Double Bass Meyer/Meyer/Bush/Marshall

[Low Down Brown]

Had the opportunity to see Edgar Meyer for the first time last night. 4-piece with his son George on fiddle, Sam Bush on mandolin/fiddle, and Mike Marshall on mandolin/six string/fiddle. Those guys exemplified musicianship at its finest. Not one clam or sour note all night and they jammed like the Smuckers factory.

Edgar Meyer is partly responsible for me lusting after and wanting to play double bass many years ago. The PBS special from the early 90's featuring him, Ray Brown, and Victor Wooten changed my life and led me to DB. It was absolutely amazing to see the legend in action and it has given me much needed inspiration to get back into DB and dig deeper into the styles and techniques. If you've never had an opportunity to see the master at work, I highly recommend doing yourself a favor and making that happen if possible.

 

[marcox]

I saw him recently as part of Bela Fleck's band — amazing stuff!

 

[JBarz]

I saw him first playing the "Short Trip Home" tour with the same guys (J Bell on fiddle, tho) when I was a kid. It got me hooked and absolutely made me try to make my baritone sax sound like an arco bass for the next 20 years... Now that I can actually play a little arco bass, it feels so deeply satisfying - every step seeming a little closer 'home', if you will.

 

[scott sinner]

Had the opportunity to see Edgar Meyer for the first time last night. 4-piece with his son George on fiddle, Sam Bush on mandolin/fiddle, and Mike Marshall on mandolin/six string/fiddle. Those guys exemplified musicianship at its finest. Not one clam or sour note all night and they jammed like the Smuckers factory.

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Edgar Meyer is partly responsible for me lusting after and wanting to play double bass many years ago. The PBS special from the early 90's featuring him, Ray Brown, and Victor Wooten changed my life and led me to DB. It was absolutely amazing to see the legend in action and it has given me much needed inspiration to get back into DB and dig deeper into the styles and techniques. If you've never had an opportunity to see the master at work, I highly recommend doing yourself a favor and making that happen if possible.

He came to my high school class once, and it was as awesome as that sounds. I grew up in the same home town as him, his dad had formerly been the high school orchestra teacher.

His playing for us in that intimate space was epic. Him talking about passion for music, encouraging us to play whether that meant professional or not, sheer love of art and genuine connection to little impressionable minds is something I will never forget.

 

[elberon]

Saw the same group last Saturday and can't find enough good things to say about them. Fantastic musicianship from start to finish. I also saw Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, and Bela Fleck on a tour 15-20 years ago and same thing obviously. After the end of the show all three lingered at the edge of the stage and I struck up about a half-hour long conversation with Edgar Meyer (who was sitting alone by himself). We talked shop (strings, bow, his practice routines etc.) and he impressed me as a really genuine, encouraging, down to earth person. On a technical note, it amazes me that he almost never seems to use vibrato and his intonation is still flawless when he wants it to be (when not glissing notes or playing intentionally dirty).

 

[Steve Killingsworth]

I was there in Oxford that night as well. It was some amazing music. Edgar Meyer makes it look so effortless.