Groove – Episode #141 Mike Karn

Some musicians spend their entire lives trying to master one instrument. Mike Karn managed to build a successful professional career playing the tenor saxophone before making the rather extraordinary decision to become a double bassist in his late thirties.

It is one of the more remarkable stories of musical reinvention, and one that I was particularly excited to explore when Mike and I sat down in person during this year’s Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Mike was in town performing with legendary guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli, with whom he has been playing for more than a decade. But long before becoming an integral part of John’s acclaimed jazz trio, Mike was a young saxophonist growing up in Rochester, New York, inspired by John Coltrane and studying with Joe Lovano at New York University.

Just a week after graduating, he landed a gig touring with Ray Charles at the age of twenty one, including a performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival back in 1989. He would go on to perform with Harry Connick Jr. and establish himself as a respected saxophonist on the New York jazz scene.

Then something unexpected happened.

Mike picked up a double bass, discovered an entirely different relationship with music, and gradually found himself drawn away from the instrument that had defined his professional life. By 2010, he was performing on bass with the legendary Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and his second musical career was well underway.

Our conversation explores the psychology of making such a dramatic change, particularly when you have already achieved the kind of success that most musicians spend their lives chasing.

We talk about the influence of players like Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Cecil McBee, and countless others, why Mike still thinks like a saxophonist when he is improvising on bass, and how his understanding of melody, phrasing, and musical conversation has shaped his approach to the instrument.

We also get into the fascinating dynamics of playing in John Pizzarelli’s often drummerless trio, where Mike’s bass provides both the harmonic foundation and rhythmic momentum, and why he believes great musicians should never depend on someone else to establish their sense of time.

Beyond his work with John, including their latest album, “Dear Mr. Bennett,” Mike discusses his emerging trio with saxophonist Steve Wilson and percussionist Daniel Sadownick, a project that finds him stepping forward as a composer and bandleader on bass.

What I loved most about this conversation was Mike’s perspective on musical identity, the importance of finding your own sound, and the willingness to abandon something you are already great at in pursuit of something that feels even more authentic.

It is a wonderful reminder that mastery is not necessarily about how long you have been playing an instrument. Sometimes it is about everything you bring to it from the life you have already lived.

Enjoy the conversation.