Contrabass Conversations

Curtis Burris has taught bass for many years at the Chautauqua Institution .  I was with Kate Jones and ran into Curtis as he was chatting with Virginia Dixon on the streets of Ithaca.  Kate is a former student of Curtis, and she set up this interview for the following day. As it turns out, Curtis and I have a strangely large amount in common.  We both: went to Northwestern taught at DePaul played...

Gaelen McCormick  was heading up the Young Bassists Program for the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention.  Gaelen is a past guest on the podcast, and we were able to find a few minutes to chat about her role at the convention as well as her new book Mastering the Bow, Part 3: Studies for Bass . Check out all three volumes from Gaelen below: Mastering The Bow, Part 1: Studies For Bass...

David Neubert was one of the early champions of the International Society of Bassists. He hosted conventions at UT-Austin (1986) and Interlochen (1993). He was the Principal Bass of the Springfield Symphony (Massachusetts), the Wichita Symphony and recently retired from the Austin Symphony Orchestra. He was a double bass professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Wichita State Univer...

David Gage opened his shop in 1978 in New York City.  He has played an integral role in the double bass world ever since.  David has served on the International Society of Bassists  board of directors in the past and provides a wide range of products and services for the double bassist. We chat about many topics, including: studying with Dave Holland in 1976 working with Chuck Traeger the origins...

Today's episode covers details about the BASS2018 European Bass Congress  that will be taking place in Lucca, Italy. Follow along with the slideshow through this link , and be sure to keep up with current BASS2018 updates on the organization's Facebook page . Bass Europe Board Jimmi Roger Pedersen, President Gabriele Ragghianti, President-Elect Stephan Petzhold, Vice President Alberto Bocini, Vice...

Today's episode features a panel discussion with individuals that started the International Society of Bassists, guided it through the early years, and helped shape it to what it is today. The panel includes: Barre Phillips (via video) Lawrence Hurst (via video) Lucas Drew (thoughts read by David Neubert) David Neubert Gary Karr Tom Knific Barry Green Jeff Bradetich Paul Ellison Madeleine Crouch D...

I've been dreaming about having Gary Karr on Contrabass Conversations ever since starting the show.  We got a chance to sit down and chat during the 2017 International Society of Bassists  Convention, and that's what you're hearing today. Gary is the reason that so many of us (myself included) play the bass.  He and I chat about my first experience seeing him perform in Sioux Falls South Dakota.  ...

This is a "best of" episode from three classic Contrabass Conversations episodes. Back in the early days of the podcast, John Grillo and I recorded two episodes that dissected various excerpts. He and I talked through each excerpt and then played a recording of John performing it. These have been extremely popular resources over the years, but they came out not he podcast ten years ago. With so ma...

This listener-generated episode came from a question posed on Facebook in our Contrabass Conversations Community  group. You can view the original thread and add your own thoughts.  Also, be sure to join this Facebook group if you haven't already! Top 10 Gig Dos Leave at a time that would make you 45 minutes to an hour early given typical traffic. (Brandon Mason) Bring extra strings. You'll probab...

James VanDemark just celebrated his 40th year of teaching at the Eastman School of Music. His students have held positions with many of the world's major orchestras, including the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Minnesota, San Francisco, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Rochester Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and the orchestras of Syracuse,...

Tom Mendel  is currently playing bass for the Chicago production of Hamilton.  He has performed on over 100 musical theater productions like Wicked, The Lion King, Billy Elliot, and Book of Mormon.  Tom is also the President Emeritus of the Theatre Musicians Association . We also cover the gear that Tom is using for Hamilton.   Tom uses most of the same gear that  Richard Hammond  is using for the...

Derek Jones is the bassist for Cirque du Soleil 's show KÀ. He joined Cirque after spending time playing with Chris Thile and Nickel Creek and then with Jerry Douglas, and he has played over 5,200 performances of this show at this point. We dig into topics like: challenges of dealing with the low humidity in Las Vegas Derek's unexpected chance to see Gary Karr play live in Las Vegas recently his 1...

iPhone app Android app This short episode features Allegra Hale describing the features of the 2017 ISB Convention app.  Download it and find us on the app to connect with us during the convention! Check out more ISB-related podcasts at contrabassconversations.com/isb Thanks to our sponsors! This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings ! Check out their Kaplan strings , which have versatili...

Joey Naeger recently wrote an article for Bass World titled Fingerboard Geometry .  Optimal fingerboard set-up is a major topic of interest for all bass players, and I reached out to Joey to chat for the podcast.   We dig into: scoop why fingerboard buzzes occur what bass makers can do to help ...and much more! Look for Joey at ISB 2017 , and check out his article for diagrams and further reading...

The 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention  starts a week from today! We begin our ramp-up to this 50th anniversary event with perspectives from past guests. Today's episode features highlights from the following past guests: Nicholas Walker Madeleine Crouch Douglas Mapp Gary Karr François Rabbath Paul Ellison David Allen Moore Check out more ISB-related podcasts at contrabassconversati...

Heather Miller Lardin  leads a diverse career performing and teaching on historical and modern double basses and viola da gamba.  Heather is also the editor of Bass World's column 'Rumblings' and directs the Temple University Early Music Ensemble. We dig into all kinds of topics: becoming Suzuki certified teaching bass using the George Vance Progressive Repertoire books teaching gamba to young stu...

Today's episode is a "best of" feature from audition content released since Winning the Audition came out.   You'll hear highlights from interviews with: David Allen Moore - LA Phil and 2x past podcast guest Caleb Quillen - Kansas City Symphony Rob Knopper - MET Orchestra and auditionhacker Kevin Brown - Detroit Symphony Jon Beder - creator of Composed - a documentary on performance anxiety Ted Bo...

Andrew Pedersen recently won a position with the Houston Symphony.  He was a student of Tim Pitts at Rice and a student of Rob Kassinger's at DePaul. I actually had the chance to work with Andrew at Northwestern University's now-defunct High School Music Institute back in 2011, and it was great watching him continue to grow as a player and musician during his years at DePaul. We dig into the nuts...

Tim Dilenschneider is the latest addition to the Baltimore Symphony double bass section.  Tim is a former student of Hal Robinson and Edgar Meyer at Curtis, and he studied with Ranaan Meyer while in high school. We dig into: how everything outside of the audition can seem to go wrong and you still win the audition preparation for one audition carries through to the next one ...and much more! Follo...

Jon McCullough-Benner serves as principal bass of the Milwaukee Symphony, assistant principal bass of the Grant Park Symphony, and is on faculty at Roosevelt University .  Jon joins the Milwaukee Symphony after serving as principal bass with the Oregon Symphony. We dig into: studying with Owen Lee, Albert Laszlo, and Bruce Bransby the dangers of getting too tied up in rhythm and pitch fundamentals...

This episode features highlights from past jazz bassist guests discussing the business of music.  Follow along with all of our jazz content at contrabassconversations.com/jazz . Find the complete interviews: Rufus Reid Interview Jon Burr Interview Miles Mosley Interview Ben Allison Interview Reuben Rogers Interview Ron Carter Interview Todd Coolman Interview Chuck Israels Interview Carlos Henrique...

David Arend  is active as a classical, jazz, hip hop, singer/songwriter and electroacoustic musician.  We cover: what David has done to stand out from the crowd how his studies at Oberlin propelled him into unexpected musical paths his compositional process how he elicits creativity Follow along with all of our jazz content at contrabassconversations.com/jazz ! Links to check out: David's website...

Matt Ulery is a jazz bassist, bandleader, and composer based in Chicago, Illinois.  He recently released his seventh album and has started his own record label. We dig into: the Chicago jazz scene how Matt integrates various projects to make a living as a creative artist, social media and its challenges ...and much more! Follow along with all of our jazz content at contrabassconversations.com/jazz...

Normand Guilbeault has been active on the Montreal jazz scene since the mid-80's and works in an incredibly wide variety of genres.   We dig into a ton of topics, like: Normand's aboriginal music roots, French-Canadian plus aboriginal roots Jack Kerouac and the beat generation spirit how gravitating toward poets and writers changes your musical outlook creativity and how it manifests itself Follow...

Bob Nieske teaches at Brandeis University and the New England Conservatory . He has worked with George Russell, Stephane Grappelli, and many other jazz luminaries. As bassist, composer, and bandleader, his projects include a suite for his jazz trio, and the Lydian String Quartet, documented on his critically acclaimed CD Simplicity. We dig into many topics, including: why we shouldn't be watching...