Some people are your go-to for exactly what you need. Need a tree removed? Call a tree guy. Leaky faucet? Call a plumber. Need a musician? Call Zach Westfall.
Self-described as a musical improviser, Westfall has been playing bass since he was 14 years old and performs regularly with at least four bands across Monterey County. Now, at 36, he’s moving his musical career forward, guided by an old rule: Never turn down a gig.
“I take what I do for a living seriously, and that has to mean that I can play anything,” Westfall explains, marketing himself as an all-styles bass player. “I want to be able to fit in with anyone that wants to hire me.”
Westfall’s opportunistic nature when it comes to music led him to be non-prejudicial to genres. But it’s safe to say that his signature is jazz and R&B. Growing up in Pacific Grove, he dreamed of one day playing at the Monterey Jazz Festival – a dream that was realized with a debut in 2018. He also leads a jazz quartet that plays every Sunday at Pearl Hour in Monterey. The group released an album in September 2023 after recording it live at the bar, adding nicely to the groovy soul that Westfall finds appealing about the genre.
Westfall sees his role as caretaker of the music and the artists who wrote the pieces he plays. “When I’m playing other people’s music I don’t make it about me,” he says. “I play what the music needs.”
His eponymous group that hits jazz standards at Pearl Hour comprises his longtime friend and veteran saxophonist Ben Herod and 25-year-old guitarist Adam Astrup – sometimes combined with other performers who have time.
Starting Saturday, Feb. 10, Westfall will begin a residency at Pacific Grove’s Juice and Java, where he is scheduled every other weekend for two months. It’s a chance for Westfall to begin playing with his own music and broaden his artistic horizons.
In true jazz improvisation fashion though, Westfall doesn’t have rehearsals or set lists to think about – he’ll go into it with no part written.
“Ideally, you want the music to just flow out of you like an open faucet,” he says. “Hopefully it’s the start of another chapter in my artistic life.”