Contrabass Conversations

Today we're digging into a question that I've asked many of my past podcast guests: what advice would you give your younger self?   This question is answered today by the following people (in order of appearance): Tom Zera - Utah Symphony Christian McBride - renowned jazz bassist Susan Wulff - San Diego Symphony Peter Seymour - Project Trio Carlos Henriquez - Wynton Marsalis quintet Matthew McDona...

I've been a fan of Edwin Livingston 's bass playing ever since hearing him play with Natalie Cole several years ago.   Edwin is one of the most in-demand bassists working today, having worked Elvin Jones, Ellis, Delfeayo, and Jason Marsalis, The Headhunters, and dozens of other familiar names. Edwin and I cover a lot of territory, including: growing up in Dallas early influences in his musical dev...

Joel Reist has been a member of the Nashville Symphony for nearly 20 years, and has served as principal bass since 2003.   A former student of Anthony Bianco and Paul Ellison, Joel spent time in the New World Symphony prior to joining the Nashville Symphony.   He also teaches bass at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. We dig deep into a number of topics: what Tony Bianco was like...

Today's episode features Joe Zon of Zon Guitars plus Zon artists Michael Manring , Cody Wright , Bill Gould , and Jeff Denson . Dan Robbins joined the panel with his Ibanez 6-string and array of pedals and effects as well.   Topics include: how Joe Zon got into the business, and how he and Michael Manring first met the stability that carbon fiber necks provide the signal chain from bass to amp how...

Ethan Jodziewicz has carved out a remarkable career for himself in the world of acoustic music.   He plays bass for Sierra Hull and was featured on her GRAMMY-nominated album Weighted Mind .  A former student of Edgar Meyer, Hal Robinson, and Nicholas Walker, Ethan is forging his own path through the music world in a fascinating way.   We dig into a ton of topics, like: living a balanced and fulfi...

Donovan Stokes is a one-of-a-kind artist.   I've been captivated by his playing ever since hearing him over a decade ago, and it has been a real pleasure getting to teach alongside him at the Golden Gate Bass Camp . Donovan and I were able to carve out 30 minutes prior to a concert at the camp, and we dug into a bunch of gear-related questions that I'd been wanting to ask him, like: why Donovan pl...

Bass and Gender Talk Megan McDevitt shares her thoughts on why she has been motivated to dig into this topic and also details about the specific audience for this talk on this bonus episode. She writes: This talk is very similar to the one I have given at the ISB Convention, College Music Society Convention, and Atlantic Music Festival. In all of those settings, most of the audience was made up of...

Megan McDevitt has been covering a topic that is of critical importance: The Bass and Gender .   She presented a session on it at the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention , and she had a session scheduled for the 2018 Golden Gate Bass Camp as well.  Megan and I dig into femininity, masculinity, and the bass, and a whole variety of topics are covered through this conversational journey...

Matthew Tucker of Bresque Basses has been innovating in a number of fascinating ways in the world of bass luthiery.   A regular attendee of the Violin Society of America / Oberlin Bass Workshop , Matthew has designed an innovative system of flatback double bass bracing that he calls Responsive Flatback Bracing . We dig into this bracing system, his path into the luthier world, his approach to repa...

We're chatting with Katie Thiroux on today's episode.   Katie's album Off Beat was named one of Downbeat's Best Albums of 2017, and she recently completed a three-month stint at Quincy Jones' Dubai Jazz club.   We dig into all kinds of topics, like: growing up in Los Angeles Katie's favorite Jazz audiences around the world What she does with six hours of practicing Advice for those embarking on a...

Micah Howard has been on my "to interview" list for years.   As a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony and faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, Micah has had a huge influence on countless bass players (including my good friend Christian Dillingham !).   I actually just found a note from 2008 that said "interview Micah Howard" - that's how long I've been hoping to do this!   A few weeks ago, I wrote...

BASS2018 Lucca  will take place July 31 - August 5, 2018.  Today, we chat with Artistic Directors Gabriele Ragghianti and Alberto Bocini  about what to expect at this event. I'll be there covering the event and having many conversations for the podcast.  We all hope to see you there!

Lauren Pierce has just released a new course called Practiceology .   As the name implies, this is a deep-dive into the hows and whys of practicing.   We dig into all kinds of topics with Lauren, like: Lauren's recent article about why practice is frustrating her video digging into warm-up routines building a practice routine intentional practice general practicing techniques eight killer practice...

This special 500th episode of the podcast was recorded live at the Golden Gate Bass Camp in San Francisco on June 20, 2018.   It features conversations and performances from the following people: Richard Duke , camp director Michael Manring and Cody Wright Alex Friedman , The Acoustic Bass Shop Joe Conyers , Philadelphia Orchestra and Project 440 Steve Swan , Steve Swan String Basses Bill Gould ,...

Marek Romanowski and I were housemates during the Bradetich Competition back in the fall of 2017.   He and I spent some great nights with our hosts chatting about bass, music, Texas, Poland, and all sorts of other topics.   Ever since the competition, I have become such a fan of his playing.   Marek won the Sperger Competition in 2016 and was one of the finalists for the Bradetich Competition in 2...

I first met Steve Tramontozzi back in 2000 at the Pacific Music Festival.   Steve was our bass coach that summer, and it was such a pleasure to work with him on solo playing, orchestral repertoire, and bass ensembles.   Steve is assistant principal bass for the San Francisco Symphony and also teaches bass at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.   Steve is also one heck of a solo player, and I'...

Today, we take a look at the state of young bass education.   This episode is based on a recent blog post written after attending the Suzuki Association of the Americas' 2018 Conference .   Enjoy!   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: Robertson & Sons Violins For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has sp...

Today, we dig into some thoughts that past podcast guest Colin Corner shared about the recent Oregon Symphony Assistant Principal Bass audition .   Check out Colin's most recent interview here , and check out his complete recital from the 2017 Pittsburgh Double Bass Symposium here !   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is spo...

Today's special episode is Mike Forfia 's conversation with Victor Wooten .  An edited version of this conversation appeared in the June 2018 edition of Bass World magazine from the International Society of Bassists .  Enjoy, and be sure to join the ISB if you're not a member already!

Today's special episode is a round table discussion with over two dozen of the world's top double bass luthiers. This discussion took place at the 2018 Violin Society of America Double Bass Workshop at Oberlin College and features the following luthiers: Jay VandeKopple Greg Smith Brian Gencarelli Joey Naeger Thomas Helton Robbie McIntosh Vince Jesse Andrew Stolfa Arnold Schnitzer Elinore Morris A...

I first met Geoff Neuman when I was teaching high school orchestra back in Illinois, and ever since then I've admired how Geoff manages to operate at such a high level as a gigging bassist, music educator, and ensemble director.   Geoff is up to so many things in the music world: He's the Instructor of Instrumental Music at The Alexander Dawson School in Las Vegas He brought the Green Valley High...

Joseph McFadden has led a remarkable career in the music world.   Joe's journey from Southern California to his current role as principal bass of the Atlanta Symphony is full of valuable life lessons.   We dig into a ton of great topics like bing true to yourself as an artist, what taking a chance really means in an audition setting, dealing with frustration and discouragement, organizing your tim...

When Mitch Moehring , one of our producers for the show, recommended that I get in touch with Lois Robinson for an interview, I had a weird sense of deja vu…. I knew that name from somewhere in my past.   After reading a few emails, I realized that Lois and I go way back.   In fact, she was the Executive Director of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago back the I was a member in the late 1990s.   I even...

Thomas Zera has undertaken a fascinating project these past couple of years: play in the bass section of many of the United States' major orchestras and learn the differences between how these sections approach their craft.   For this project, Tom performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Oregon Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Utah Symphony, and many others...

I was driving from Santa Cruz to San Jose with Barry Green recently.   We were talking about folks I should connect with for the podcast, and Eric Hansen was the first person Barry suggested.   Eric teaches bass at Brigham Young University and is the former principal bassist of the Winnipeg Symphony.   Eric and I met in person for the first time in December of 2017 at the Midwest Clinic . He's gre...