Zack Pride’s inspiration stems from his mother. Being a prolific pianist, organist, and vocalist, she taught him, early in his life, the power of song. This led him to find his “sound”. He would discover the beauty of string instruments at six years old. Upon hearing his future orchestra teacher, Terry Ferguson, demonstrate them, he was immediately drawn to the cello and double bass. He expressed his interest in playing the bass but was told he was too little for the large instrument. He ultimately ended up playing, and adoring, the violin. The “sound” of the double bass, however, never left his soul. During his freshmen year in high school, the orchestra needed someone for its section. He eagerly switched and sought to expand his knowledge of the new instrument. Zack Pride studied with Dr. Wendell Logan, Dr. Peter Dominguez, Scott Haigh, Ralph Armstrong, Scott Smith, Ray Brown, Buster Williams, Peter Washington, Lonnie Plaxico, Matthew Garrison, Mike Pope, and Rufus Reid. Additionally, he performed with such greats as Mulgrew Miller, Lou Rawls, Robert Shaw, Robin Eubanks, Vanessa Rubin, Marcus Belgrave, Houston Persons, Frank Morgan, comedian Dave Chappelle, Cyrus Chestnut, Freddy Cole, Wycliffe Gordon, Robert Glasper, Stefon Harris, Mark Whitfield, Lizz Wright, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, Mark Murphy, Sharon Clarke, Cassandra Wilson, Tom Browne, Ronnie Laws, Lonnie Liston Smith, Marcus Printup, Eric Reed, George Cables, Winard Harper, Johnny O’Neil, and Earl Klugh.