Contrabass Conversations

This week's Contrabass Conversations episode features a follow-up interview with bassist Barry Lieberman, double bass faculty at the University of Washington and artistic director of The American String Project , an ensemble that specializes in performing string chamber orchestra arrangements of quartet literature. Barry was previously interviewed on Contrabass Conversations in 2008, and on that o...

We're featuring an interview with jazz bassist Todd Coolman on the podcast. This episode is guest hosted by double bassist Win Hinkle , who interviewed Rufus Reid previously for Contrabass Conversations as well. After listening to this interview, I went out and downloaded Perfect Strangers , Todd's newest album, and I highly recommend it to listeners. Truly top-notch and extremely enjoyable playin...

We're featuring an interview with and music from Joel Quarrington this week of Contrabass Conversations. Joel is the former Principal Bass of the Toronto Symphony and currently serves as Principal Bass for the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada. In addition to his orchestral duties, Joel maintains an active career as a solo and chamber artist, touring internationally in this capacity and per...

We're featuring a brief (10 minute) interview with Calgary Philharmonic bassist Matt Heller. Matt is an old friend of mine who, in addition to being an excellent bassist, is the author of the always interesting blog hella frisch . Matt also did extensive coverage of the 2009 International Society of Bassists Convention. It was a real pleasure to get a chance to sit down and do an interview for the...

We're featuring a quick update and some performances from from double bassist Colin Corner , a previous CBC guest . When we first interviewed Colin back in 2007 he was performing in the Minnesota Orchestra, but he now serves as principal bass of the Rochester Philharmonic. In addition to his orchestral duties, Colin maintains an active career as a composer and jazz bassist, and he currently perfor...

We're chatting with Memphis Symphony Principal Bass Scott Best on this week's episode of Contrabass Conversations. Scott is a close personal friend of mine and an outstanding double bassist in both solo and ensemble settings. We played together in the IRIS Orchestra of Memphis, Tennessee, and it is a real pleasure to feature him on the show. Scott was one of the bassists involved in the ISB-coordi...

We're featuring an interview 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 Symphony and Los Angeles...

We're featuring an interview with double bassist Jiri Slavik on Contrabass Conversations this week. Jiri is an extremely accomplished bassist in both jazz and classical styles, as you can see from his biography below, and he gave a truly mesmerizing performance at the 2009 International Society of Bassists Convention. This interview took place just as Jiri was about to leave for Europe, and I feel...

We're featuring composer and bassist P. Kellach Waddle on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. Actually, we have chatted about doing an interview since 2007, and we got a chance to do so at the 2009 International Society of Bassists Convention. P. Kellach Waddle has had a great deal of recognition as a composer, and he has written numerous works for solo bass or featuring the bass in a pr...

We're featuring a guest interview by bassist Tim Wolfe, Jr . interviewing his former teacher Jim Miller about Art Davis. Tim and Jim discuss Art Davis' life, career, and pedagogical approach. They discuss Art's book and his four-finger approach to the double bass, among other subjects. We're also featuring excerpts from "Duo," a track from the Art Davis Quartet album Life and featuring Art Davis,...

We're featuring some brief interviews I did with people on the floor of the 2009 International Society of Bassists Convention at Penn State in June. Feel free to check out my ISB 2009 Retrospective blog post for even more information on what was happening at this year's convention, and stay tuned for an avalanche of content from this event over the next couple of months! During this episode, I cha...

This week, we're featuring an interview with Klauss Stoll, the recently retired Principal Bass of the Berlin Philharmonic. He has taught for many years in Berlin, Salzburg, and in master classes worldwide, and is regarded as one of the finest teachers of the double bass alive today. This interview was conducted by Jonathan Stefaniak, a former member of the Civic Orchestra who is now playing in an...

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 episode features John chatting with Ed about his early years on the bass, his schooling and time spent in the Chicago Symphony prior to his appointment with the Boston Symphony, and in-depth look at articulation on the bass, a...

The number of considerations a prospective music school student faces these days can be quite staggering–in this week's episode, I try to give listeners a summary of the most important considerations in the quest for the ideal music school. Enjoy, and learn more about this topic at doublebassblog.org or listen to some of the top university bass professors at contrabassconversations.com .

We're featuring the Courante and Gigue from the Sixth Cello Suite by J.S. Bach as well as the first movement of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 2 this week, played impeccably by the wonderful bassist Ben Jensen, currently a student of Bruce Bransby at Indiana University. These were recorded live in a master class at Indiana University and are an outstanding example of bass playing. Enjoy! We'v...

We're chatting with jazz bassist Jon Burr on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. In addition to an active career recording and performing original tunes with the Jon Burr Quartet, Jon has toured and recorded with many great jazz masters, including Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Horace Silver, Hank Jones, Art Farmer, Stephane Grappelli (from 1986-1997), Sir Roland Hanna, Dorothy Donegan, and Budd...

We're concluding the interview that we began on CBC 114 with double bassist Mark Morton, who is currently professor of bass at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX and has also served as Principal Bass of the Columbus Symphony. Mark was the first prize winner at the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition, and he was the assistant double bass instructor for Gary Karr at the Hartt School...

We're featuring the third and final part of our interview with Boston Symphony Assistant Principal Bass Lawrence Wolfe this week on Contrabass Conversations. I had a chance to check out a wonderful master class that Mr. Wolfe did at Northwestern in the fall of 2008, and I did a summary/synopsis of some of the concepts and ideas covered in this class as well. I'm really looking forward to chatting...

We're featuring music from the engaging and unusual band Haberdashery  on this episode. Tracks featured: -Toys – Sunset Cowboy – Not Here

Double bassist and Contrabass Conversations co-host John Grillo recently recorded in the first of a new series of audio programs about the past, present, and future of the professional symphony orchestra. In this first episode, John interviews me about my book Road Warrior Without an Expense Account , which I hope you'll find interesting. I also recorded a screencast of my Keynote presentation abo...

We're featuring the complete recording of our interview with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Assistant Principal Bass Jeremy McCoy on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. Jeremy attended the Curtis Institute and was a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada prior to his appointment with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Jeremy and I discuss a wide variety of topics, including...

We're featuring an interview with double bassist Mark Morton , who is currently professor of bass at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX and has also served as Principal Bass of the Columbus Symphony. Mark was the first prize winner at the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition, and he was the assistant double bass instructor for Gary Karr at the Hartt School of Music. He is well-know...

This all-music episode features a performance from National Symphony double bassist  and Peabody Conservatory faculty member Ira Gold .  Ira performs the Vanhal Bass Concerto live with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra.  This was performed on February 9, 2009.  Enjoy!

We're featuring the second part of our interview with Boston Symphony Assistant Principal Bass Lawrence Wolfe this week on Contrabass Conversations. I had a chance to check out a wonderful master class that Mr. Wolfe did at Northwestern in the fall of 2008, and I did a summary/synopsis of some of the concepts and ideas covered in this class as well. I'm really looking forward to chatting with Larr...

Contrabass Conversations Co-host John Grillo and Jason conclude their interview with Cleveland Orchestra Principal Bass Max Dimoff  this week. Before winning his job with the Cleveland Orchestra, Max served as Principal Bass of the San Antonio Symphony and Section Bass for the Grant Park Symphony and Seattle Symphony. In this second segment of our interview with Max, we cover the use of rhythms in...