Contrabass Conversations

We are featuring our complete interview with former Indiana University and University of Michigan double bass professor Lawrence Hurst on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode.  This interview was broadcast in the early days of this show in three separate parts, and we are pleased to present the complete and uninterrupted interview on this week's show.  This episode was co-hosted by John Gr...

We're featuring San Francisco Symphony Principal Double Bass and  University of Michigan faculty member Scott Pingel on this week's show.  In addition to holding down the principal bass chair for the San Francisco Symphony, Scott taught for several years at the San Francisco Conservatory, and he served as Principal Bass of the Charleston Symphony prior to his appointment in San Francisco. This was...

We're featuring an interview with bassist Larry Gray on this week's episode.  Larry's multi-instrumental path has taken him through performance on guitar, flute, cello, and piano in addition to bass.  Larry is in high demand as a jazz bassist in Chicago, performing regularly for decades at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase , and he teaches at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .  Enjoy! About...

Here's another popular episode from the Contrabass Conversations archives.  If you haven't check this episode out before (or even if you have), you'll be in for a real treat as we explore the world of the double bass with Mr. Barker. We're featuring Boston Symphony Principal Bassist Ed Barker on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. Conducted by Contrabass Conversations co-host John Grillo...

This week's episode contains a recital I did about ten years ago on the Karr-Koussevitzky Double Bass .  I was thrilled to have this opportunity and thought a lot about what sort of repertoire would be best suited for a recital like this.  Eventually I settled on a traditional program that I thought tapped into some aspect of either Gary Karr or Koussevitzky.  Lyric Opera of Chicago bassist Greg S...

This week, we bring you an interview with  Indiana University  double bass professor  Kurt Muroki . Kurt is an outstanding performer, teacher, and artist, and we had a great conversation about teaching, learning, and performing. Enjoy! About Kurt Muroki: Former Artist Member with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Professor Kurt Muroki began his musical studies on the violin at the age o...

We're featuring an interview from the podcast archives with Los Angeles Philharmonic bassist and University of Southern California bass instructor David Allen Moore on the podcast this week. David also teaches bass during the summer at the Domaine Forget program in Quebec. In this interview, we chat about his early years on the instrument, teachers that have influenced him, his time in the Houston...

We are thrilled to bring you this interview with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal Bass Alex Hanna . In addition to his responsibilities leading the bass section of the CSO, Alex teaches double bass at DePaul University and is active as a clinician, soloist, and chamber musician. About Alex: Inspired by the sound of the symphony orchestra, Alexander Hanna at age 13 decided to pursue a career as...

This week, we're featuring an interview with double bassist Barry Lieberman . The former Assistant Principal Bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Principal Bass of the Winnipeg Symphony, Barry now serves as co-director of The American String Project , an innovative string ensemble which features arrangements of string quartets for small string ensemble with double bass. In this interview, we d...

This special Contrabass Conversations episode features an interview with composer Paul Ramsier .  Though Paul is particularly well-known for his collaborations with Gary Karr, he continues to remain quite active as a composer and has a number of interesting projects in the works. Throughout this interview, you will hear excerpts from Divertimento and Silent Movie, two of Paul's most popular compos...

We're bringing you an interview with double bassist Charles DeRamus on Contrabass Conversations this week. Charles is a member of the Gothenburg Symphony and has worked extensively in both Europe and the United States during his professional career. Charles has recently written a children's concert for double bass quartet and narrator called "Greta's Dream" which has been performed at many venues...

This week on Contrabass Conversations, we're bringing you rare footage of Serge Koussevitzky performing a few selections. Enjoy this trip back in double bass history, brought to you by double bassist John Grillo !

We're featuring the debut album from Gunnelpumpers in its entirety on this episode of Contrabass Conversations. Enjoy! About Gunnelpumpers Gunnelpumpers is a group of musicians dedicated to the art of progressive, free improvisation. Founded in Chicago in 2002 by bassist/composer Douglas Johnson and percussionist Randy Farr, Gunnelpumpers has had over 50 musicians perform with the group. The core...

We're featuring practice tapes from the hugely influential double bass performer and pedagogue Frederick Zimmermann on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. Co-host John Grillo unearthed and transferred these tapes of Zimmermann practicing, and he and I briefly chat about how these tapes helped to shape John's concept of sound on the double bass. Enjoy! About Frederick Zimmermann: Frederic...

We're featuring double bassist Leon Bosch performing selections from his latest album on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. Titled Virtuoso Double Bass Vol. 2 , this album contains a dozen works, both familiar and less familiar, from Giovanni Bottesini. You can purchase this album (as well as Leon's other albums) from Meridian Records here , and learn more about Leon at leonbosch.co.uk...

We're featuring music from jazz and free improvisation bassist Barre Phillips on this week's podcast episode, as well as bass news and updates. Enjoy! About Barre Phillips: Barre Phillips (born October 27, 1934 in San Francisco, California) is a jazz and free improvisation bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he migrated to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972 he has b...

It's official! Make plans to celebrate the Summer of Bass Love at the 2011 ISB Convention, June 5-11, at San Francisco State University. Stay tuned for details and mark your calendars! We're doing a brief podcast interview today with Barry Green , who we recently featured in an interview/performance episode on Contrabass Conversations. Barry describes the setting for the 2011 convention (which wil...

This week, we're featuring the double bass stylings of Doug Stuart, a former University of Michigan student who is currently active in the San Francisco Bay area. We'll be hearing "Wake Up" and "Gratitude" from The Pear and the Pepper, Doug's latest EP.

Enjoy this New Year's nugget from double bassist Guy Tuneh, featuring a personal greeting for all listeners and readers and a complete performance of Kol Nidrei by Max Bruch. This was recorded live on a borrowed bass during a concert for sick children.

We're featuring double bassist Barry Green on Contrabass Conversations this week. In addition to being an influential bassist and teacher (he served as Principal Bass for the Cincinnati Symphony for 28 years, has written many method books, and currently teaches in the San Francisco Bay Area), Barry is the well-known author of The Inner Game of Music , The Mastery of Music , and Bringing Music to L...

We're chatting with David Cutler, the author of The Savvy Musician , this week on Contrabass Conversations .  This new book is filled with excellent and informative about musical entrepreneurship, product development, branding, marketing, networking, and much more. I hope that you enjoy this interview and check out David's book, and be sure to also visit his blog , which is a great supplement to t...

This week's podcast features an interview with James Knabe , a trumpet performer and teacher who also runs a web consulting service for musicians. Learn more about what musicians can do to effectively market themselves by listening to this short interview, and check out musicianadvice.com for more information about the services James provides. Enjoy!

This week's Contrabass Conversations episode features an interview with National Symphony bassist and Peabody Conservatory faculty member Jeff Weisner . In addition to performing and teaching, Jeff is a prolific blogger, writing about all kinds of subjects on PeabodyDoubleBass . Jeff also cross-posts many of these posts on doublebassblog.org, adding his own perspective and enhancing this site. Aft...

We're featuring double bassist Alan Steiner on this week's episode of Contrabass Conversations. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, Alan performs regularly with the Chicago Sinfonietta and Lake Forest Symphony. In addition to maintaining a private double bass studio, Alan teaches bass each summer at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Door County, Wisconsin. The topic of discussion for tod...

This week's episode of Contrabass Conversations features an interview with double bassist David Grossman , a member of the New York Philharmonic bass section and an active jazz bassist. Hosted by John Grillo , this interview covers David's early musical experiences, his dual interest in jazz and classical music, current projects, his philosophy and approach as a teacher, and a variety of other top...