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LISH
 Hear a sample of Lish
Steve Lishman, my high school jazz teacher pulled me aside about halfway through my sophomore year.
"You don't really want to play the horn, do you?" he said one day when the other kids had left. "Why don't you put that horn down and come check this out."
I put the horn away and he showed me the school's upright bass that someone had used for jazz years before.
"…Try this on for size."
I had already played a little bass; I bought a cheap electric bass in my freshman year and nearly wore down the frets banging away on it.
When I first touched the acoustic, it was love at first sight. I was smitten, and couldn't keep my hands off of her. Pretty soon I was playing for the jazz band and having a blast. I didn't look back after that.
The only problem was trying to shed the 'band geek' status I wore when I carried that HUGE bass home to practice.
Steve Lishman is mostly a tenor player, although I remember he showed me a bass sax he would play, too. He is an extremely talented musician and teacher.
Besides that, he also turned me onto the greatest concept in learning and living jazz: listening. Listen to other's music, not just jazz. Listen to others in your group. Listen to yourself, especially the inner voicings that want to come out.
He personally introduced me to John Coltrane's Love Supreme, and Marc Johnson's Bass Desires, which remain two of my favorite records of all time.
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