Contrabass Conversations

I had a great time talking with Kate Jones for the podcast!  Kate is a Suzuki bass specialist working in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford School District in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  She is doing remarkable things for young bass students! Links to Check Out: Kate's website Jason attempting to play a 1/32 size bass More About Kate: Double bassist Kate Jones studied with Jeff Bradetich at the University...

Spending time with Jack Unzicker was a major highlight of my trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Jack is an assistant professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and is one of the most professionally active bassists in the region. We dig into all kinds of topics, like: what Jack's professional life looks like where the bass is headed what possibilities look like for music students private t...

I had a great time chatting with Dallas Symphony bassist and Southern Methodist University faculty member Brian Perry !  Brian is also on the Board of Directors for the Bradetich Foundation and the  International Society of Bassists , and he is the editor for the Bass World column "In The Zone." This episode is organized into three parts: Part 1 - the difference one teacher can make Part 2 - audit...

Former podcast guest Donovan Stokes recommended that I contact Zach Rowden and dig into what his musical journey looks like. I did just that, and the result was a fascinating conversation about careers, traditional music school mindsets, and how wide the possibilities really when you decide to do your own thing. Zach is a former student of both Donovan Stokes and Robert Black , and we discuss the...

It was great to chat with Miles Brown about what it's like playing with Alarm Will Sound , learning massively complicated music for this group, and how to be versatile in today's music world! Miles ran the after hours sessions for ISB 2017 , and he just took a new position at the University of Delaware after overseeing the jazz department at Oakland University in Michigan. More about Miles ​Bassis...

Cleveland Orchestra principal bassist Max Dimoff and Time for Three bassist Ranaan Meyer are the new teaching team at the University of Michigan!  Both Max and Ranaan have been featured on past podcast episodes as well as in my 2016 book Winning the Audition . Learn more about the program: University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, & Dance (Facebook) University of Michigan profile page on do...

Where do you even start when you're talking with John Goldsby ?  I mean, this is the person who literally wrote the book on jazz bass playing with his groundbreaking work The Jazz Bass Book . I've been reading articles by John in Bass Player Magazine ever since I picked up the instrument, and it was such a pleasure to chat with him for the show! More About John Since 1994, John Goldsby has been a...

It is an honor and a pleasure to welcome Orin O'Brien to the show!  I've been hoping to have Orin as a guest for years, and I want to give a big shout-out to Chris Mathers for connecting the two of us! We chat about numerous shared acquaintances, including  Greg Sarchet , Miloslov Gajdos, David Grossman , Ira Gold , Ed Barker , Hal Robinson, Max Dimoff , Michael Hovnanian , Douglas Mapp , and Ron...

What is it about the energy of Nashville? How has the technology surrounding us changed the way we musicians do what we do? How does a person go from being down to their last pot of coffee to touring the world with the biggest names in their scene? We answer these questions and much more on this episode featuring Todd Parks . Todd is one of the most active bassists in the Nashville scene and has p...

On September 22, Simply Three is releasing Undefined, their first album of all-original music.  You can pre-order it here . Jason chats with bassist Nick Villalobos about this new release and what the band was going for with this album.  Nick is a past podcast guest . Links to Check Out: Simply Three's website Simply Three on YouTube Maverick  (their first original song) Simply Three on Instagram...

Jennifer Rosenfeld is a leader in the world of music entrepreneurship and has been helping musicians "level up" their career since 2009. We go "inside baseball" on the whole podcasting thing.  I'll bet that there are a few people listening to this podcast that actually listen to all of the shows we reference! Obviously, I'm a bass player, and I'm deep inside that world: teaching performing, going...

What does a jazz education in the 21st century look like? And what should it look like? Why would a working bassist decide to drop it all and go to school? How does focusing deeply on contemporary music outside of jazz change the way you approach the instrument? We answer these questions and much more on this episode featuring Jeff Denson . Jeff is a professor at the California Jazz Conservatory i...

When you're playing, do you think about what you want to say , or what the music wants of you ? Do you remember the process you went through learning how to speak? What happens when you lose half your fingers the day of a big concert? We answer these questions and much more on this episode featuring Gary Peacock . Gary Peacock has spent the past 60+ years collaborating with artists like Keith Jarr...

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...