Meyer, 45, is a bassist who transcends boundaries. He was born in Oklahoma, bred in Tennessee, and educated at Indiana University and now lives in Nashville. He feels as comfortable performing bluegrass with mandolin greats Sam Bush and Mike Marshall as he does performing chamber music with violinist Ida Kavafian and cellist Gary Hoffman.
In March, he played a program at Alice Tully Hall with Kavafian and Hoffman of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
At a rehearsal, the three worked on a Bach trio sonata. With his 1769 Gabrielli bass towering over him, he danced with the instrument as he played without any musical score.
He and Hoffman also rehearsed Meyer's Two Duets for Cello and Bass, one of which has tricky, Latinesque syncopation.
''I feel a little stressed about your piece," Hoffman told him before they started.
After a successful run-through, Meyer assured Hoffman: ''There's actually no musical component. It's all rhythm. Your intrinsic fundamental clock is OK, reliable."
''I'm not so scared," Hoffman replied. ''No problem. It's not that hard."
Meyer started on bass at age 5, taking up an instrument played by his father. He used a half-size instrument before growing into a full size within about three years.
''The bass is who I am and what I do," Meyer said after the Lincoln Center rehearsal, ''but the piano has always excited me a lot."
Indeed, the piano part on his CD is not for beginning players. At the piano's frenetic moments, one can imagine Meyer's fingers flying over the keyboard of the Steinway he purchased with part of the $500,000 he received from a 2002 McArthur Foundation ''genius" grant.
The album starts out with ''First Things First," a mellow song introduced by the piano playing a tender melody that's eventually joined by a lamentful bass solo.
After that song, the piano jumps into jazzy riffs against fast pizzicato bass and glissandoed guitar chords. This is the dizzying introduction with irregular beats to what Meyer calls ''Roundabout."
