Contrabass Conversations

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...

We're featuring the first 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 Larry...

Contrabass Conversations Co-host John Grillo and Jason interview 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 practicing solo and...

We're featuring two tracks from U.K. bassist Leon Bosch's new solo album The Russian Double Bass , which was released on Meridian Records this month. Leon has been a musical guest on the podcast twice before, and I really hope you enjoy this all-music episode of excellent music played by this wonderful musician. Tracks Featured: Rachmaninoff Vocalise Glière Tarantella

We're concluding our interview (check out part 1 here ) with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra bassist Dan Krekeler this week on the podcast. John Grillo and I co-interviewed Dan, which was particularly cool since we've both known Dan for many years. I played with Dan in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and John went to Indiana University with him as an undergraduate. It's great to see an old friend hav...

We're featuring an interview with Michelle Fiore this week on Contrabass Conversations . Michelle is the proprietor of Classic Contrabass , a shop in Wheeling, Illinois catering exclusively to double bassists. I've known Michelle for many years–she was involved for many years with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Winter Bassfest that I started several years ago. She does great setup and repa...

John and Jason co-interview Metropolitan Opera Orchestra bassist Dan Krekeler, which was particularly cool since they've both known Dan for many years. Jason played with Dan in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and John went to Indiana University with him as an undergraduate. It's great to see an old friend have such great professional success, and it was a lot of fun to catch up with Dan and hear a...

We're concluding our interview with San Diego Symphony Principal Bass Jeremy Kurtz on this week's episode of Contrabass Conversations , plus featuring excerpts from Jeremy's captivating new solo album Sonatas and Meditations, which can be purchased through the new International Society of Bassists store at www. ISBstore.com . 

We're concluding our interview with University of North Texas and Cleveland Institute of Music bass professor Jeff Bradetich on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. We featured the first part of this interview on episode 101 of the podcast, and we hope you enjoy hearing the thoughts and perspectives from this wonderful and influential performer and pedagogue. Learn more about Jeff and his...

We're chatting 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 his early experiences on the instrument,...

It is a real pleasure to be able to put out this interview with University of North Texas and Cleveland Institute of Music faculty member Jeff Bradetich. Jeff was a huge influence on my early development, and I continue to use the principles he taught me in my own teaching and performing each and every day. We get really "inside baseball" on some technical considerations for the bass in this inter...

We've finally reached 100 episodes of Contrabass Conversations ! In this special episode, we hear how many of our guests from our first two years of podcasting began playing the bass. Today, you'll be hearing excerpts from the following guests. Complete episodes featuring all of these guests (and many more!) can be found at the Contrabass Conversations website, along with complete biographies and...

We're featuring an interview with San Diego Symphony Principal Bass Jeremy Kurtz on this week's episode. Jeremy was a student of Hal Robinson at Curtis and Tim Pitts at Rice University, and he also spent two years in the New World Symphony prior to his appointment with the San Diego Symphony. His solo album Sonatas and Meditations, which will be will be available by the time you hear this episode,...