Eli Naragon was born in Pittsburgh, PA, a city with a deep history of soulful music. It was here that he grew up hearing the sounds of such greats as Roger Humphries Sr and Sean Jones. Having been struck by their inspiration, he decided to pursue music and attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2014. During those four years, Naragon began to develop his abilities and musical voice under the mentorship of Peter Dominguez, Jamey Haddad, Gary Bartz, and Jay Ashby. 

 

Anxious to continue learning and gain more experience, he would regularly attend Roger Humphries’ weekly jam session at a club called James Street while back in Pittsburgh for the summer breaks. It was here that Humphries began to exercise his renown ability as a mentor, shaping Naragon’s musical instincts on the bandstand. In 2017, Naragon first began to play with Roger Humphries’s band, The RH Factor, earning his place in the line of musical apprentices for years to come.

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After graduating from Oberlin in 2018, Naragon decided to move back to his hometown to work as a professional bassist full time. It did not take long for the phone to start ringing more and more, and he soon became a mainstay on many stages. Never one to limit himself stylistically, he played in as many different groups as he could, including the elastic Tony Campbell and Jazz Surgery, Cuban timba styles with Hugo Cruz and Caminos, traditional Swing music with The Boilermakers, and the avant-garde Naiad with Patrick Breiner, Antonio Croes, and Carter Freije. Soon, he began to develop his skills as a bandleader and composer with the Eli Naragon Quartet. Notably, he has also shared the stage with Eddie Henderson, Billy Hart, Jamey Haddad, Rufus Reid, Poogie Bell, Robert Hurst, Darryl Yokley, Tito Carillo, Jay Ashby, David Throckmorton, Juan "Tiny" Colon, Tommy Lehman and Clint Bleil. He can be heard on recordings by Hugo Cruz, Tony Campbell, Daryl Shawn, Clint Bleil, and Brad Fritcher's MOODS. 

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Coming from a family of teachers, it was only natural that Naragon would enter the field of education to pay his experiences forward. He began teaching privately in 2016 and in 2018, not long after graduating college, he joined Center Of Life as a bass and general music instructor. He got his first job teaching at the college level at the Washington and Jefferson School Of Music.

 

Eli’s debut album, “Homage,” is dedicated to those musicians who paved the way forward, particularly those who brought him under their mentorship. Eli recently graduated from the masters program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying under the great Chicago bassist Larry Gray, and now works full time as a musician, composer/arranger, and educator.