Contrabass Conversations

On today's episode, we're featuring Mark Dresser and William Parker in a discussion about Deep Tones for Peace 2020 .  Here's a description of the current project, which is a continuation of the Deep Tones for Peace international event in 2009 : Deep Tones for Peace 2020 is a regular streaming of live meditations for peace, healing, and transformation. Musicians transmitting deep tones to counterb...

Jon Liebman has led a varied and prolific career through the music world, and a lot has changed about his website For Bass Players Only since we last chatted for the podcast .   We talk about how Jon has consolidated his offerings into a single site, how he has restructured his interviews for the site, his online teaching offerings, and upcoming book projects.   We also dig into a ton of great tal...

Ian Allison has been going all-in on Instagram these past few years, and he has been inspiring countless people in the process.   As the bassist for Eric Hutchinson and a seasoned veteran in the industry, Ian has been working to connect and educate through Instagram, and the results have been incredible.   We talk about growing up in Montana, the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and its early influenc...

Alyssa Peterson has had quite the freshman year.   She hails from La Crosse, Wisconsin and has spent the past year at New England Conservatory, where she launched a podcast called Something to Consider: College Edition .   We talk about how crazy her first year of school has been with the pandemic, her goals for starting the podcast, the importance of self-care for musicians, and much more.   Enjo...

Jason Haaheim 's path to his current position as principal timpanist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is unconventional and inspiring.   He didn't go to music school, instead of getting a PhD and working for 10 years as an engineer and researcher for a Chicago-based nanotechnology startup.   Through the principles of deliberate practice , Jason set out on a long journey of continual improvement...

Brooklyn native Richard Myron has spent his professional life in Europe working in the early music world.   Currently residing in Paris, Richard is professor of contrabass and chamber music in the early music department of the CRR de Paris and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Music de Paris.    He is also a founding member of the Freiburger Barockorchester and Consort, the Atlantis Ensemble...

I had a wonderful conversation with Jonathan Haskell a few years ago, and a lot has changed in his life since then.   He recently retired from L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande in Switzerland, and he has been diving deep into the world of contemporary music.   He also wrote a thoughtful article for the Chicago Tribune about the conflicting emotions surrounding retiring after 40 years on the job.  ...

T. Alan Stewart wears many musical hats in the Baltimore/Washington DC area.   In addition to serving as principal bass with the Williamsburg Symphony and Roanoke Symphony, Alan has performed with the Baltimore Opera, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Spoleto Festival, Alexander Schnieder String Orchestra; and many other ensembles in the area. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, di...

Andrea Beyer is a bassist, teacher, and advocate for social growth.   Having recently finished up three years with the New World Symphony , Andrea has relocated to Austin, Texas.    She recently started blogging for AuditionCafe.com , where she has been focusing on how all kinds of musicians are handling the pandemic and lockdown.   Andrea also recently asked me to write a piece for the blog , whi...

It was great to connect with Gahlord Dewald about his latest album Coherent Light Enclosed Without .   This album was recorded at The Tank Center for Sonic Arts on a hill above the town of Rangely, Colorado.   We talk about this fascinating performance venue, how Gahlord found himself heading to The Tank for this project, what it's like preparing to record in such a unique acoustic space, and much...

It was great to connect with Giovanni Sanguineti for the podcast.  We start off talking about an online workshop that past podcast guest Danny Ziemann has been doing online.  Giovanni is obsessed with learning and growing as a player, and we dig into a number of resources, including Dennis Whittaker's new series Incredibly Useful Exercises for Double Bass . We also talk about the time we spent tog...

It is a pleasure to have Olivier Babaz back on the podcast!   Olivier recently released a course with Discover Double Bass titled The Creative Improvisor . In this episode, we talk about our shared experiences filming for Discover Double Bass , using iPads creatively for music, Olivier's live streams, creative flow, and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to follow Olivier on YouTube , Facebook , and In...

Today we're featuring Christian Dillingham , a Grammy Award-winning bassist who happens to be one of my longtime friends.   Christian recently joined the faculty at Indiana University to teach jazz bass.   We chat about that and much more!   Check out my in-person conversation with Christian from the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention , and be sure to follow him on Instagram !   Lis...

We're featuring Josh Skinner on today's podcast.   Josh is a bassist, composer, and faculty member at the University of Idaho .    Josh also directs the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival , which brings together thousands of jazz students from the United States and abroad.   I also had the pleasure of being a clinician at the 2020 festival and spending some time in person with Josh.   We talk abo...

Today we're featuring Christian Dillingham , a Grammy Award-winning bassist who happens to be one of my longtime friends.   Christian recently joined the faculty at Indiana University to teach jazz bass.   We chat about that and much more!   Check out my in-person conversation with Christian from the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention , and be sure to follow him on Instagram !   Lis...

Today we're featuring Sam Morel , a French double bass luthier who has recently taken a job at David Gage String Instruments .   Sam won a Silver Medal for Tone at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention and a Certificate of Merit at the 2018 Violin Society of America Competition . We talk about the various basses he has built, how life has been for him during the pandemic, working w...

We're chatting with conductor and career development coach Stephen P. Brown today.   Stephen appeared on the podcast in 2019 , and we dig into developing your career during the pandemic, what holds so many musicians back, what life is looking like for Stephen at the present moment, and much more. Follow along with Stephen on Facebook and Twitter , and be sure to check out his podcast Classic Jabbe...

Today's episode is the 4th and final of The Scholarship Roadmap's takeover of the Contrabass Conversations podcast feed. The Scholarship Roadmap is an online program for student musicians pursuing careers in music. It was developed by Contrabass Conversations team member, Trevor Jones . Book a discovery call with Trevor to see if it's right for you.   "A performance degree is a way to give you a l...

Today's episode is the 3rd of 4 of The Scholarship Roadmap's takeover of the Contrabass Conversations podcast feed. The Scholarship Roadmap is an online program for student musicians pursuing careers in music. It was developed by Contrabass Conversations team member, Trevor Jones . Book a discovery call with Trevor to see if it's right for you.   "What I'm looking for is seriousness, talent, and a...

Today's episode is the 2nd of 4 of The Scholarship Roadmap's takeover of the Contrabass Conversations podcast feed. The Scholarship Roadmap is an online program for student musicians pursuing careers in music. It was developed by Contrabass Conversations team member, Trevor Jones . Book a discovery call with Trevor to see if it's right for you.   "We have to understand the significance of what we'...

Trevor Jones is launching a new program called The Scholarship Roadmap that addresses the tricky business of choosing a college that fits your musical needs.    We talk about the challenges, experiences, and tactics that Trevor has developed through his broad range of experiences teaching at the high school and collegiate levels.   Enjoy!   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for...

It's rare for me to interview a fellow San Franciscan like Dan Turkos over the web instead of in person, but we're in strange times for sure right now.   Despite the pandemic, Dan and his wife successfully raised over $12,000 on Kickstarter for her debut album.   We talk about this, their life before moving to San Francisco and what attracted them to the city, their multi-genre duo Beneath a Tree...

Johnny Hamil has been building bass events for the past decade, and he has organized something really special for this summer: Bassists 4 Bassists . This online event will take place July 7-11, and will feature Francois Rabbath, Lynn Seaton, Jessica Valls, Hans Sturm, Billy Sheehan, and many other well-known bassists. You can register here , and check out this preview video to get a taste of what'...

Helen Svoboda has just released a solo album titled Vegetable Bass featuring her compelling compositional voice and combination of bass and vocals .   I had the chance to chat with her in 2019 , and it was so much fun connecting with her about this new project and other topics.   In addition to the album, we talk about our current respective living situations, her upcoming move back to Australia a...

Chris Fitzgerald has been putting out incredible jazz bass content on YouTube for years.   He recently released a comprehensive review of the Noble Tube Preamp , and he is in the early stages of a new project that he is calling "Bass Jitsu."   We talk about this new project, how his early piano teacher was the original inspiration for this approach tot he bass, what it's like putting these massive...