We were lucky to catch up with David Basse recently and have shared our conversation below.

David , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I first knew that I wanted to be a drummer when I was 11 years-old. I had asked my parents for drum lessons. When the first lesson was over, I told my mother, “I’ve found my career, music.” This was in May, I practiced on a drum pad incessantly until November, when my parents bought me a $160 drumset for my 12th birthday.

I remember feeling I was on my way. I started a band with a neighbor, who had recently picked up the guitar. He was 16 at the time, and able to drive us to the local Woolworth’s to purchase an electric guitar and amp. His instrument was also less than $200, total.

We played/practiced/wrote little song practically everyday. Sometime, during our first year together, we played our first gig at a mental institution less that a mile from where we lived. We were very well received. The audience suffered from varying degrees of mental illness–they danced, sang-along, sat staring into space, and were very responsive to the sounds. It was a very encouraging experience for us.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

At 69 years-old, I have played the drums, sang, and performed the world over, For most of my life, Kansas City has been my home. The music of that city captured my heart when I was 19 years-old. Many people consider me an expert and one of the city’s best known musicians.

The jazz of Kansas City is vibrant and alive. It is a combination of jazz, ragtime, and the blues. My colleagues and I were fortunate to interact and sometimes, even perform with the city’s well-known musical forefathers. The cover of my first recording states, “. . . music learned at Basie’s elbow and other joints.”

I have raised a daughter and lived an exceptionally rich life as a musician. I’ve produced over 25 released recordings, and I am now known for the syndicated radio program, “Jazz with David Basse”, I am currently the President of the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors and Editor of the city’s JAM Magazine.

This, because I have solved problems for myself. I became a traveling musician at age 17, I picked up a 7 year gig, 5 nights a week, when I was just 27, I moved to Los Angeles for a decade beginning when I was 35, I attended college and received a bachelor’s degree in communications and writing at 63 years old.

All the while I’ve continued to entertain people. I performed at more than 25 weddings a year, for over 25 years, played concerts in Europe and Asia, New York, London, and Hong Kong. I created a Grammy-nominated recording.

I often tell people that syndicated radio is my retirement gig. It’s something that I can do from home. A job that continues to entertain and educate people about the music. A position where I do not have to travel that reaches millions of people a year.

I continue to perform and record and I am very satisfied with my accomplishments. All this, from a job that I created for myself in a small town in Nebraska in 1965.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

My creative journey has been very satisfying. However, my live could have been much easier if I had begun with a great education. My father had an eighth grade education. My mother dropped out of college to marry my father. I have two older siblings and I am the first to graduate from college.

The opportunities I’ve had, I’ve had to create for myself, as best I could. A combination of hard work and luck.

Now, I realize the value of education. When I speak with young people I encourage them to get the best education that they can. Life could have been easier for me with the proper tools to do the job.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I realized in my mid-fifties that traveling around and playing music in small venues and at private events was no longer sustainable. President Obama’s whitehouse.gov website, and the pell grants that I found there, opened up new possibilities to create a new “revised” career. I love to work. I love music and I plan to continue performing, creating radio and writing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.davidbasse.com
• Instagram: Facebook Stories
• Facebook: David Basse – Jazz with David Basse – David Basse Jazz
• Linkedin: David Basse
• Twitter: @jazzbasse
• Other: Public Radio Exchange – KC Jazz Ambassadors – Jazz Journalists Association – LIVE at Green Lady Lounge – Jazz Week