Amy Shook is a dynamic multi-instrumentalist (acoustic and electric bass, violin, viola, cello), composer, and educator whose passion for collaboration and innovation has taken her to some of the world’s most prestigious stages. Renowned for her enormous sound and driving groove on the bass, Amy is equally at home crafting evocative compositions that reflect her love of jazz tradition and her appetite for fresh, cross-cultural exploration.

As a member of the Temporal Taal Collective, Amy is committed to forging new sonic landscapes that unite Eastern and Western musical traditions. Building on her extensive background performing in swing and straight-ahead jazz ensembles—including the acclaimed 3D Jazz Trio (3Divas)—she embraces the Collective’s mission to create vibrant, surprising “journeys” for listeners. Amy’s recent work with the ensemble highlights the exhilarating fusion of East and West, incorporating improvisation with rhythmic and harmonic elements drawn from across the globe. As she describes it, each performance becomes “an unexpected, colorful journey, wondering what delights to experience around the next corner,” ultimately weaving “a tapestry of music…each independent yet woven together to create a new dream and vision.”

In her more than two decades on the scene, Amy’s resumé includes playing with luminaries such as Maurice Hines, Lionel Hampton, Larry Willis, Wycliffe Gordon, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, among many others. She has appeared at iconic venues like the Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, and the Blue Note, and performed off-Broadway at New World Stages in NYC. Amy has also produced and recorded with a diverse range of artists, from big-band swing projects to indie rock collaborations. Her own ensembles—such as the Shook/Russo 4tet and the Sholbertshire Swingtet—continue to delight audiences with original music that honors jazz tradition while pushing its boundaries.

Now, through her work with the Temporal Taal Collective, Amy is expanding her compositional and improvisational voice, creating and performing pieces that “truly integrate the harmonic sounds and rhythms of East and West” in a unique orchestral setting. Her vision remains clear: to offer audiences an immersive, soul-stirring experience that bridges cultures, traditions, and time—one inspired note at a time.