Jeff Halsey is a prime example of a regional player who commands all the technique and musical acumen of better-known musicians. Halsey has served as first-call bassist for musicians living and touring in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. He possesses a bright, elastic bass tone that serves him particularly well when articulating distinctive, horn-like solos. The son of saxophonist Tracy Halsey, Halsey started out playing piano and trumpet. When he was 13, his father enlisted him as the bassist for his combo's New Year's Eve job when the regular bassist canceled. Halsey had never played bass, and his father instructed him to just keep a steady rhythm going. Halsey proved adept enough that his father made him a regular with the group. He began studying bass when he was 16 and eventually earned a master's degree from Bowling Green State University, where he stayed on as a faculty member and now heads the jazz studies program. He was a regular member of the bands of saxophonist Jimmy Forrest and Cleveland tenor saxophonist Ernie Krivda. Since settling in Bowling Green, he has played with a number of top professionals, including Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Cowell, Marian McPartland, Lee Konitz, and Arturo Sandoval, as well as top regional players, including Louis Smith, Claude Black, and Gene Parker. Halsey also appears with the BGSU faculty jazz ensemble, who also includes pianist Russ Schmidt, guitarist Chris Buzzelli, and drummer Roger Schupp.