Some of the most powerful musical moments don’t come with a massive arrangement or a grandiose gesture. They come through simplicity, through patience and through the courage to just say something real and not hide behind all the complexity. Mighty Joe Belson’s “Ten Roses” (out 16th October 2026) is a very simple acoustic piece which is all about gratitude. It’s a piece of music that takes a very quiet moment, sitting by a stream in California and turns it into a very personal statement. As the second single from his forthcoming *BassSongs* album (out via Necessary Vice), the track is a very interesting one in that it’s the bowed upright bass that takes the lead. It’s an instrument that’s usually in the background, providing support to a larger ensemble and here it’s the one that’s carrying the song. It’s all written, performed and recorded by Belson. It’s a piece which pushed him technically and which forced him to go in a more exposed and vulnerable direction. The piece itself started on guitar whilst he was sitting by a stream in Mendocino Woodlands State Park, California. The title came from a gratitude exercise he developed during the pandemic. The exercise was to imagine a desert highway stretching out into the future and ten roses appearing in a semi-circle above the road. Each rose was one thing to be grateful for. The highway was the uncertainty of the future, the roses were the things in the present which were worth being grateful for. It’s a meditation on moving forward and not losing sight of the things that are worth appreciating in the process. “Sometimes the most beautiful way forward is to simply stop and recognise what is already worth being grateful for.” That’s the essence of “Ten Roses”. It’s not a piece of music which is going to give you a quick answer to the problems of life. It’s a piece of music which is about the practice of attention. You acknowledge the future, you accept that it’s uncertain and you acknowledge the things which are worth appreciating in the journey. That’s the point of the piece and it’s a point which is very personal to Belson. It’s a point which anyone can take and put their own experience into. You can bring your own memories, your own hopes, your own moments of appreciation to that image of the ten roses and the piece becomes a space for you to reflect in. In an age of music that is often so loud and so full of production, there’s something very powerful about a piece of music that is born from a very simple idea and a very honest exploration of that idea.
The “Ten Roses” piece is defined by the use of the bowed upright bass as the lead melodic instrument. For Belson, that was a significant step outside of his normal technical comfort zone and required him to learn how to get the soft, tender quality that the piece demanded. He didn’t have a lot of experience with soft, reflective music on a bowed bass and the recording process was one of repeated practice, numerous takes and moments of frustration before he got to a point where he was happy with it. That whole process is fundamental to the character of the piece. He doesn’t present the recording as a technically perfect piece at all. He recognises the imperfections as part of the authentic expression he was after. The piece is an embodiment of an artistic philosophy in which authenticity is more important than polish. The influences on the project are key to understanding this. The Appalachian and folk traditions underpin the album’s lyrical quality, while the classical crossover bass playing of Edgar Meyer and the multi-layered cello work of Gretchen Yanover, Zoe Keating and Redi Hasa are the reference points for exploring the expressive potential of the bowed string. These influences all come together in a piece that seeks to make the bass more than just a background instrument, giving it the responsibility of carrying the melody and communicating feeling directly. Belson’s musical background is broad (rock, metal, jazz, chamber) but “Ten Roses” is an intimate piece. It’s an acoustic piece with a reflective concept and the central idea is very much in focus. It was recorded at Belson’s home studio in Berkeley, California and the process allowed him the time and space to work towards his own artistic vision. It didn’t emerge under the pressure of a large production situation but through a patient cycle of experimentation and re-working. Belson describes the *BassSongs* album as a humbling experience, an exposed and vulnerable statement of his bass playing and artistry. He describes the intention as “a humble statement of intent” which is a determination to play simple melodies on the bowed bass because those were the musical ideas that he felt he had to express. That is the statement of intent. The goal isn’t to make the instrument sound big and grand simply because it can. The goal is to discover what happens when you allow the instrument to speak in a restrained, tender and individual way. “Imperfection does not diminish beauty when the music is honest enough to let us hear the person behind it.” That is very much the case with “Ten Roses” where the effort that went into making the piece is part of its emotional content and the whole thing is a testament to the value of patience, vulnerability and a willingness to keep going when the first attempts don’t work.
As a BassSongs representative, “Ten Roses” is a project that is fundamentally about music that is lyrical and memorable, simple in structure but complex in nature, and one that is absolutely prepared to be vulnerable. Its appeal is in that very balance. The concept is so straightforward you can grasp it immediately, but the image of the desert highway and the ten roses is one that lends itself to a very personal interpretation each time you come back to it. The bass driven nature of the piece gives it a very distinct identity and it sits firmly within the tradition of instrumental music which speaks through melody rather than through words. Belson’s work is a clear demonstration that an instrumental piece doesn’t need to have words to tell a story. The story can be in the circumstances of its making, in the associations we have with the title and in the space the music leaves for us to complete the experience in our own way. There is also a very real link between the song’s practice of gratitude and the process of its own recording. Both require a degree of stillness and attention. The roses are a prompt to look at the world in a different way, to notice things that you might otherwise miss. Belson’s repeated attempts to get the bowed bass to perform in a way that was satisfying is a reflection of the patience required to find a good expression. Neither of those processes is necessarily quick and neither one is predicated on the idea of achieving some ideal form of perfection. The value is in the continuing to look, to listen and to refine. “Ten Roses” is therefore more than a gentle piece of music. It is an expression of the very attitude that will underpin the forthcoming album. The next single “Redwood” is out on November 6th 2026, with the full *BassSongs* release following on November 20th via Necessary Vice. As that project draws nearer, “Ten Roses” is a very clear indication of the intimate, personal nature of the work at its heart. It is also a reminder that meaningful art can be produced when you are prepared to go into unfamiliar territory without the pretence that it’s all going to be easy. Belson’s willingness to acknowledge the frustration of the process adds an extra layer of humanity to the finished piece. There is no contradiction in being proud of something and at the same time recognising that it is flawed. Sometimes that very combination is what makes the achievement so worthwhile. Ultimately “Ten Roses” is an invitation to reflect on what sustains us as we move into an uncertain future. The central image is a simple one but one that is very memorable in its effect: imagine the road ahead and take a moment to be grateful for the fact that you are on it. **“The future may be uncertain, but there is always something to notice, something to be grateful for and something to carry with you.”** “Ten Roses” is a very personal instrumental statement from Mighty Joe Belson, using the bowed upright bass to explore the themes of gratitude, artistic vulnerability and the quiet beauty of doing something that is meaningful without it having to be anything spectacular. It is a thoughtful introduction to *BassSongs* and a reminder that sometimes the most profound things can be achieved through the most modest of gestures.
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