Contrabass Conversations

Katie Eakes is the assistant principal bassist for the Anchorage Symphony and Anchorage Opera.   She also has a thriving career as an orchestra teacher, and she was recently profiled on the Anchorage Opera's YouTube Channel . We talk about what it's like being a bassist in Alaska, the challenges and satisfactions of her professional life, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to follow Katie on Inst...

David Krehbie l is former principal horn player for the Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras and has recently released an autobiography titled Through the Door: A Horn Player's Journey .   He has also served on the faculty of the Colburn School, San Francisco Conservatory, and many other renowned music schools.   We talk about his remarkable journey through the music world, from...

Korneel Le Compte is the principal bassist for the Belgian National Opera and has extensive experience in the early music world. We talk about his epic Viennese Violone book Meta Hodos , his remarkable YouTube Channel , his very cool series The Vanhal Tapes , the lives of these past legends of the double bass, and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to subscribe to Korneel's YouTube Channel !   Subscrib...

Ivy Wong is a member of Switzerland's Orchestre De La Suisse Romande and has had a fascinating path through the music world.   We talk about what it's like playing and living in Switzerland, growing up in Hong Kong and moving to New York for college, the ups and downs of freelancing and auditioning in the US, the set of coincidences that led to her auditioning for her current job, mental practice,...

Danny Ziemann recently launched his latest book Topics in Jazz Bass Vol. 2: Soloing , and the two of us decided to try something a little different.   We hopped on Zoom with our basses and did a quasi interview/bass lesson on how to work on jazz bass soloing.   I hope you enjoy this different format, and be sure to check out Danny's new book on Amazon and follow him on Facebook!   Subscribe to the...

We are talking about the release of Bariolage - Duets for Violoncello and Double Bass by 2LOW , a cello and bass duo made up of San Francisco Symphony members Charles Chandler and Amos Yang .   We are also joined by composer and San Francisco Opera and Ballet bassist Shinji Eshima , who composed the title track for this release from 2LOW.   We talk about how Charles and Amos got started in music,...

Krista Kopper is a theater bassist and host of T he Backstage Creative podcast .   She recently celebrated two years of podcasting and put out a thoughtful episode about the challenges and rewards of a long-term project like her podcast.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out The Backstage Creative wherever you listen to podcasts!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you auto...

Barry Green is one of the most prolific and creative artists I've even spent time with.   He has appeared on the podcast multiple times over the years , and he and I co-organized the International Online Bass Summit during the spring and summer of 2020.   In today's episode, we catch up on all sorts of projects that Barry has been working on, including his incredible Stringersize program and his T...

The 14th annual Wabass Institute will be taking place in Wabash, Indiana June 24-29.   In this episode, we sit down with faculty members Eric Larson , Hal Robinson , and Ranaan Meyer to learn about this uniquely inspiring program and what it's all about.   Details on how to apply are listed here , and be sure to follow Wabash and other programs of the Honeywell Arts Academy on Facebook , YouTube ,...

Aaron Olguin serves as principal bass for Norway's Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, and he has appeared several times on the podcast in recent years .   We connected for today's episode to discuss bass section playing and the challenges of not falling behind the beat for a recent video , but we cover a lot of other ground and get a general life update on Aaron and how things have been during the pand...

John Van Lierop serves as principal bass for Sinfonia Rotterdam and is a frequent guest principal bass in many European orchestras.   We connected to talk about the challenges of leading a bass section for a r ecent video , but we covered many other topics like John's path through the music world, the effect of strings upon a player's perceptions, rosin, articulation, and much more.   Enjoy, and c...

Thomas Fiorini is a member of the bass section of the Brussels Philharmonic and is an active performer in many genres. Equally at home on the bass guitar, he has performed with acts such as Rob Thomas, Gap Mangione, Bjork, Dave Samuels, Gregg Allman and top Belgian singers like Sarah Bettens, Stan Van Samang, Natalia, Niels Destadsbader, Belle Perez, Jean Bosco Safari, Boogie Boy, Wim Leys and N8N...

Michael Kurth has had a remarkable career both as a member of the Atlanta Symphony bass section and as a composer .   The Atlanta Symphony has commissioned and premiered many of his orchestral and choral works. A recording on the ASO Media label is scheduled for commercial release on CD and digital platforms in February 2019, including Everything Lasts Forever, A Thousand Words, May Cause Dizzines...

Brent Edmondson has made one of the most remarkable pandemic pivots of any musician I know.   After spending the last several years subbing regularly with the Philadelphia Orchestra and performing with many other ensembles, Brent found himself, like so many other musicians, with a blank calendar in front of him. Brent saw the writing on the wall and reached out to several contacts in other areas o...

Paul Thompson has spent the pandemic focusing on his YouTube Channel , and the results have been tremendous.   has been playing bass professionally for over 25 years, including recording and touring stints with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. He is currently an adjunct professor of Jazz Bass at Duquesne University and West Virginia University. He has been an Instrume...

Jon McCullough-Benner recently released a great new book called An Auditioning Double Bassist's Tool Kit: Bowings, Fingerings, and Useful Tips for Standard Audition Repertoire .   In this book, he shares his wealth of knowledge learned over his years in a detailed and compelling fashion.   Jon joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as its Principal Bass in 2017 after serving as Principal Bass for...

Zach VanderGraaff is an elementary school general music teacher who has been adapting his teaching during the global pandemic in interesting ways.   He launched his website Dynamic Music Room prior to the pandemic, and he has been offering resources like his 9 weeks of online lessons survival pack to teachers looking for guidance in the unfamiliar new format of teaching.   We talk about Zach's bac...

In addition to a thriving career as a composer and podcast host , Garrett Hope has been using Steinberg's new music notation software Dorico for several years.   After having Daniel Spreadbury , Product Marketing Manager for Dorico, on the podcast , I decided to sit down with Garrett to talk through my experiences with the software as a novice and his as a seasoned professional. We also talk about...

Susan Cahill has been rethinking the entire senior recital experience for her students at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music .    In addition to playing a traditional senior recital, she has reconfigured the senior recital concept into a variety of new options: Composition for bassists Multi Instrumental Techniques for bassists Chamber Techniques for bassists Orchestral Auditioning...

We're talking today with Trevor Jones of The Scholarship Roadmap about the value of a college education and the critical importance of finding a school that fits a student's needs and a scholarship that makes it possible. Trevor is doing great work connecting students to colleges.   Learn more about his work on his website , and follow The Scholarship Roadmap on Facebook , Instagram , and YouTube...

We're joined today by past podcast guest David White , who has played for many Broadway and National Touring shows, including Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, The Bridges Of Madison County, Motown: The Musical, The Producers, HAIR!, Guys & Dolls and The Illusionists: Turn Of The Century.   We talk about a wide array of topics, including the pandemic's effect on musical theatre and how various comp...

Brandi Disterheft 's latest album Surfboard , featuring tenor sax legend George Coleman and Brazilian drummer Portinho, has been turning a lot of heads since its release.   The project gestated in Disterheft's decade-long musical relationship with Portinho, whom she met through Mueller soon after she moved to New York from Canada in 2010 to study with Ron Carter.   We talk about this new album, wh...

Originally from Australia, Jeremy Watt spent 16 years freelancing through the UK and Europe, including stints as guest principal in Spanish, Norwegian and UK orchestras. Jeremy worked extensively with the UK's finest ensembles, including the Philharmonia and London Symphony Orchestras.   In 2018, Jeremy obtained a permanent position with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra . During the pande...

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Kris Funn is part of the jazz faculty at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins.   Kris released his first debut album, Cornerstore , in 2017, and he is an active performer internationally and in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area.   We dig into all kinds of topics, like what Baltimore is like (and if HBO's show The Wire captured the city's essence!), Kris'...

Bobby Scharmann has been making cool YouTube videos since the pandemic broke out, and a recent one titled Specialization vs. Diversification prompted me to get in touch with him about doing an interview.   We talk about how he is putting together his videos, finding topics to cover, leveling up in terms of skill with each video, life as a gigging musician in Omaha, and also about specialization an...