Tuesday, June 26, 2012

That Was Who?

Did you ever find out after you were at an event that the person that you shared a cab with and spent the night chatting with was a celebrity? Well, it happened to me. I was down in Washington DC to lobby for the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime law and ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) in 2007. We were sitting around in the hotel bar and talking before we went to the reception, when we were getting ready to go to the reception, this woman asked if we wanted to share a cab to the reception and we all piled into the taxi. Over the course of the three days when our paths crossed we chatted and on the last day when we were leaving, something was said that set off a little light in the back of my head… I heard that name before, where did I hear it? When I got home, I googled her name, Jennifer Leitham.
Jennifer Leitham (born August 10, 1953) is an American musician and double bass player. Being left-handed, she has also used the nicknames "Lefty" or "The Southpaw”
An active live performer, Leitham has been bassist on more than 100 recordings including eight of her own. She is known for long associations with Mel Torme and Doc Severinsen. She has also appeared with Woody Herman, George Shearing, Gerry Mulligan, Peggy Lee, Joe Pass, Cleo Laine, Louis Bellson, Pete Rugolo, Bill Watrous and been a member of the Tonight Show All-Stars, The Woody Herman Thundering Herd, the Benny Carter Quintet, and the Bob Cooper Quartet.
Wikipedia
Now she has an award winning documentary out, “I Stand Corrected,” it won the “Best Film” American Documentary Film Festival and other award at film festivals from around the country.
Watch Jennifer Leitham perform and it’s instantly obvious the tall striking redhead is an original. This world-famous jazz bassist plays her instrument left handed (something virtually unheard of in the profession) and when she takes center-stage – standing to play rather than sitting – her entire body seems to dance with the bass as her mane of long, fiery hair whips and bobs to the blistering pace set by her fingers. She is a special talent made all the more unique because Jennifer Leitham began her life and career when she was known as John Leitham.
IMDb

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