Biography: Adam Spiegl

Adam Spiegl is a freelance double and electric bassist from Melbourne, Australia. One of Melbourne's most in-demand players, he has performed and recorded with some of Australia's finest musicians, and in 2015 was a finalist in the National Jazz Awards for bass, Australia's most prestigious award for young jazz musicians.

Born in the Czech Republic, Adam arrived in Melbourne as a young child after his family fled the regime with barely any possessions to their name besides the books they couldn't bear to part with. Growing up with these stories and his parents' love of music and the arts, his creativity was nurtured from a young age and a career as a musician was almost inevitable. He studied bass at the Victorian College of the Arts, and since graduating has built up a successful freelance career as a double and electric bassist and guitarist.

In 2018 Adam released his debut trio album, Melancholiac, alongside the companion album No Evil, both featuring Nathan Liow on piano and Justin Olsson on drums. Melancholiac was subsequently nominated as Best Jazz Album in the 2019 Music Victoria Awards. Spiegl, Liow and Olsson have been performing together since 2010, and have built up a musical connection that takes the audience on a compelling journey through brooding, dark ballads, high energy pieces and thrilling improvisations. Adam’s compositions are melodic and impressionistic, taking inspiration from European and American jazz, third stream music, and his Czech roots. These pieces come alive in the hands of the trio, showcasing each player’s unique approach to their instrument and the interplay between them.

Adam's projects include L.A.A. alongside pianist Louise Goh and drummer Adam Coad. The trio released their debut album Crossing Ahead in 2013. He is also a member of the Jack Pantazis Group, with whom he has recorded two albums, What? and With The Little We Have, and the Nathan Liow Trio, with whom he has recorded two albums NLT (2012) and No (2017).

Some of Adam's other recent recordings include Erica Bramham's Songs From A Midnight Room (2018) and Twelve Moons (2016), Adam Rudegeair's The Bowie Project (2015) and Bourbon St to Brunswick St (2015), Tierra's Allestree (2013), Watson/Liow's Here In The Corner (2010), Henry Manetta and the Trip's Sexjazz (2009) and Katie Underwood's Ain't Nobody's Baby (2009).

In addition to his performance career, Adam tutors students privately in double and electric bass, guitar, composition and music theory.