Contrabass Conversations

What's it like working with four of the most famous bass teachers all at the same school? How does eye movement affects learning and performing? Why is mastering the bow so crucial for a bass player's development? We answer these questions and much more on this episode featuring Susan Cahill . Susan is a Chicago native and a graduate of Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music where she studied...

How is it that Larry Grenadier , Christian McBride , and Esperanza Spalding all play basses from the same luthier? What's the difference , really, between a round back and flat back bass? How the heck to you go from local luthier to international fame? We answer these questions and much more on this episode featuring Benedict Puglisi . Benedict is a luthier from the Melbourne, Australia area with...

How do you get a student excited to play the bass? What does it mean to go slow now so that you can go twice as fast later? Why is learning like a spiral?  We answer these questions and much more on this episode featuring Caroline Emery . Caroline is a Professor at the Royal College of Music and Yehudi Menuhin School . She's the author of Bass is Best! , which I've had in my library for decades. A...

I'm so thankful that Eric at Upton Bass connected me with Lucia Turino ! Lucia is the bassist for The Devil Makes Three  and has the best crazy gig stories.  She's been rained out, nearly blown over, had beer bottles hit her bass... and that's just for starters! I'm a big fan of crazy gig stories , and I was stoked to hear about what it's like traveling the world and playing country/punk/folk musi...

Being able to sit down with outstanding artists and thinkers like Larry Grenadier is one of the true pleasures of doing this podcast. Larry is a longtime member of the Brad Mehldau Trio and Pat Metheny 's group, and has recorded with Paul Motian, Charles Lloyd, Enrico Rava, Danilo Perez, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and many others. I had the chance to check out Larry's mesmerizi...

Saxophonist and educator Nick Mainella is the host of the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Podcast .  Each podcast focuses on a particular aspect of jazz and includes a downloadable PDF. Recent episodes include: The Genius of Phil Woods Rhythmic Variation in Vocabulary Four Note Pentatonic Patterns Harmonic Minor It was great to chat with Nick about what he's doing in the podcast world--check it out! Contrab...

Dennis Tobenski is a composer of acoustic new music whose work has been described by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times as "distinctive and engaging". He is also a vocalist and a strong advocate for new music and for the interests of living composers. Dennis also hosts two music business-centered podcasts aimed at helping composers and performers to learn more about the practical aspects of t...

Earlier this summer, I read an article from Matthew Waters that caught my attention.  Titled The Orchestral Dream is Dead , it outlined Matt's experiences going through school at UCLA and trying to develop a career in Los Angeles. I posted this article on Facebook, and it got a lot of thoughtful comments from orchestral musicians, students, and others.  I thought that it would be great to chat wit...

This episode takes a look at the benefits and drawbacks to seated and standing approaches to playing the double bass.  Part 1 - sitting Part 2 - standing Part 3 - transitioning from sitting to standing We feature highlights from past podcast guests: Dr. Randy Kertz - specialist in musician's health Max Dimoff - Cleveland Orchestra principal bass and University of Michigan faculty Alex Hanna - Chic...

This episode is a deep-dive into developing bow strokes  on the double bass.   Part 1 - bow stroke overview Part 2 - developing spiccato Part 3 - bow stroke deep-dive We feature highlights from past podcast guests on this topic: Matthew McDonald - Berlin Philharmonic Lloyd Goldstein - former member of the Florida Orchestra and a longtime Francois Rabbath student David Allen Moore - LA Phil and USC...

 I've followed along with the incredible career of Jonathan Glawe for many years. Jonathan has established himself as one of the rising stars in the music education world. He is the current Director of Orchestras for Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and he is in demand across the country as a clinician. Glawe has played an important role in the their return to the GRAMMY Signature Schoo...

Dennis Whittaker has had a fascinating journey through the music world . After his studies in music education at Baylor University and a masters degree with Jeff Bradetich at Northwestern University, Dennis found himself teaching middle and high school orchestra in Texas. After seven years of teaching in the Waco and Houston public schools, a series of events occurred that propelled him into the p...

I'm so pumped to bring you today's episode covering the tonal differences of various woods with Seth Kimmel !  Seth is an awesome luthier located in Eugene, Oregon.  I had the chance to play some of his basses at the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention  and was blown away. Seth uses a wide variety of woods for his basses, including: maple walnut myrtle spruce pine cedar redwood We di...

Barcelona-born Alexis Cuadrado is one of New York's most sought-after musicians . In addition to performing as a sideman with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo, Youssou N'Dour, Dianne Reeves, Omara Portuondo, Steve Wilson and Seamus Blake, Alexis maintains a thriving career as a composer and educator. I had the chance to see Alexis at the 2017 International Society...

What's the deal with strings anyway? We all play them, yet we often don't give much though to them. What , exactly, goes into a string?  What's inside those metal windings? Our chat today with D'Addario Orchestral Product Manager Lyris Hung answers these questions and much more! Our episode is divided into three parts: Part 1 - the mystery of strings eliminating confusion Part 2 - how strings are...

Jessica Valls has created a fascinating career as a double bass performer, educator, and free improvisor. She performs  regularly with the Austin Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and the vocal group Conspirare .  She also plays chamber music , jazz gigs, and solo performances. Jessica teaches at Southwestern University , Austin Community College, and Huston-Tillotson University.  She is also the fo...

Stuart Pearce is an engineer by trade.   Three years ago, he sent his youngest child off to college and did a "rest of life" evaluation. What do things look like for the next 20-30 years? Golf and finishing would be fun... but it didn't have the appeal to Stuart. Playing an instrument came to mind.  Inspired by hearing Edgar Meyer, he decided to pick up the bass. He's three years in and is loving...

What's it like being a double bass student these days... and what's it like being a female bass student? These are two topics that should have come up a lot sooner on the podcast. Even though I've put out nearly 400 podcast episodes at this point, I've only had students on the show once before . During the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention , I had the chance to meet Rebecca Lawrenc...

Playing outside of Aspen's Paradise Bakery was both a low-stakes and high-stakes affair for Louis Levitt and his friends . Low-stakes because... well, it was playing outside of a bakery. High-stakes because folks like David Zinman, Gil Shaham, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg were walking by constantly. Louis was on the orchestral path that so many of us take.  But along the way, Louis started to ask...

As a married guy with no children, the thought of even one kid makes me break into a cold sweat. For bassist and educator  Jennifer Bradbury , it wasn't just one kid coming her way.  It was triplets ... and they came into this world 25 weeks early. The story of these three young children (dubbed the EduTriplets by Jennifer and her husband Jeff ) is inspiring, heartwarming, and totally compelling....

I've been meaning to chat with Gahlord Dewald  on the podcast for years.  He is forging new ground by fusing double bass playing with modular synthesis and is a unique voice in our community. He and I were both at the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention, and we took a few moments to chat about: what Gahlord uses for his performances (Eurorack modular system and DPA mic or piezo mic)...

Kieran Hanlon is Assistant Professor of String Bass and Jazz at The State University of New York at Fredonia. In addition to his teaching, Kieran is a first call performer in both the classical and jazz idioms, and enjoys a diverse performing career in both genres across Upstate New York and Pennsylvania. We dig into all kinds of topics, including: what it was like starting college as a violin and...

John Davis is a great example of how musicians in smaller markets can create a vibrant career.  John runs his own business , providing string instrument rentals and repairs.  He also restrings tennis rackets! Additionally, John serves as principal bass of the Salina Symphony .  He teaches at Kansas Wesleyan University  and maintains a private studio as well. John's background in radio, television,...

Jon Liebman is the founder of For Bass Players Only , which recently published its 500th interview.  Jon is also the author of several titles for Hal Leonard and has a series of online bass lessons. Jon and I had been in touch about doing an interview for the past six months, and the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention was a great opportunity to do so.  We chatted about what Jon has...

Rick Jones started Acoustic Image to solve the problem of hauling around a bulky amplifier that artificially colors the acoustic sound of the bass.  As an engineer, he came up with unique methods of construction that keep the weight down and eliminate the problem of cabinets changing the sound of the instrument. Rick had a prototype new amp at the convention and was getting feedback from conventio...