His family moved frequently due to his father's work with both the U.S. and Nigerian governments, exposing Essiet to various cultures, languages, and musical traditions from an early age.
[2] He began his musical studies on the violin at the age of 10 but switched to the bass at 14 while living in Portland, Oregon.
After attending Mount Hood Community College, he played briefly in Los Angeles before working in Europe during the early 1980s with fellow American jazz musician Famoudou Don Moye.
In 1983 he moved to New York City, playing with Abdullah Ibrahim, Art Blakey, Marty Cook, and Ralph Peterson Jr. Essiet Essiet has had many collaborations, including with George Adams, Ron Affif, Kenny Barron, the Blue Note All-Stars, Paul Bollenback, Donald Brown, Bruce Cox, Kurt Elling, Kenny Garrett, Benny Golson, Jim Hartog, David Hazeltine, Freddie Hubbard, Victor Jones, Joe Locke, Kevin Mahogany, Cedar Walton, and Bobby Watson.
With Bluesiana Triangle (Dr. John and David "Fathead" Newman) With George Cables With Vincent Herring With Frank Morgan With Benny Powell