Dave was born in Oakland, California, in 1952. There was a half-size violin kept in the closet in case he wanted to be a concert violinist. He played trumpet at the age of nine, moving to baritone horn at the age of eleven, followed by a stint on drums until settling on electric bass at thirteen, adding upright bass to the mix until the switch to saxophone at the age of twenty-one. He has specialized in the baritone saxophone since the early seventies.
Sewelson arrived in New York City in the summer of 1977, settled in the East Village becoming an active member of the Downtown Scene, playing with the 25 O’Clock Band, Jemeel Moondoc’s Jus Grew Orchestra, William Parker’s Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and Saheb Sarbib’s Multinational Big Band and the Microscopic Septet. He has played with many wonderful musicians, including, Billly Bang, John Zorn, Peter Kuhn, Alex Cline, Roy Campbell, Sonny Murray, Kidd Jordan, Daniel Carter, Will Connell and Stephanie Stone.. Dave’s current projects include, Two Sisters Inc. with David Hofstra and Claire Daly, a quartet with Peter Kuhn, Smooth Freejazz, Sewelsonics, and The Daves.