b, *1970 CU, Havana
Musician of Rock
A.k.a. Antonio Choy
Tony Choy is a jazz-oriented bass guitar player born in Cuba, living in Florida, USA. He is internationally known mostly from (technical) death metal projects, he plays jazz, funk, big band and is also well known as a latin pop musician. He was one of the first bass players who introduced elements like Slap & Pop and two-handed tapping to extreme metal. He joined Cynic (2) in 1989 and played on two demo tapes in 1990 and 1991. As a guest musician he played bass for Pestilence on the 1991 album "Testimony Of The Ancients" and some live gigs. He also recorded Atheist's "Unquestionable Presence" after original Atheist bassist Roger Patterson died in a car accident. He became full time bass player of Atheist in 1993 for their album "Elements" and left Cynic. After Atheist split up 1994 Tony primarily made latin pop. As songwriter, producer, musician and singer he worked with several known artists of the genre. He plays bass guitar in a band called Area 305 and has done background vocals for Juan Gabriel; Julio Iglesias and others. As a solo artist he was nominated for a Grammy (Album of the Year 2004). He can be seen as percussionist in clubs around Miami. Tony reappeared in the metal scene around 2006 as Atheist reunited for some live dates and also took part in Patrick Mameli's project C-187 on the album "Collision". As Patrick announced the reformation of Pestilence in 2008 Tony also joined, this time as a full member. He played on Resurrection Macabre and the accompanying Tour but left the band in October 2009 because of his other projects. Tony will be on a new Atheist album and his latin pop band Area 305 also scheduled a new album this year.