You can only work with what you’ve got. So figure it out!
By Jon Liebman
Week of April 26, 2021
There’s a quote from Theodore Roosevelt I’ve always liked: Do what you can with what you have where you are. If there was ever a time to put those words to the test it’s now.
What we’ve been living through for the past year is truly surreal. Clubs and restaurants closed, live shows and tours cancelled. Our lives have changed dramatically. So what do we do?
One person I know who refused to give up on expressing his love of music and bass is Alberto Rigoni, this week’s FBPO interviewee. Despite being confronted with these unprecedented challenges, the Italian super bassist found a way to personify his obsession for the instrument he loves.
Since performing live isn’t an option these days, Alberto set out to do the next best thing. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he reached out to a hand-picked list of world class bass players, including no less than Nathan East, Leland Sklar, and Michael Manring, to see if they’d be interested in appearing a new record he was making. And you know what? They said yes!
The end result is Alberto’s amazing, just-released album, For the Love of Bass.
With nothing more than an Internet connection – and, admittedly, a decent amount of networking prowess – Alberto went to work on his latest passion project.
“I started composing,” he says, “and I was thinking, ‘Who could be the right one for this song?’ Then, step by step, I contacted all the guests.”
Realizing the odds of everyone coming through were minimal at best, he reached out to them anyway. “I tried to get people that I never thought would join,” he continues, “like Nathan East or Lee Sklar, because they are super busy. When they said, ‘Yes!’ the goal was already reached for me.”
The real fun, no doubt, was in the interaction between the players, despite the fact that no two players were in the same room at the same time. In listening to the record, one would be hard pressed to find any lack of creativity or genuine collaboration.
“I felt the need to compose something new,” Alberto says.” “I wanted to do a new challenge.”
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have a burning desire and combine it with tenacity and persistence. For the Love of Bass is a shining example of what can happen when you do what you can with what you have where you are. Check out the record and you’ll see for yourself.
Have a thought on the subject? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think. In the meantime, check out my interview with Alberto here.
Alberto’s new release, For the Love of Bass, is available here:
