Not many musicians boast a range which encompasses everything from hard rock to hard funk and everything in-between: hip-hop, pop/R&B, gospel, soul/disco, neo-soul, indie rock, jazz-rock, blues/folk, reggae, house -- even a flamenco/metal hybrid. But stylistic restrictions and genre barriers go out the window when you’re talking about Uriah Duffy, who has recorded with and/or toured with artists and groups as diverse as Whitesnake, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Sly & the Family Stone, GQ, Goapele, Too $hort, Taj Mahal, Messenjah, Lyrics Born, Ledisi, Talib Kweli, Pat Travers & Carmine Appice, the Coup, Chris Clouse, Martin Luther, Andy Caldwell, Flamental, and the First A.M.E. Church.

But then, Uriah was born to rock. Literally. Born in Rhode Island to a Thai mother and an Irish-American father, he was named after ‘70s rockers Uriah Heep. His brother is named Yes, so it’s fair to assume the bothers were familiar with bongwater, down ‘n’ dirty blues-based riffs, and elaborate prog-rock chord progressions from an early age. Where Uriah got his funk from is another story.

Uriah began playing the bass at the age of 8 after seeing Rush’s Geddy Lee live in concert. Well-schooled in classic rock, he cut his teeth in high school jazz bands (where he acquired more influences, from Bela Fleck to Chick Corea), various East Coast garage-rock, metal, and hard rock outfits, all the while pushing himself to become a well-rounded bassist and master the intricacies of jazz-fusion, funk, and classical music.

Choosing to relocate to Berkeley, California instead of the Berklee School of Music (who offered him a scholarship), he headed West in 1994, with his young son Shilo in tow. Immediately, he began carving out a reputation as a bass player who could not only play any style of music, but learn other artists’ songs virtually instantaneously.

As he told Whitesnake.com in 2005, “Moving permanently to California is where I learned to groove and play professionally, playing all sorts of gigs from top 40 and disco to Bluegrass and Country. I finally found my niche as a deep grooving funk, gospel and R&B cat, where the bass really holds everything together.” Since then, Uriah has established himself as the go-to 4- (and sometimes 5-) string guy for session and live work in the Bay Area and L.A., working with dozens of artists whether pop, alternative or underground, indie or major, in just about any genre worth naming.