Lorin was raised in Lincolnwood, Illinois outside of Chicago. Muriel, his mother, was a music teacher. She played the piano, guitar, and violin. Lorin began on the alto saxophone at age four and picked up the bass guitar when he was 14 to “jam” along with Elliott, his older brother, and Ryan Cohan, his cousin. Lorin was influenced by his brother’s love for Chicago blues, classic rock and jazz. He eventually discovered Jaco Pastorious and Chick Corea and, finally, straight-ahead jazz. From 1990-1991, Lorin studied under Anthony Jackson, the pioneering bass guitarist at The Manhattan School of Music. He earned his B.A. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1995 with a B.A. Lorin began studying acoustic bass in Chicago at 25. He was mentored by Joe Guastefeste, the principal bassist of the Chicago Symphony. Lorin was awarded the Skidmore Jazz Workshop Blue Note Records Scholarship in 1998. Lorin has been touring the globe with Monty Alexander, jazz great since 2005. The pianist has featured him on his two most recent recordings for Chesky, The Good Life: Monty Alexander plays the Songs of Tony Bennett and Calypso Blues – The Songs of Nat King Cole. Lorin has been collaborating with Ryan Cohan, 2008 Guggenheim Fellow, for many years. This collaboration included tours in the U.S., Canada and Europe as well as Russia, Russia, Russia, and Africa. He is also featured on three recordings by the composer/pianist: Here and Now, One Sky, and Another Look (Motema/2007), with Joe Locke as vibraphonist. Lorin has traveled the world to promote cultural exchange through music. Lorin was a jazz ambassador for the U.S. Department of State (Kenned Center) and toured Southeast Asia in 2004 performing and teaching in Vietnam and Indonesia. Yamaha Musical Instrument Corporation selected Lorin to “road-test” their “Silent Bass” during the tour. As part of?The Rhythm Road?: American Music Abroad, he spent February 2008 on a five-country tour of Africa and Middle East with the Ryan Cohan Quartet. The U.S. State Department sponsored the program and Jazz at Lincoln Center sponsored it. Wynton Marsalis, chair of the panel that selected Lorin and his bandmates to perform in workshops across Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Jordan. The success of the tour led to the selection of the same group for a second tour of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine in February 2009. Lorin has shared the stage alongside many Jazz legends, including Joe Locke and Steve Turre, Jon Faddis. Slide Hampton, Winard Harper. Von Freeman. Buddy DeFranco. Claudio Roditi. Houston Person. Ira Sullivan. Bob Sheppard. John Faddis. Joe Labarbara. Andy Bey. Ernie Andrews. Lorin’s musical experience is not restricted to jazz. From 2008-10, he was a member of the Chicago cast of the Tony-winning musical Jersey Boys. His original songs and pounding bass guitar grooves drive the R
