About Ross Sandlin
In 2009, I had the opportunity to sit in with Les Claypool of Primus, one of the players who shaped how I hear bass in the first place. Moments like that don't happen often, and they've stayed with me ever since.
I've been playing bass for over 22 years. I studied performance and composition at Santa Fe University of Art & Design, and spent years coming up through the Denver music scene — performing, session work (including with +Ultra), and eventually teaching lessons through local studios there. Along the way, I attended Victor Wooten's Music and Nature Camp, an experience that deepened my understanding of groove, rhythm, and the relationship between music and the natural world.
For most of that time, my musical background was rooted in rock and jam bands. That changed when I discovered Robert Glasper and J Dilla. Their approach to harmony and rhythm completely reshaped how I thought about the bass, and eventually, how I taught it.
When I moved from Denver to the Atlanta area a few years ago, teaching became the center of my musical life. That shift is what led to Groove Lab — the framework I now use to teach hip hop bass, groove, and harmonic clarity, built on the idea that real musicianship comes from understanding why something works, not just memorizing what to play.
I still play, write, and produce — 6-string guitar, beats in Ableton, the occasional original composition — but these days, my focus is helping other bass players find that same shift in how they hear and create music.
You can read more about my journey from performing to teaching in this feature from CanvasRebel Magazine.