Bassist Kirsty Matheson recently sent me a link to this excellent article about Louisiana Philharmonic principal bassist David Anderson. Dave is also the principal bassist for the Britt Music Festival, and I got to play in that orchestra with him for a season several years ago. He’s an awesome guy, a great bassist, and an excellent composer, and his music has been featured on Contrabass Conversations several times. Check out John Grillo’s recital showcase or CBC episode 6 to hear more music from Dave.

Here’s a snippet from the Times-Picayune article about Dave. Click here to read the rest:

From the open door of the Spotted Cat, an electric bass line floated into the night, punctuated by the clink of bottles and glasses, and washed by psychedelic droning from a pedal steel guitar. The bass player — a burly, bearded guy with a ponytail — unfurled musical phrases like a flamenco singer, stretching across bar lines, going someplace deep and primeval.

Even on club-crowded Frenchmen Street — home to a nightly smorgasbord of New Orleans sounds — the music stood out as something remarkable. For those in the know, it meant one thing: “Symphony Boy” had left his white tie and tails at home and had come downtown to jam with his club-scene buddies again.

Dave Anderson is “Symphony Boy” — principal bassist of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and a composer whose complex, notated works have gradually earned him an international reputation. Chamber players from New Zealand to New York perform his bass duets and other small-scale pieces. His 1998 “Bass Concerto” was premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra — considered one of the world’s finest classical ensembles — and also was played by the LPO and in Houston. His 1995 quintet for winds and strings gets a belated New Orleans premiere this week in two free concerts presented by Musaica, an ensemble formed by LPO players after Hurricane Katrina.

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