Contrabass Conversations

Stephanie Patterson specializes in teaching adult learners.   After playing professionally for a period of time, she developed an overuse injury and had to leave her symphonic career. Her teaching career began by accident about 10 years ago when her former hairdresser wanted to learn to play bass to do rockabilly.   Around the same time, she began corresponding with New York Philharmonic bassist a...

Cory Palmer recently won the position of Principal Bass with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.   We first met in person at the 2019 Pittsburgh Double Bass Symposium , and it was great to sit down and do a deep dive on his career thus far. We cover a variety of topics, including: studying at Peabody with John Hood studying with Orin O'Brien at the Manhattan School of Music Cory's path from Carn...

Sascha Jacobsen recently put out a super-cool new video titled Un Bajo de Magia / The Magic Bass .   This new release was a great excuse to connect in person with Sascha, who also lives here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sascha has an incredibly diverse creative life, and we dig into a whole bunch of topics about various projects, including: his Musical Art Quintet his Trio Garufa getting project...

Olivier Babaz recently released his first course with Discover Double Bass .   Titled Jazz Bowing, this incredibly cool course explores all kinds of cool bowing techniques that Olivier uses in his playing. Lessons cover topics like: Fundamentals of Bow Technique Basic Bow Strokes Slurs Developing Arco Technique Left Hand Technique and the Bow Bowed Walking Bass Lines Bowed Melodies Improvisation W...

Justin Carney recently started a new podcast called Kill The Bass .   It's all about exploring various concepts of musical practice from the perspective of jazz bassists. Justin has been planning this podcast for several years, and it was great to have a chance to sit down with him and talk about life, musical highs and lows, how musical practice relates to other areas of life, and many other topi...

Krista Kopper recently launched a podcast called The Backstage Creative focusing on the people who work behind the scenes of theater to create the scenes, music, costumes, props, and everything else that goes into live productions. We chat about her background, starting a podcast, and the benefits that come from tackling a project like this.   Be sure to check out this cool new podcast , and a hug...

James Oesi will be hosting the second Dutch Double Bass Festival this June 8th and 9th in Rotterdam.   The line-up for the event is spectacular, including: Francois and Sylvan Rabbath Rick Stotijn Renaud Garcia Fons Richard Bona Check out the full line-up of guests and get your tickets on the festival website , and check out my previous conversation with James for more on his cool musical backgrou...

Hans Sturm and I go way back.   In fact, it was 25 years ago that I first heard him play at our mutual alma mater Northwestern University.  Since then, we've done a ton of things together: We shot an old-school video about the Rabbath technique in my old apartment in Chicagoland (note the cat participating in the background) Hans invited me to join the board of the International Society of Bassist...

John Goldsby has recently released a new course on Discover Double Bass called Building Up . This course contains four hours of video in 45 different lessons. Many of the tracks feature piano and drum accompaniment and also include tracks without the bass so you can practice along. The course is perfect for intermediate to advanced jazz bassists who want to solidify their technique and learn new a...

Kiyoe Kaimana Delphine Wellington is on an inspiring journey through the music world.   After picking up the violin at an early age, Kiyoe switched to bass at age six and began daily lessons on the instrument with her renowned grandfather George Wellington. Kiyoe was a part of the Hawaii Contrabass Festival as she grew up, and she has been attending International Society of Bassists conventions fo...

Ranaan Meyer is launching a new camp called the Utah Symposium for Double Bass .  It will be taking place in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah June 7-9, and it's open for registration for anyone ages 12 and up.  This new event is a full scholarship, immersive program which provides participants with the opportunity to explore the entire spectrum of the double bass. From orchestra, to solo,...

It is such a pleasure to have Phoebe Russell on the podcast! Phoebe joined the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 2017 as Principal Bass after graduating from the Berlin Philharmonic's Karajan Academy.   Phoebe is originally from Melbourne, Australia. She has worked with a remarkable number of professional orchestras across the globe, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orches...

Miami String is a string shop with a unique business setup.   Located in metro Miami and founded by Charles Winters, this shop recently added Dale Cockrum as a full-time master luthier.  We chat with Charles, his wife and business partner Katrina, and Dale about the string business in Miami, unique challenges facing double basses in this humid climate, the active double bass rental market, and muc...

Pablo Aslan recently released Contrabajo, Works for Bass and String Quartet .   This is Pablo's first "bass up front" release, and it's a musical tour-de-force.   Highly recommended listening! We talk about the new album, Pablos musical explorations in the electronic music world , staying current with business trends in the music industry, progressing as an instrumentalist, and much more in this w...

College Prep for Musicians is written by past podcast guest Dr. Don Greene along with Dr. Annie Bosler and Dr. Kathleen Tesar. This book is a step-by-step guide and outlines precisely how to apply for, prepare for, and win auditions at top music schools. The book introduces powerful strategies and tools for high school students to use during the audition process, gives insight into the admissions...

Annette Costanzi worked closely with George Vance to create the materials that would become the highly influential Progressive Repertoire series.   In this conversation, Annette shares her memories of the special magic surrounding the creation of this series, what George was like as a person, and how this series evolved. Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Ki...

Fumiko Wellington's father George Wellington left a lasting legacy upon the double bass world.   Raised in Boston and exposed at an early age to music, George studied with Warren Benfield at Northwestern University.   George moved with his family to Hawaii, one of the few places in which his multiracial family could live and work in the United States at that time. Fumiko shares all kinds of remini...

Today's episode features a Q&A panel with several clinicians from the 2019 Chicago Bass Festival. A big thanks goes to Liz Clawson for actually amplifying this panel discussion - I never got my acts together enough to make that happen The audience questions didn't get caught on the microphone, but Liz restates most of the questions, and I break in to let you know what they asked a few times as wel...

Pete Coco recently released Lined with a Groove , which is dedicated to bassists he's admired for years like: Charlie Haden Red Mitchell Ron Carter Ray Brown Milt Hinton   Todd Coolman wrote the liner notes to this new album as well. In addition to the new album, we talk with Pete about bass life on Long Island, studying at Hofstra and Stony Brook, starting the Music Academy of Garden City, life a...

It's a pleasure to bring you this episode with renowned educator, composer, conductor, bassist, and musical innovator Bob Phillips .   Bob has been a major influence on me and how I teach, and he's a treasure trove of knowledge on where we are and where we're going as music educators. Currently, Bob is the Director of String Publications for Alfred Music. He has served as president of the American...

This special episode features an interview between renowned double bass pedagogue George Vance and Cleveland Orchestra bassist Henry Peyrebrune .   This interview was transcribed by Johnny Hamil and Christian Chesanek and used for the genesis of an article in the International Society of Bassists ' Bass World (Vol. 41. No. 2).   A big thanks to everyone involved in making this audio available.   L...

In addition to Modacity and forScore , there are a bunch of apps that Jason regularly uses for teaching and practicing.   This final solo show of March 2019 covers some of these and how they can be used. Apps mentioned: AudioNote Tonal Energy Sight Reaching Machine Metronomics AnyTune Pro Gadget Cubasis Launchpad Blocs Wave TouchAble Notion   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app fo...

Modacity and forScore are two apps that have become constant companions for Jason's practicing, performing, and teaching.   Today's solo show digs into ways that these apps can be used to dramatically improve organization and progress in various domains. Links mentioned: Modacity and forScore - blog post on how to incorporate both doublebassblog.org free sheet music library iDoubleBass - great app...

Electronic dance music and teaching strings… are these two things even vaguely related?   Today's solo show covers ways that Jason has discovered to incorporate all kinds of cool apps and controllers into various classroom and rehearsal environments. Links mentioned: Ableton MIDI Fighter MuseScore Press by Vince Oliver   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Ki...

Why are strange things happening back there in the bass section?   We cover this evergreen and amusing topic in today's solo show, and also tips for developing stronger student bass sections.   Links mentioned: Speaking Bass - Keynote from TMEA 2019 Speaking Bass - PDF handout from Midwest Clinic 2018   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass C...