Kurt Whitman: Bass
Kurt Whitman's life is cobbled with musical moments. By the age of 4 he was wrecking his mom's couch bouncing to the likes of Henry Mancini and Glenn Miller. He had already learned that music could be a lot of fun, and get a reaction out of his mom.
In high school the blues were the ticket. This was about the time his eyes were opened to the bass guitar. Guys like Donald "Duck" Dunn and Willy Dixon brought home the fact that the rhythm is a lot more than the kick drum.
A look inside his CD changer tells the story: tray 1, Jimi Hendrix ("my biggest influence"); tray 2, Oscar Pettiford ("a bass god"); tray 3, James Brown ("Heoww!"); tray 4, Elmore James ("I'm talkin' blues"); tray 5, Billie Holiday ("like silk"). It's all about good music.