During the ’70s and early ’80s, now living in the Bay Area, Dave supported his growing family as a full time musician. Immersed in the vibrant San Francisco jazz and Latin music scene, he led his own group playing often with friends Bobby McFerrin, drummer Babatunde Lea, jazz vocalist Jackie Ryan and others at the legendary Keystone Korner and other well-known venues. In 1981, Jackie Ryan invited Dave to play a jazz gig with her in Maui, which led to his becoming Entertainment Director at the Royal Lahaina Hotel.

In the mid-80s, after a random slip and fall on the way to a gig caused a seriously damaging wrist fracture, doctors did not offer a promising prognosis for him to ever play piano again. With his beloved music career no longer an option, and with a wife and young daughter to support, Dave enrolled at the University of California, Irvine, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. He moved on to UCLA School of Law becoming an Editor of the UCLA Law Review and began his legal career in 1992 with a prestigious commercial firm, Pillsbury Madison & Sutro, now called Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. In 1996 Dave accepted a position as a Deputy Attorney General with the California Office of the Attorney General, where he eventually joined the Civil Rights Enforcement, where he was honored with the 2009 Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.

In 2005, after a twenty-year absence from the music scene, and while still a Deputy Attorney General, Dave’s long-forgotten dreams of playing and composing jazz were re-kindled when his own self-discovery coincided with an invitation to play some impromptu solo piano during a private party while the band took a break. This led to Dave being invited to local jam sessions, where he once again fell in love with the deep satisfaction of playing piano, composing, arranging and writing lyrics to tell his stories through music.

In June 2010, he released his first CD, GONE, featuring Mary Stallings and Ernie Watts, showcasing ten rock solid originals from Bass ranging from post-bop, sultry ballads, to gospel, straight-ahead, and to Bossa Nova and Tango. In addition to Dave’s ten originals, GONE features an exciting duet with Ernie and him on Astor Piazzolla’s famous “Libertango.” GONE hit #2 on the national JazzWeek Radio Charts after only 3 weeks.

In July 2011 Attorney General Kamala Harris wrote to Dave congratulating him on the “extraordinary achievement” of GONE, recognizing “the dedication and hard work that it takes to work as a Deputy Attorney General while simultaneously achieving acclaim as an accomplished musician. This reflects positively on your work ethic and dedication to commitment.”

Bolstered by such great national interest and radio play, Dave was inspired to write new, exhilarating compositions and arrangements for his 2015 CD, NYC SESSIONS, featuring jazz legends Phil Woods, Karrin Allyson, Harvie S, Ignacio Berroa, Conrad Herwig, and others. NYC SESSIONS may well be the last studio recording by Phil Woods (RIP). One listen to Phil’s solo on “The Sixties” will show that even at the end of his career, Phil played with more energy and raw intensity than a man half his age.

In February 2015, Whaling City Sound released NYC SESSIONS which soon hit #5 on the national JazzWeek Radio charts. NYC SESSIONS received a coveted 4- STAR review from DownBeat where Jon Garelick wrote that NYC SESSIONS covers a “broad range of material for a unified whole. That success is due in part to Bass’ savvy as an arranger and programmer, and also to his top-notch crew, not to mention his own sparkling keyboard work.” Garelick continues: Phil Woods “who appears on six of the album’s 11 tracks . . . sounds big and bold, fully engaged with Bass’ tuneful charts.” Garelick goes on to say that Dave “plays with verve throughout.” DownBeat went on to name “NYC SESSIONS” as one of the “BEST ALBUMS of 2015.”

In January 2015, Dave retired from the Office of the Attorney General to devote himself to music 24/7, continuing to compose and perform.

Dave released NO BOUNDARIES, on Whaling City Sound in August 2019.

Along with Dave, two-time Grammy winner Ted Nash produced the album and played flute, alto flute, clarinet, soprano, alto, and tenor saxes throughout. The album also features 5-time Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson, and 2-time Grammy winner Carlos Henriquez. Jerome Jennings is on drums and on the Afro-Cuban numbers, masters Carlos Caro, Mauricio Herrera, and Miguel Valdez join on bata, conga, bongo and timbales.

Describing NO BOUNDARIES, DownBeat wrote, [Dave is] “a highly effective bebop player who also has a way with Afro-Cuban rhythms … displaying wit, arranging chops, and impressive pianism.”

Striking out in a different direction, 2021’s THE TRIO VOL.1, showcases maximum musicianship with, in a trio setting, no place to hide.  Alongside Dave on piano, bassist Kerry Kashiwagi, and drummer Scott Gordon

Two-time Grammy winner Bob Blumenthal describes the piano trio form as “perhaps the ultimate challenge for a jazz pianist and [Dave] responds by playing, composing, arranging and leading with strength and singularity.  In Kerry Kashiwagi and Scott Gordon, he has partners who are with him every note of the way, and the spaces in between.”

Jonathan Widran writes of THE TRIO VOL. 1 that, “there are equal parts whimsy and wonder throughout, ranging from the exotic latin-tinged bang, boom and roll jam bass original “Mean Johnny” and the playful bluesy groovin’ of Thelonious Monk’s “Trinkle Tinkle” to the lush, seductive new ballad “June,” the punchy, heavily percussified bebopper “Nice Home” and the sweetly melodic but out there avant-gardery of Annette Peacock’s “Nothing Ever Was, Anyway.”

Dave’s latest recording, THE TRIO VOL. 2, picks up where its predecessor left off.  Bass notes that Vol.2 elevates everything the Trio did on Vol.1 to a new level:  It’s a deeper, more mature effort by the Trio regarding the three things that made Vol.1 a success:  the wide spectrum of styles, the vibrant 3-way communication, and the unique arrangements of challenging compositions.

On 2022’s THE TRIO VOL. 2, they offer up a set of performances that are as tight as if the band had been playing together for decades, while, in truth, they first came together just over three years ago, prior to recording Vol. 1.   Doug Colette of Glide Magazine wrote, “The Dave Bass Trio’s spare takes on unorthodox material sound like an unending exposition of imagination; with consummate grace and alacrity the musicians contour their motion through the twists and turns of convolute material commencing so emphatically with Annette Peacock’s “El Cordobes.”

Two-time Grammy winner Paul Blumenthal writes,”I must say bravo. I’m particularly impressed with the growing empathy of the trio; the quality and variety of the “covers,” and Bass’ ability to avoid both slavish imitation and novelty-for-novelty’s sake in his interpretations; the programmatic balance created by Bass’ originals, of which I find “May” particularly attractive; and the lean strength of the piano solos.”

Upon the release of Vol. 2, JWVibe’s Jonathan Widran announced, “Bass’ group now one of the most explosive trios in Jazz.”

On May 12, 2023, Dave Released “The Trio Vol.3” with the same personnel as Vols. 1 and 2.  Vol.3 received significant airplay across the nation.   Vol. 3's staying power is shown by the 10 weeks in stayed in the top 20 on JazzWeek, the national jazz chart, peaking at #7.

Vol.3 received many rave reviews, including the following:

In Bebop Spoken here, Lance Liddle wrote, “Over the years I've been fortunate to hear many of jazz's great piano trios live. Teddy Wilson, Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner, Marian McPartland, Mary Lou Williams and Bill Evans to mention but a few, as well as many more on disc, and I can say, with hand on heart, that Dave Bass is worthy of being included in that illustrious company. . . . “This is the third of his trilogy of trio albums and is probably the best ever jazz album by a former Deputy Attorney General and ranks pretty high alongside those pianists who were called to a different bar.”

D. Glenn Daniels wrote on The Jazz Page, “Pianist Dave Bass truly paints with the keys, and his latest release The Trio Vol. 3 is another of his masterpieces. The interplay between all of the musicians is more than superb and contributes to making this recording a truly majestic work.”  Joe Lang wrote on Jersey Jazz,

“From the opening notes of “As Long as There’s Music” on The Trio – Vol. 3 (Dave Bass Music- 003), the listener is drawn into the welcoming pianism of Dave Bass… an eclectic and consistently engaging program. No matter the tempo, Bass and his partners are as empathetic a team as could be desired.  If piano trio albums are regularly included in your listening oeuvre, this album by the Dave Bass Trio will be a welcome addition to your library.”  In All About Jazz, Pierre Giroux wrote the Vol. was is “A smorgasbord of originals, American Songbook standards and jazz classics all done with imagination and panache.” In another All About Jazz review, Troy Dostert wrote, “Another worthwhile document drawing on Bass' many influences and showing that he also has plenty of his own creativity to offer…. the pianist proves his mettle as an agile and thoughtful interpreter of the jazz repertoire. Bass has created some first-rate jazz on his third trio album, and it gives us ample reason to anticipate Vol. 4.”

In JW Vibe, Jonathan Widran wrote, “The story is all about the effortlessly conversational, dynamic and adventurous vibe Bass is creating with bassist Kerry Kashiwagi and drummer Scott Gordon – with guitarist Barry Finnerty. the alternately sensitive, often whimsical and always intuitive playing (which is the foundation of what the pianist has referred to as their “wonderful telepathy”), the true joy of Vol. 3, like the previous volumes, is the rollercoaster mood swinging taking place.” 

In Notes on Jazz, Michael Doherty wrote, “Some particularly delicious work on piano… exciting and unsettling. “Another Ending” feels like a wonderful dance with a touch of magic…” 

In Musical Memoirs, Dee Dee McNeil wrote, “This trio definitely put a song in my heart. All three of these gentlemen exhibit effervescence and mastery of their instruments. Together they offer us nearly an hour of stellar performances and awesome music.”

In Goldmine, Mike Greenblatt wrote, “When it comes to Dave Bass, the law’s loss is music’s gain. Vol.3 is a tour-de-force of mighty ensemble playing and soloing.”