Reuben Rogers and I got connected through our mutual friend Allan Santos. I wasn't even sure where to begin with a player like Reuben.   I mean, he has played with Charles Lloyd, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts, Nicholas Payton, and a long list of jazz luminaries.  He's played on some of the best jazz albums of the past 20 years. Where to even start? So I reached out to Allan, and he told me: "You've got to ask Reuben about the time he fell asleep on the bandstand during a set." That's how we kicked it off.  It was the first of many stories like that.  In fact, I was sore from laughing so hard after we finished talking! We dig into: how to get work done at 3 am on the road Reuben’s first blizzard experience living in Boston and how it nearly drove him back to the Virgin Islands how Reuben’s high school music teacher Georgia Francis helped him repeatedly during his younger years mistakes that derail the careers of many young musicians ...and much more! This was a super fun conversation.  Reuben is an awesome guy, and you'll have a great time and learn a lot from this conversation! Links to check out: Reuben's website (click the bass trunk for a surprise!) The Things I Am (Reuben's solo album) Reuben even has a set of bass loops available from the Loop Loft! Here's a clip featuring these groovy tracks. Be sure to subscribe to Contrabass Conversations to get these episodes delivered automatically to your mobile device! Thanks to our sponsor! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!