Thanks for creating a posting for this.
I've just gotten back home but had to share a few thoughts before they evaporate.
Opening Jam.
First - the entire experience was totally one of welcoming, support and encouragement. Not one time did I feel coldness, ego or pretentiousness among ANYONE involved in this project. ANYONE. I couldn't believe it - it was so amazing!
From the incredible staff of people at Coastal Carolina University who were the main contacts and event planners, to the judges, the sponsors, the audience and yes - even the other contestants. Everyone was absolutely incredibly friendly and genuine. Real people. My wife and I wondered if we'd have felt the same general level of ease and comfort if this event were held in NYC or LA. We will forever associate Myrtle Beach as a place of simply great human beings.
Anthony Jackson
The contestants were also great people. Humble but confident, we all got along wonderfully and became friends. The morning after the concert I had breakfast with both Zuzo and Robert Riegler and had a wonderful time! We all saw each other as brothers in music first, competitors for cash & prizes second. It was great to hang out and chat with these guys about their experiences and life as musicians in their home countries. Being a white guy from northern California - I was the only one there without any kind of accent!
Boris Koslov is a guy you can hang out and tell jokes with. He simply enjoys life and seems to roll along with ever comes up with a smile. Obviously road ready - he's a monster player on electric - even though upright is his main instrument. His depth of understanding and application of advanced harmony totally reveals he's a serious jazz "cat". His chops are outrageous!
Zuzo Moussawer is totally unassuming in person, humble and modest and just plain great to be around. But the second he puts on his bass he changes into a master that demands your attention. Zuzo is first and foremost an innovator. He performed techniques not a single one of us - judges included - had ever seen before. The most impressive was a routine where Zuzo slapped the E string with his right hand thumb on the upper fret board, plucking the G string with his right hand pinky, while simultaneously tapping chords with his right hand index, middle and ring fingers.
Oh yeah - he's also tapping with his left hand at the same time. Victor Wooten summed it up best when he said "I've met people who were ambidextrous - but Zuzo - your RIGHT HAND is ambidextrous!" No joke.
I had to go on after him and if there's anything more intimidating than that - I've never experienced it. Zuzo is a crowd pleaser.
Robert Riegler - the only bummer of the whole event was Robert got stuck in airport hell trying to get to the concert. He ended up missing the contest and arrived as the last notes on the final jam were ringing out. So he had to take 4th place. Our disappointment in not getting to hear Robert play was erased when Victor and Steve set Robert up at the after concert VIP reception to display the pieces he's worked so hard to perform.
I'm very sorry I don't have a picture of Robert. I was so interested in hearing him play I had to just watch and listen.
Robert's command of the bass is astounding. He used every single area of the fret board with great precision and mastery. Robert's playing exudes his extensive music knowledge. If you wanted to figure out what Robert was doing - you had to start at the back of the most advanced music theory books. He's a complete negation of the old axiom that those that can't do, teach. He teaches professionally and he can do it all on the bass. The stuff he was pulling off on the bass is simply amazing.
Then there's me. In all honesty - up till this concert I was a weekend warrior with a day job.
If this was a competition about the deepest understanding and application of music theory - I would not have been a finalist. If this was a competition about who could lock best with a drummer - I would not have been a finalist. If this was a competition about the most innovative techniques or fastest chops - I would not have been a finalist.
All I tried to do was make music on the bass that I would want to listen to - not as a bassist - but as human. As many of you know - that's not easy. Based on comments from the judges that‘s what the contest was really about. It was a Solo Bass contest rather than a Bass Solo contest.
After the concert an audience member pointed something out that had not occurred to me. Of all the contestants - I played the slowest and used the least amount of notes. I don't know what that says ultimately - but perhaps if anyone reading this thought they had no business entering the contest because they couldn't double thump 32nd notes across all strings - they should re-consider for next year.
In fact - I encourage EVERYONE who has ANY desire to make the bass a legitimate solo instrument to enter the contest next year. Don’t' think about the level of the competition. Yes, there are more amazing players out there than any of us realize. Yes, it's challenging and stressful at times. Most won't win or place. But even had I not been asked to perform - I had already grown tremendously just going through the process of getting an entry together by the deadline. The past 4 months have been the single most explosive period of musical development in my life. I would not trade the experience for anything.
1 more thought about the 5 honorable mentions. It was very clearly expressed to us that throughout the judging process ALL 5 of those amazing players were in the top 4 on the judges lists - that all our names kept jumping around and moving in and out of the top 4. On any given day someone on the top of 1 judge's list could've been 7th on another judge's list and on and on. As John Patitucci expressed -" this is music - not football" - how do you judge that which is so subjective?
I guess I had more to say than I originally intended with this post - so I'll wrap it up. If you have any questions about contest, the concert or even just bass playing - I'll be around here to share any thoughts I have.
My deepest thanks to concert judges Anthony Jackson, Will Lee, Gregg Bissonette, Jonathan Herrera, Victor Wooten & Steve Bailey. And Coastal Carolina staff Katherine Sarvis, Sandy & Paul Smith!
ps - I will be posting mp3s of the performance arrangements of all three tunes I did very soon. I'll be back with links.
Thanks for your indulgence!
Big congrats Jeff! 
