Jazz, Samba or Classical — Senior Plays Bass with Passion

The six-foot-tall double bass balances by his side, its sheer size nearly hiding his 5’9” frame. He slowly slides the bow across the sticky caramel-colored rosin, making sure it has enough to grab the thick E string that runs down the bass.

Looking down the neck of the instrument to the massive bridge, senior Greg Tracy reflects on how far he has come since that day in eighth grade when he decided to start playing the bass. He thinks about making symphonic orchestra at East, state orchestra, St. Olaf’s camp, the countless concerts and trips his bass has taken him on. This beat-up bass has been there for all of it.

Tracy’s passion for music began in fifth grade when his mother, a former cellist, decided to start teaching him how to play the cello. He played for three years, until his eighth grade orchestra needed a bass player; he had always wanted to try the instrument and seized the opportunity.

His uncle, Ken Beckmann was a formal professional bass player. Beckmann was his first bass teacher, and immediately saw Tracy’s potential and worked him hard as a student.

“He really just kicked me around and made me work,” Tracy said. “He was really big on intonation, so that, after the fact, kind of inspires me.”

This emphasis on intonation, or being in tune, proved very helpful when it came time for auditions for district and state orchestra, and Tracy made both as a sophomore, a feat not accomplished by many.

Photo Illustration by Dan Stewart

At the state level, orchestra members must spend a weekend in Wichita preparing music with their peers for a final concert at the end of the workshop.

Tracy’s first state workshop marked a turning point in his bass career.

“I really got serious after state my sophomore year. It really shocked me how good people were,” Tracy said. “After that I started practicing a lot more seriously.”

Tracy started playing upwards of two hours a day, and was soon up to par with the other four all-state bass players in his section that year.

“That’s the best bass section I have ever played in, because everybody was in state,” Tracy said. “I think our playing at one point was flawless.”

To have a section this good is nearly unheard of in a high school orchestra, but the music department at East has been recognized countless times for the quality of the ensembles and individuals who participate in them.

The East symphonic orchestra has more students than any other school in the all-state orchestra each year, and consistently plays repertoire that is comparable to professional symphonies.

Orchestra director Jonathan Lane takes advantage of the stellar band program at East and uses a full orchestra for many of the pieces he chooses to play.

“Full orchestra shows true collaboration between the band and orchestra program,” Lane said. “The world’s greatest music literature is for the symphony orchestra.”

Before symphonic orchestra, Tracy had never encountered a truly challenging bass part. Playing Dvorak Symphony 8 his sophomore year opened his eyes to the bass’s roles in the orchestra.

“It was the first symphony I played where the bass part was hard, and at one point the basses actually had the melody, which usually doesn’t happen. I didn’t think it ever happened,” Tracy said.

He also plays with the Blue Knights jazz band at East.

Before junior year, he had never played jazz before. He chose to try out because he believes that part of being a bass player is playing jazz.

Playing jazz bass can be tremendously different from classical, but Tracy embraced the changes.

“In jazz, you [the bass player] are the groove,” Tracy said. “If you play fast, everyone else will play fast, if you play slow and you’re trying to hold the tempo, everybody else will too.”

During summer, Tracy and his friend senior Joe Sernett auditioned and made the Kansas City Kansas Community College All-Star Jazz Band. Tracy continues to play in this ensemble throughout the school year and enjoys it because of the higher caliber musicians he gets to work with.

He also enjoys the fact that he gets a chance to play electric bass with the group.

“There’s a lot you can do with electric bass, and I didn’t learn that until just recently,” Tracy said. “With electric I can play samba, or even Latin dance music, which is something I am currently working on.”

Playing the bass has been an essential aspect of Tracy’s high school experience. While so much has changed throughout his time at East, bass has always been there. He hopes to continue on and pursue a bass major in college, and a professional symphony career after that.

“Without bass, I’d just be another student who’s unsure. Because of it, I know what I’m doing now,” Tracy said. “It’s what I’ve worked on most, for the past four years of my life, and it’s something that I think I’ll always enjoy.”