Andy West

{{short description|American bass guitarist and composer (born 1953)}}

{{Other people}}

{{BLP sources|date=June 2016}}{{Infobox musical artist

| image = Andy_West.jpg

| landscape = yes

| instrument = Bass guitar

| name = Andy West

| birth_place = Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|2|6}}

| alias =

| genre = Progressive rock, jazz rock

| associated_acts = Dixie Dregs
Mike Keneally
Steve Morse
Henry Kaiser

| label =

| years_active = 1970–present

| website = [http://www.andywest.com andywest.com]

}}

Andy West (born February 6, 1953) is an American bass guitarist{{cite book | last=Bacon | first=T. | last2=Moorhouse | first2=B. | title=The Bass Book | publisher=Backbeat Books | year=1995 | isbn=978-1-4768-5097-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0RMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT101 | access-date=July 13, 2017 | page=101}} and composer who is an original founding member of the Dixie Dregs along with Steve Morse.{{cite web | title=Andy West: The Complete 1978 Dixie Dregs Interview | website=Jas Obrecht Music Archive | date=October 10, 2012 | url=http://jasobrecht.com/andy-west-complete-1978-dixie-dregs-interview/ | access-date=July 13, 2017}} Since the breakup of the original band in 1983, West has been on albums with Mike Keneally, Henry Kaiser, Paul Barrere, Vinnie Moore, and many others. His frequent style of playing bass is with a guitar pick, although he has performed in fingerstyle on several occasions. Since 1985, West has simultaneously pursued a career in the software industry while continuing to release albums sporadically. He currently works as a vice president for Analytics and Adaptive Learning at Pearson Education.