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PODCAST

Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations features interviews and performances from top leaders in the world of the double bass. Podcast host Jason Heath dives deep into what makes these world-class artists tick. With 2 million downloads and counting, Contrabass Conversations is the most popular podcast for double bassists. Join the community and experience life on the low end of the spectrum!

music music interviews

All Episodes

38:08

1028: Jacob Warren on his Debussy Cello Sonata...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2024/02/15

Jacob Warren has just released his transcription of the Debussy Cello Sonata, which was the main piece on his competition winning program at the 2023 International Society of Bassists Convention. This transcription is a notable new addition to the double bass repertoire and a great opportunity to explore the music of this great composer. We talk about the history of this piece as well as the challenges and solutions for mapping this piece out on the bass. We also listen to several selections of

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35:30

1027: Mark Foley on his Double Bass Concerto

Contrabass Conversations ·

2024/02/08

Dr. Mark Foley is Professor of Double Bass and Electric Bass at Wichita State University is the Principal Double Bass for the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. He's also a key figure in Wichita's jazz scene, collaborating with local and national artists, and has performed as a concerto soloist. Mark also engages in rock gigs, bluegrass sessions at the Walnut Valley Music Festival, and creates records and live electronic music as a composer. Mark recently premiered his Little Wichita Concerto for Double

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26:52

1026: Only Girl in the Orchestra

Contrabass Conversations ·

2024/02/01

In this episode, we delve into Only Girl in the Orchestra, a new documentary directed by Molly O’Brien about the life and career of trailblazer Orin O’Brien, the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic. Despite the spotlight her unique position brought, Orin always preferred playing a supporting role to her family, students, friends, and colleagues. Jason and Molly are joined by editor Monique Zavistovski to discuss this remarkable profile of one of the double bassist’s major figures

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44:11

1025: Michael Bates on Lutoslawski

Contrabass Conversations ·

2024/01/25

Michael Bates recently released an album titled Metamorphosis: Variations on Lutoskawski. This album contains Michael’s arrangements and is based on arrangements of the composer Witold Lutoslawski, with music for clarinet, violin, bassoon, double bass, drums, plus string quartet. It’s a hybrid of jazz, classical, and improvisation and is a wild ride of styles and textures. We talk about the genesis of this idea, what it was like traveling to Poland to record this album, plans or touring with this

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55:25

1024: Hein Van de Geyn on his jazz bass journey

Contrabass Conversations ·

2024/01/18

Hein van de Geyn is jazz double bassist, composer, teacher and band leader from the Netherlands. His groundbreaking Comprehensive Bass Method has influenced a generation of bassists and is widely regarded as one of the leading pedagogical works for jazz double bass. We talk about Hein’s remarkable career, his time in San Francisco, writing his bass method, what life in South Africa has been like these last several years, and much more. Enjoy! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews

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19:03

1023: Thoughts on 2023 and beyond

Contrabass Conversations ·

2024/01/11

Jason selects on 2023 and plans for 2024 in this “solo rant.” Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Connect with us: all things double bass double bass merch double bass sheet music Overview theme music by Eric Hochberg 00:00 Introduction and Reflections on Solo Shows 01:35 Moving to California and Weather Benefits 02:21 Experiences with San Francisco Symphony 03:04 Journey as a Freelancer and Teaching 04:29 Launch of Double Bass HQ 06:20 Attending

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01:05:01

1022: Steve Husted on San Francisco, Austin, and his...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2024/01/04

Steve Husted began his musical journey at the ripe old age of 6. From there he was always involved in everything musical from school band to private instruction to playing local parties for friends. At age 15, Steven moved from CT. to San Francisco, where he jumped head first into the study of jazz. By the time Steven was 23, he was one of the top call bassists in the San Francisco Bay Area, including 6 years teaching at the acclaimed Stanford Jazz Workshop. Steven has played with many jazz greats

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43:10

1021: Sonia Ray on her creative double bass career

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/12/21

Sonia Ray is titular professor of double bass at the Federal University of Goiás (Brazil). She holds an undergraduate degree in Conducting and Composition from the State University of São Paulo and master's and Doctoral Degrees from the University of Iowa, both in Double Bass Performance under Dr. Gannett. Ray performs regularly performing both Brazilian and contemporary repertoire as a priority. Guest artist of ISB since 1993, Ray is a co-founding member of the Brazilian Society of Music

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51:29

1020: Gregg Goodhart on practicing and improvement

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/12/14

Gregg Goodhart has a passion for teaching others how to learn so they can surpass their perceived limitations. This passion led to an intense interest in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience and psychology as they relate to teaching. By putting these principles into practical use in the classroom over many years, he has come to an understanding of how to teach others to reach their potential. We dig into Gregg’s background, how to actually improve, recommended books, and much more. Enjoy, and be

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20:03

1019: Cécile-Laure Kouassi on her EP Beaux Jours

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/12/07

Oslo Philharmonic bassist Cécile-Laure Kouassi recently released an EP titled Beaux Jours. This album features two arrangements by Cécile-Laure as well as two original works for double bass and piano. We talk about this project and much more in this engaging conversation. Check out the new album on Spotify and visit her website for her arrangements and much more! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Connect with us: all things double bass double

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01:12:13

1018: Drew Banzhaf on his audition path to the Malmö...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/11/30

Drew Banzhaf won the audition for Associate Principal Bass Malmö Symphony in 2023. He spent three years as a guest musician of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and has regularly appeared with renowned orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. Drew was also a New World Symphony Fellow for three seasons and is a graduate of Indiana University and Rice University. We dig into Drew’s background, his decade spent taking 36 professional

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01:08:17

1017: Gregg August on balancing jazz, classical, and...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/11/24

Gregg August is a New York double bassist who successfully balances careers in classical and jazz music, as well as composition. He is member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (Associate), the American Composers Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He is also an active composer and performer in avant-garde, jazz and Latin jazz worlds. We talk about his background, how he balances these multiple disciplines, his 2020 project "Dialogues on Race," his experience with the

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45:56

1016: Kostas Patsiotis on Greece and October

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/11/16

Greek bassist Kostas Patsiotis recently released his solo debut album October, which was recorded in a single day at Antart Studios in Athens and features Yiannis Papadopoulos on piano, Michael Tsiftis on guitar and Dimitris Klonis on drums. We talk about what it’s like being a jazz bassist in Greece, how Kostas got into bass playing, his gear, what it was like recording this album, and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to check out October and also follow along with Kostas on his website, YouTube,

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01:01:38

1015: Jesse Dietschi on balancing jazz and classical...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/11/10

Jesse Dietschi recently released Gradient, his debut album with fellow Toronto musicians Ethan Ardelli (drums) and Ewen Farncombe (piano). This album has been getting considerable acclaim and will be featured in the Debut Album Reviews section of the December 2023 edition of DownBeat Magazine, along with numerous radio programs throughout North America and Europe. We talk about the story behind this album, how Jesse and I met several years ago at the Suzuki Association of the Americas

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59:00

1014: Joseph Whitt on a career as a military bassist

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/11/02

Technical Sergeant Joseph Whitt is the bassist for the United States Air Force Band of the Pacific in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to joining the Band of the Pacific, he was stationed at the United States Air Force Band of Flight, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and at the United States Air Forces in Europe Band at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. We dig into a variety of topics, including: the USAF Band mission the USAF audition process and preparation military lifestyle, service, and overseas

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54:29

1013: Marty Isenberg on "The Way I Feel Inside" -...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/10/26

Marty Isenberg recently released his debut album "The Way I Feel Inside" - Inspired by the films of Wes Anderson, and it has been getting great press. In this interview, we chat with Marty about his life in music, his career as a jazz bassist, the inspiration for this album, and much more. We also bring up a great interview that Marty also did for the Bass Shed. Check out this super cool album on bandcamp and Spotify, and follow along with Marty and his projects on Instagram and his website

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50:26

1012: Phoebe Russell on Smash Your Audition

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/10/19

Phoebe Russell is Principal Bass for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She recently released a course on Discover Double Bass titled Smash Your Audition. We released a YouTube video digging into this course, and in this podcast we cover Phoebe’s tips for preparing orchestral excerpts, what it was like to put all of her knowledge into a video course, general life updates, and more. Check out Phoebe’s 2019 podcast appearance here, and be sure to check out her awesome course here! Subscribe to

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01:03:02

1011: Bobby Scharmann on winning an orchestra audition

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/10/12

Bobby Scharmann is Associate Principal Bass with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and has been documenting his audition journey and what he has learned through the 24 professional orchestra auditions he took. We last had Bobby on the podcast in 2020, and it was great to catch up with him and dig into his preparation process and what it was like landing his full-time orchestral position. Enjoy, and be sure to check out Bobby’s website, Instagram, and YouTube Channel! Subscribe to the podcast to get

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38:25

1010: Lorraine Chai on music theory for young double...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/10/05

Lorraine Chai is the author of Stringstastic, a set of music theory books for double bass and the other string instruments. We talk about these cool books, both of which are available through Amazon. Enjoy! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Connect with us: all things double bass double bass merch double bass sheet music Thank you to our sponsors! Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – The School of Music at CMU highly values each and

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49:58

1009: Susan Hagen on her new edition of BASSics for Bass

Contrabass Conversations ·

2023/09/28

Susan Hagen is a Boston native and is extremely active in that city’s musical scene. She serves as principal double bassist of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, teaches bass at the Berklee College of Music, and is a regular substitute in the Boston Symphony. She recently updated her remarkable book BASSics of Bass, and we dig into this and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to check her 2023 August Recital for some inspiring bass playing! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered

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1,164 results

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