev, Houston Person, Antoine Roney, Bill Saxton, Bill Ware (and his Vibes trio), Jon Weber (of NPR’s Piano Jazz), Jack Wilkins and Aaron Weinstein.

Notable venues Saadi has performed in include: Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note Jazz Club (New York City and Milan, Italy), Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola and Rose Hall (JALC), The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, The Großes Festspielhaus (Salzburg), The Olympia Theater (Paris), The NCPA in Mumbai (India), BB King Blues Club and Grill, Blues Alley, The Bohemian Caverns (Washington DC), The Lenox Lounge, The Carlyle Hotel, the Algonquin Oak Room, the 55 Bar and Small Jazz Club.