Brandi Disterheft is a Juno
Award-winning jazz bassist. Her lat-
est album, Blue Canvas, is available
now. www.brandidisterheft.com
CM: How did you come to play bass?
BD: I grew up playing piano and come
from a musical family. My mom is from
Chicago, plays B3 organ, and my dad was
in the music business for years with Ya-
maha. It was actually my father’s idea. He
thought it would be comical seeing this
little girl playing this massive instrument.
I started on upright and then electric in
high school.
CM: When did vocals come into the
picture?
CM: How do you tackle the challenge
of singing and playing at the same
time?
BD: Yeah, it’s like left hand and right hand
on piano. You have to have each part really
solid. Initially, there’s not much movement
as a bassist because you’re focused on
singing. The learning curve takes much
longer. It’s not like you can just go learn a
song and sing it. It can take months before
you can perform a song.
CM: What have your experiences been
like as a woman in the music industry?
BD: All the women in my family were mu-
sicians. I was always ahead of the game. In
school, with music, I knew so much more
than the boys did it seemed. I always had
quite a bit of confidence. Then you realize
that sometimes there’s an ego involved. It’s
a real fine line on how you are supportive,
but still hold your own and not be bossy.
I have had my bouts of discrimination
as a female artist, more in the United States
than in Canada. For example, I was booked
to play at Birdland with a very famous
veteran drummer and then got canned
off the gig a week before the hit because
I was a female. Sometimes the older gen-
eration has a hard time with the idea that
women can actually play because perhaps
they hardly saw it in their lifetime. Now it is
more commonplace. I felt he was just un-
comfortable in his own skin in general.
On the contrary, I have met an abun-
dance of encouraging and supportive
colleagues – young, old, male, and female
– here in NYC, too. It’s important to teach
the younger generation that these barriers
can be and are being broken.
BD: My aunt was a session singer in L.A.
She sang with Sergio Mendes and Clare
Fischer. I grew up singing along with her
albums. For some reason, in college, I
thought it would be a sell-out if you were
to sing and play. I was more into instru-
mental music. Then after I won the Juno
and started touring more, I realized I felt
like a mute on stage and wanted to ex-
press more.
Montreal native Isabelle Banos plays electric bass
and synthesizers for the indie pop group Caveboy,
in addition to having performed with the likes of Ria
Mae and Scott Helman. www.caveboymusic.com
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