Contrabass Conversations

Frank Lestina is an educator and double bassist in metro Chicago.   He received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Roosevelt University and his Master's Degree in Administration from the University of Illinois, and he has had a celebrated career as a high school orchestra director and guest clinician. We talk about Frank's sudden hearing loss on one ear right before a Midwest Clinic per...

Born in Sweden and raised in Germany, Christian Fabian attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship.   Through Brian Bromberg, one of his early mentors, Christian became the bassist for the Lionel Hampton Band. He currently serves as co-leader of the New Lionel Hampton Band featuring Jason Marsalis, and he also co-founded the Native Jazz Quartet.   We talk about what Christian has been...

Today's episode features a conversation with Joseph Brown, the new owner and current vice president of the J.F. Nordlie Pipe Organ Company .   Joe is my brother-in-law, and it was great to talk about the craft of organ building and the similarities between the organ and double bass. Enjoy, and be sure to follow J.F. Nordlie on Facebook and Instagram ! Subscribe to the podcast to get these intervie...

Michael Fanelli is a bassist, educator, musicologist, and author who is also Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. As string/orchestra specialist at the UNI Malcolm Price Laboratory School, he created and taught the string curriculum for grades 4 through 12 based on Rolland Teaching of Action in String Playing materials. In the School of Music, he was the instructor o...

Dr. Jeffrey C. Zimmerman is a bassist and former student of Stuart Knussen.   His thirty-plus years of experience and study across various disciplines from masters in music, Asian medicine, martial arts, medical qigong, tai chi, and science led to the development of his technique, Harmonetiks , to enhance healing, self-care, and performance. We talk about Jeff's path through the music world, what...

James Oesi is the founder of the Dutch Double Bass Festival , which will be running for the third edition on October 29th and 30th in Rotterdam.   This year's lineup will include Dave Holland, Ben Williams, Sasha Witteveen, and many others.   Pick up tickets on their website now , and be sure to follow the festival on Facebook , Instagram , and Spotify !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these int...

Ishani Bhoola is building an orchestra of young musicians to tour South Africa in July 2024.   This project is called International Youth Orchestra Bridges and is a collaboration between the West Coast Youth Orchestra (South Africa) and the Waverley Ensemble (UK).     It will bring together young musicians from the UK and South Africa, aged between 13 and 17, to form an international orchestra. Th...

Susanna Klein and Randall Pharr have recently released a new iOS practice app called Clipza .   In this episode, we discuss the inspiration behind the app, the simple interface, and how it solves a key problem for practicing musicians.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out the app and follow Susanna and her practicing mission on Instagram , Facebook , and YouTube !   Subscribe to the podcast to get th...

Chris West has released a new book titled The Paganini of the Double Bass: Bottesini in Britain .   This book tells the complete life story of Bottesini, with a huge amount of supporting material from periodicals of the time and a chronological listing of all of Bottesini's double bass compositions.   We talk about the idea for this book, how Chris went about this research and what he learned in t...

We're chatting with Paul Sharpe and Ella Sharpe about what it's like studying the bass from your parents.   We talk about how both Paul and Ella got into playing the bass, the unique bass program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts , perspectives from both Paul and Ella, and Ella's thoughts on her future.   Enjoy! About Paul Sharpe: Paul Sharpe enjoys teaching all levels of stud...

Andrew Reinartz is a musician and educator based in Sioux Falls, SD. Playing primarily upright and electric bass, he easily fits into a variety of styles including Jazz, Classical, Funk, R&B, Rock, and Folk. Andrew also does work as a producer, live/project studio recording & mixing engineer.   Also an avid educator, he is Jazz Bass Instructor at Augustana University, teaches privately and as a gu...

We are now accepting applications to intern with us!   Learn about the program and what it entails in this episode, and you can apply to intern through this link .   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Andr...

This short episode features a look at the 2021 Wabass Institute , with short interviews from faculty members Ranaan Meyer, Eric Larson, and Hal Robinson.   Enjoy, and you can also check out this video for a deep-dive at this year's event.   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bas...

This mini-episode digs into the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles , with a short interview from event founder Cielito De Jesus.   You can also check out this video featuring behind-the-scenes footage from this event.

Jason digs into why he keeps doing this podcast after so many years in this solo mini-episode.   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle . Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course , ava...

Nick Tsiavos recently put out a new solo album titled Maps for Losing Oneself to considerable critical acclaim .   We dig into the inspiration behind this latest solo album, what the pandemic has been like for him, the influence of Francois Rabbath and Barre Phillips on his music path, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out more about Nick on The Sound Barrier with Ian Parsons and also o...

Isaline Leloup has recently released an album of 18th Century Viennese Bass Music .   We talk about how she got into historical performance, the inspiration behind the album, what it was like to record it, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Isaline's album on Spotify and Apple Music , and learn more about her on Facebook and YouTube !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interview...

Rodney Jordan and Christian Fabian have recently released a new album of bass duos called Conversations.   We chat about the idea behind this album, what it was like putting it together, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Conversations on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you listen to music!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check...

We're chatting with Eleanor Martindale about this summer's RCR Double Bass Camp , which will be coming up August 16-21 in Perpignan, France. We talk about how the camp is organized, the teachers that will be there, and much more. Enjoy, and you can learn more about the RCR Double Bass Camp on their website , Instagram , and Facebook !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to...

Christian Gray joined the double bass section of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra at the start of their 2017-2018 Season.   Prior to his appointment, he performed frequently with numerous other ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, and San Antonio Symphony.   We talk about what life in an opera orchestra is like, how he prepared for this particul...

Ben Hanlon is a bassist in the Melbourne Symphony and is also an active jazz bassist.   He and James Sherlock have recently released a new duo album titled Stravinsky , and his trio Ball Hanlon Schulz has also released a new album titled Land Of If . We talk about these new projects, life in Melbourne during the pandemic, and much more.   Enjoy, and check out more great work from Ben and his colla...

Noah Reitman has been assistant principal bass of the Vancouver Symphony since 2015 and is also currently the president of the Vancouver Musicians' Association.   He also coaches bass and chamber music at Idyllwild Arts in California in the summers.   He is also on the faculty at the VSO School of Music where he teaches bass lessons and coaches chamber music, as well as the Saint James Academy of...

Bram De Man is a double bass luthier in Brussels, Belgium.   After first studying as a bass player, at the age of 18, he was admitted to the Ghent Conservatory to study musical instrument making, graduating with a first-class distinction and receiving an honorary bequest for his research into D-violones and the early double bass.     After these studies, he traveled throughout Europe to expand his...

Travis Harrison is a freelance bassist in Toronto and a former member of the Winnipeg Symphony.   As a former student of Joel Quarrington , Travis worked with Joel for many years to develop and refine the Canadian School of Double Bass , which has been recently updated and released in a new edition for both fourths and fifths tuning.   We talk about Travis' background, living and playing bass in v...

Today's episode features a conversation with Camellia Aftahi , Michael Martin , and Tyson Davis about Bass Players for Black Composers .   This organization commissions and publishes new works for double bass by Black composers, and it is celebrating its one-year anniversary with an ambitious fundraising campaign for future projects.   We talk about the founding of the organization in June of 2020...