Brett Black is one of those rare players who doesn't just hold down the low end — he owns it. A professional upright bassist with more than 25 years of experience, Brett has built his reputation in the trenches of rockabilly, psychobilly, punk, jazz, Americana, and folk, earning credits on records and stages that most musicians only dream about.

Brett's recorded career began with the Los Angeles-based rockabilly trio Three Bad Jacks, a band built on the bastard DNA of Elvis Presley, Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash, and Joey Ramone. From 1999 to 2007, Brett slapped his way through two defining albums — the debut Made of Stone (1999) and Crazy in the Head (2005) — as well as the Hellbound Train EP (2002). Three Bad Jacks sold out venues coast to coast, opening for Joe Strummer, Dwight Yoakam, Social Distortion, and the Bouncing Souls, packing rooms from the House of Blues to the Knitting Factory.

In 2008, Brett joined the Santa Cruz revved-up rockabilly trio The Chop Tops — a chapter that would define the next decade of his career. Logging upwards of 200 shows per year and 30,000 miles on the road annually, Brett became one of the hardest-working bassists in the underground American music scene. He appeared on Deadly Love (2010, produced by Kim Nekroman of Nekromantix) and Evil Six, also serving as co-arranger on both records.

The Chop Tops were sponsored by Murray's Pomade — one of only two bands in the brand's 90-year history to receive that honor, alongside the Stray Cats — as well as Gretsch Guitars, Jim Dunlop, Gallien-Krueger Bass Amplifiers, and T.U.K. Footwear.

On stage, Brett earned a reputation as a physical and magnetic performer — known to spin his upright bass in the air mid-song without missing a beat. The band toured nationally and internationally, including multiple runs across Australia, and shared bills with an extraordinary roster of legends. Brett left The Chop Tops in 2013, but returned in 2025 for the band's 30th Anniversary reunion — hitting the road again and recording Fabrikate, their first new album in over a decade, available on vinyl and all streaming platforms.

Beyond his work with Three Bad Jacks and The Chop Tops, Brett has backed and performed with some of the founding names of American roots music — including Robert Gordon (who brought rockabilly back from the dead in the late 1970s alongside guitarist Link Wray), Joe Clay (one of the original Sun Records-era rockabilly artists), and has filled in with The Rocketz.

Brett Black is currently available for session recording, live performances, and touring. Whether it's a one-night stand in a dive bar or a studio date with a major artist, he brings the same thing every time: deep groove, raw energy, and a command of the upright bass that only comes from 25 years of doing it the hard way.