shiningeyes

Esperanza Spalding at the White House honoring Stevie Wonder

A belated congratulations to Esperanza Spalding for her “Best New Artist” win at the Grammy’s this year! Truly deserved.  So talented, soulful and full of grace.

I played the string bass myself in my high school orchestral. On the first day of my class, when asked what instrument I wanted to play, I answered that I wanted to play the “bass”.  Except I pronounced it like “bass” the fish, not “bass” the instrument.  Yeeeah, that got a few chuckles out of the other people in the room.

I ended up picking up the bass pretty well though and soon ending up leading the entire section of bass players.  At the time, it was so unusual for a female to play the bass and to do it well, at that.  I became sort of known for that.  Even to this day, when I run into old friends from high school, the first thing most of them ask me is if I still play the bass.

Well, no, I don’t. My father accidentally broke my string bass a few years ago. And admittedly, I never quite developed a passion for the instrument. Nevertheless, I still smile to see another female playing the string bass and give the instrument the love that/attention it deserves.