Contrabass Conversations

Greek bassist  Kostas Patsiotis  recently released his solo debut album October , which was recorded in a single day at Antart Studios in Athens and features Yiannis Papadopoulos on piano, Michael Tsiftis on guitar and Dimitris Klonis on drums.   We talk about what it's like being a jazz bassist in Greece, how Kostas got into bass playing, his gear, what it was like recording this album, and much...

Jesse Dietschi recently released Gradient , his debut album with fellow Toronto musicians Ethan Ardelli (drums) and Ewen Farncombe (piano).   This album has been getting considerable acclaim and will be featured in the Debut Album Reviews section of the December 2023 edition of DownBeat Magazine, along with numerous radio programs throughout North America and Europe.   We talk about the story behi...

Technical Sergeant Joseph Whitt is the bassist for the United States Air Force Band of the Pacific in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to joining the Band of the Pacific, he was stationed at the United States Air Force Band of Flight, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and at the United States Air Forces in Europe Band at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.   We dig into a variety of topics, including: the USAF...

Marty Isenberg recently released his debut album "The Way I Feel Inside" - Inspired by the films of Wes Anderson , and it has been getting great press .   In this interview, we chat with Marty about his life in music, his career as a jazz bassist, the inspiration for this album, and much more.   We also bring up a great interview that Marty also did for the Bass Shed .   Check out this super cool...

Phoebe Russell is Principal Bass for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.   She recently released a course on Discover Double Bass titled Smash Your Audition .    We released a YouTube video digging into this course, and in this podcast we cover Phoebe's tips for preparing orchestral excerpts, what it was like to put all of her knowledge into a video course, general life updates, and more.   Check o...

Bobby Scharmann is Associate Principal Bass with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and has been documenting his audition journey and what he has learned through the 24 professional orchestra auditions he took.   We last had Bobby on the podcast in 2020 , and it was great to catch up with him and dig into his preparation process and what it was like landing his full-time orchestral position.   Enjoy, an...

Lorraine Chai is the author of Stringstastic , a set of music theory books for double bass and the other string instruments. We talk about these cool books, both of which are available through Amazon. Enjoy!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with us: all things double bass double bass merch double bass sheet music   Thank you to our sponso...

Susan Hagen  is a Boston native and is extremely active in that city's musical scene.  She serves as principal double bassist of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra,  teaches bass at the Berklee College of Music , and is a regular substitute in the Boston Symphony. She recently updated her remarkable book BASSics of Bass , and we dig into this and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check her 2023...

Pete Lampe is the owner of Pete's Upright Bass Shop in Portland, Oregon, and he has been an active bassist in Portland since 1986.   He won a Silver Medal for Tone at the 2023 International Society of Bassists Convention , and he is currently focused on building his own double basses.   We dig into Pete's background, setup, strings, the "Golden Age" of bass building happening now, and much more.  ...

It was a pleasure to visit Ear Trumpet Labs founder Philip Graham and go behind the scenes with the Nadine microphone for double bass. I did a review of this mic back in 2020 and have been loving it ever since.   Enjoy, and check out the video version of this for some cool visuals from the workshop.    Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with...

Abe Gumroyan is a Grammy-award winning bassist who plays a wide range of gigs, ranging from major motion picture soundtracks to professional orchestras like the San Francisco Symphony.    We dig into Abe's background, what it's like freelancing, advice on developing a multifaceted career, Abe's surprising "pandemic job," and much more.   Enjoy!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews de...

Lauren Pierce has written a new book title Scales, Scales, Scales: A Progressive Technical Journey for the Double Bass .   We dig into the inspiration for this book and catch up with Lauren and her current projects in this wide-ranging conversation.   Check out her new book here , and be sure to give Lauren a follow on Instagram and YouTube !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews deli...

Jacob Warren is a multi-style bassist whose background and interests lie in a wide ranging variety of acoustic styles, including, but not limited to classical, jazz, bluegrass, Swedish fiddle, and many others.   In 2023 Jacob won first prize in the International Society of Bassists Soloist Competition.   We dig into Jacob's background, his recital at the 2023 ISB convention and plans for his solo...

Hosted by Joseph Conyers and Yumi Kendall, Tacet No More is "a new podcast where we are asking the questions that need to be asked and saying the things that need to be said about classical music".   Check out the podcast and follow along with future episodes here , and bravo to Joe and Yuri for starting this cool new show!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automa...

Double bassist Krista Kopper recently released a solo, improvised double bass album titled   " Blessed Are Those Who Mourn " that was inspired by eight women who have been killed while running.   We dig into the story behind this album and much more.   Listen to her solo album as well as my two other improvised duo albums here on bandcamp , and give her a follow on Instagram as well.   Subscribe t...

Gael McKeon interviews Jason about the origins of the podcast, the experience of putting out 1000 episodes, and plans for the podcast's future.   Enjoy!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with us: all things double bass double bass merch double bass sheet music   Thank you to our sponsors! Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio  – Th...

We celebrate the 1000th episode of Contrabass Conversations live at the 2023 Golden Gate Bass Camp !   Learn more about today's guests: Chuck Israels Charles Chandler Amos Yang 2LOW album (their duo) Andres Martin   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with us: all things double bass double bass merch double bass sheet music   Thank you to our...

Today we feature double bass performer and educator Louis Levitt on how to bring up your energy level for a performance.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Louis' website , Rutgers University teaching profile , and Instagram , and be sure to follow along with his awesome group Sybarite5 !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with us: all thing...

Today we feature double bass performer and educator Louis Levitt on how to warm up when you don't have much time.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Louis' website , Rutgers University teaching profile , and Instagram , and be sure to follow along with his awesome group Sybarite5 !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with us: all things doubl...

Renowned double bass luthier Arnold Schnitzer recently released a book titled The Handy Double Bassist; Maintenance, Adjustments and Repairs for the Non-Luthier.   This book is available in print edition through the ISB Store as well as through the DBHQ digital store.   We dig into the inspiration for this book, what bassists can and can't do on their own, strange tales from years of maintaining b...

Today we feature double bass performer and educator Louis Levitt on how to change a string much more quickly than normal.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Louis' website , Rutgers University teaching profile , and Instagram , and be sure to follow along with his awesome group Sybarite5 !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with us: all thin...

Today we feature John Kennedy , who has been one of the leading double bass educators for decades.   I've had the good pleasure to serve on the International Society of Bassists Board of Directors with him as well as on the faculty of several double bass camps, and he is a first-class performer, teacher, and human being.   I hope you enjoy this thoughtful conversation with a dear friend and wonder...

Today we chat with double bass maker Nick Lloyd about the story behind his bench copy of Edgar Meyer's Giovanni Battista Gabrielli from 1769 .   Nick copied Edgar's bass (#55) for Paul Kowert , and the Meyer bass copy that he bright to ISB (#60) was played by Gary Karr during the ISB headliner concert with Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten .   Enjoy, and be sure to check out more of Nick's great work...

Today, we talk with former podcast guest Bill Harrison about his new memoir Making the Low Notes: A Life in Music .   This is a great read about what it was like diving into Chicago's lively jobbing world through the 1970s and beyond. Enjoy, and you can pick up a copy on Amazon !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Connect with us: all things double...

Sean O'Hara recently won an audition for a double bass section position in the Fort Worth Symphony .   In this episode, we talk about Sean's journey from the San Francisco Bay area to UCLA to study with Chris Hanulik , his time working with Brian Johnson at Cal State Fullerton, his with studying with Tim Pitts at Rice University, lessons learned after 33 auditions, getting into traditional Irish,...