Steve Bulmer is a bassist, educator, composer and producer actively performing and recording on upright bass, electric bass and tuba. As an educator, Steve is the Instructor of bass (classical, jazz, upright bass and bass guitar) at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT where he is also director of all UConn Jazz Combos.
A native New Englander from Connecticut, Steve enjoys a very active career as an educator and performer that spans many musical idioms including jazz, classical, musical theater and pop/rock. He started piano at age 6 but his musical interest drew him acoustically lower and lower, focusing on how performing as a bassist works harmonically and rhythmically.
Education
Steve was formally trained at the Eastman School of Music where he received a bachelor’s degree in both Music Education and Music Performance, planning to be a performer and educator. He received a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University studying with the famous pedagogue and Chicago Symphony Orchestra tubist Arnold Jacobs.
Steve the Bassist
Steve performs as a bassist and tubist extensively with regional and national musicians in many settings. He has performed on Broadway in productions of Chicago (the Musical) and Parade! at Lincoln Center doubling on upright bass and tuba. He is first call bassist in the region when national touring shows hire area musicians, and has played in such productions as Wicked, Back to the Future, Beautiful – The Carol King Story, Spamalot, Pippin, Mary Poppins, Evita!, The Addams Family, Billy Eliot, Victor/Victoria, and Young Frankenstein and has backed such jazz talents as Mel Tormé, Ray Charles, and classical acts: The Three Irish Tenors, and Josh Groban.
Steve performs as a bassist with Connecticut-based symphony orchestras including those in Wallingford, Ridgefield, Waterbury and also the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. He also plays tuba and arranges for the Constitution Brass Quintet and has enjoyed re-arranging Widor and Vierne symphonic organ classics for brass quintet, acting as producer of many concerts and events
Jazz
Steve is active as a jazz bassist performing throughout New England with many regional artists and ensembles including performances with Phil Woods, John Abercrombie, Earl MacDonald, John Mastroianni, Greg Abate, Jeff Holmes, Ali Ryerson, Kendra Shank, Nick Brignola, Tom Malone, Lou Marini, Matt Parker, Jonathan Barber, Anton Kot, and vocalese artist Giacomo Gates.
As a composer, Steve most recently was commissioned to write music and lyrics for a movement of Jazz and Justice Suite: A Multi-Movement Declaration. A collaboration between UConn Music and the Gladstein Human Rights Institute, his piece Waltz Gaiabetic explored environmental justice and advocacy as inspired by Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. He performed in its world premiere on April 7, 2026 in J. Louis von der Mehden Recital Hall along with members of UConn Jazz faculty
Steve leads his own jazz quintet, The Hall Monitors, comprised of the area’s finest players and passionate educators. He also performs regularly with Sarah Clay and the StarCats where he arranges a variety of songs for this jazz trio.
He is bassist and president of the New England Jazz Ensemble, a non-profit 16-piece jazz orchestra that commissions and performs new works with an educational mission. Steve is producer of the NEJE’s Peter and the Wolf project, a recording including a Jazz Ensemble version of Prokofiev’s classic tale augmented with four original works inspired by the classical themes. The album was released in April 2018 and has garnered considerable critical acclaim, in jazz and non-jazz circles alike.
Steve has also been the Secretary and a Board member of the Hartford Jazz Society since 2018 and chairs it’s committee focusing on jazz educators.
Steve is a long-term member of the Ethel Lee Ensemble that performs summer Sundays at UNO’s Chicago Bar and Grill in Springfield, MA.
