There aren't many jazz bassists who can sing with such ease, skill and style that you forget they're also playing bass. Ten recordings and several world tours into her performing career, Montanan Kristin Korb wields her double bass and woos audiences with romantic, danceable tunes that reflect her reverence for melody - like the songs of Johnny Mercer, whose unpublished "orphaned" texts Korb set to music and recorded on "Beyond the Moon." Korb teaches widely and performs and records with the likes of Llew Matthews, Kim Richmond, Pete Christlieb, Jeff Hamilton, Alex Riel and Jan Lundgren. Any given summer, you might find her playing a jazz society in California, a Rhône River cruise in France - or the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings, Montana.
In 2019, Korb is playing with her fellow European trio members (Korb lives in Denmark), Magnus Hjorth and Snorre Kirk. She's also teaming up with Ida Hvid and Helle Marstrand, two fellow singing female bassists who join Korb in a trio they call "Blonde Bass."
Join host John Floridis for a conversation with musical multi-tasker Kristin Korb about this jazz artist's early inspiration (which came in the form of Barbara Mandrell), and what it's like for a high-profile musician to move from Los Angeles to Denmark, meet new collaborators, and learn a new language. "If you're timid, it's not going to get any easier," she says. "whether it's learning a new tune or trying to write something. If you just dive on in and embrace whatever those challenges are - and take a nap when you need it - it's part of the ride."
(Broadcast: "Musician's Spotlight," 5/9/19. Listen on the radio Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., or via podcast.)