Contrabass Conversations

01:00:06

1163: Chris Johnson on Building a Bigger Dream...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/10/01

Chris Johnson is a New York–based bassist, educator, and creative force whose career spans the Sphinx Virtuosi, New York City Ballet, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and a wide range of chamber, commercial, and recording projects. He is also the founder of Strauss Hauss, a concert series that brings music, food, and conversation together while placing artists and community at the center. In this conversation, Chris shares how Project STEP and New England Conservatory launched

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01:04:08

1162: Jeanette Adams on community, creativity, and...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/09/24

Jeanette Adams is a bassist, educator, and member of the nationally touring progressive bluegrass trio Stillhouse Junkies. Raised in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and trained at Lawrence University, she now lives in Colorado, where she performs around 150–200 shows a year and helps expand access to string education through the Aspen Music Festival's educational programs. We talk about the changing landscape of touring, the special community surrounding house concerts, and Jeanette's journey from

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43:14

1161: Daniel Chiva Sanz on Intonation, Audition Prep,...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/09/17

Daniel Chiva Sanz returns to the podcast to discuss his latest project, Daily Mozart, a new technique book that applies concepts from his School of Patience books to the second movements and minuets of Mozart symphonies. Daniel shares how his work as a performer, teacher, and creator has led him toward a brass-inspired approach to sound, pitch center, and hand-shape precision, and he reflects on how fundamental technique has shaped his audition preparation, orchestral playing, and overall

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31:51

1160: What Bottesini Really Wrote - Mark Morton's...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/09/10

Mark Morton joins Jason to discuss his decades-long project creating practical Urtext editions of Giovanni Bottesini's music. Drawing on 3,656 photographs of manuscripts from the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma, Mark has completed editions of 11 works so far, with the goal of eventually covering all 84 of Bottesini's compositions. He explains how he compares multiple surviving versions, preserves the composer's choices, and avoids imposing editorial preferences—including in familiar pieces such as

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36:07

1159: Cole Davis and Jason Heath teach each other...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/09/03

Cole Davis is a bassist, composer, educator, and the creator behind Better Bass Lessons, where he brings a playful, practical approach to jazz bass education. In this episode, Cole and Jason Heath trade lessons across the classical/jazz divide, building on their previous New Simandl collaboration and digging into Cole's ideas around walking lines, open strings, and groove. Jason then turns the tables with a bow lesson for Cole, covering fresh rosin, French bow hold, using the whole bow, vibrato as

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46:22

1158: Neal Miner on Juzeks, Golden Spirals, and the...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/08/20

New York City jazz bassist Neal Miner joins the podcast to talk about his new book of original bass-feature compositions, an 11-song collection designed for students and professionals to use in ensemble settings. Neal shares how longtime collaborator Chris Byars encouraged the project, how the book grew into play-alongs and a My Music Masterclass, and how his work as a bassist, teacher, composer, and documentary filmmaker all connect through a patient "chip away" creative process. We dig into

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38:28

1157: Kathryn Schulmeister on Imagining Hands

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/08/14

Kathryn Schulmeister joins the podcast to talk about Imagining Hands, her debut solo album on Protomaterial Records. A bassist, improviser, composer, and University of Wisconsin faculty member, Kathryn brings together contemporary music, storytelling, extended technique, and deeply personal experience in a project shaped by her time at UC San Diego, her work with Mark Dresser, and the narrative world of Clarissa Pinkola Estés' Women Who Run With the Wolves. We dig into the album's connection to

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49:24

1156: SoJung Kim's journey from Korea to the San...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/08/06

SoJung Kim joins the podcast to share her journey from discovering the double bass in Korea to joining the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. A graduate student at the Colburn Conservatory studying with Peter Lloyd, SoJung has performed with the One Korea Youth Orchestra and Orchestra Ensemble Seoul, spent summers at the Pacific Music Festival and Music Academy of the West, and first came to the instrument after hearing the deep resonance of a bass ensemble at her cousin's concert. We talk about

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53:59

1155: Orion Miller on preparation, structure, and...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/07/30

Orion Miller joins the podcast to talk about his path from growing up in New York City to joining the San Francisco Symphony bass section. Orion studied at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University with Tim Pitts and spent formative summers at places like Tanglewood, Music Academy of the West, and Aspen Music Festival. We dig into Orion's audition journey, including getting cut from the San Francisco Symphony preliminaries, rethinking how he prepared, and eventually winning the job after a

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01:01:29

1154: Dominik Wagner on teaching, competitions, and...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/07/16

Dominik Wagner returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation recorded during his visit to San Francisco for the 2026 Golden Gate Bass Camp. A prizewinner for many major solo competitions, Dominik has built an extraordinary career as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and pedagogue, with albums including Giovanni Bottesini - Revolution of Bass, Chapters - A Double Bass Story, and Double Bass Rhapsody. He currently teaches at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and

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01:49:15

1153: Remembering Don Prell

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/07/09

Don Prell passed away in 2026 at age 97. Born in 1929, Don went on the road with the Frank Ortega Band, played with people like Buddy Rich and Chet Baker, and was in the original Bud Shank Quartet. He played for the San Francisco Symphony for 30 years and, after retirement, formed his own group called the Sea Bop Ensemble, which played at various San Francisco spots, including the legendary Bay View Boat Club. Thank you to our sponsor! Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated

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55:32

1152: Noa Eve on Late Bloomer, Edgar tuning, and...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/07/02

Noa Eve (NoaBass) joins the podcast to celebrate the long-awaited release of *Late Bloomer,* a debut album that blends virtuosic arco playing with the rhythmic grit of bluegrass, old-time, and acoustic music-making. We talk about the "10 years in the making" arc from Jason first hearing Noa play in the Bay Area to recording the album over three intense days in Portland, plus what it takes to bring a bass-forward project to life with a full band. Along the way, Noa shares how touring and real-world

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59:52

1151: Hal Robinson on technique, teachers, and tools...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/06/25

Hal Robinson joins the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on bass pedagogy, sound, and the practical fundamentals that actually move the needle. Hal reflects on his path from early studies with Paul Ellison to a career that spans major orchestras and shares how working alongside influential musicians like François Rabbath and Edgar Meyer helped shape a flexible, student-first teaching philosophy. We also dig deep into Hal's latest book Hitch-hikin', which is a new look at the concepts Hal

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01:01:53

1150: Mary Ann McSweeney on Broadway Bass, Fado...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/06/18

Bassist, composer, and educator Mary Ann McSweeney joins Jason to talk about a career that spans Bay Area roots, L.A. training, and the demanding, ever-shifting world of Broadway and studio work. Mary Ann shares how piano and violin shaped her musicianship, what it took to become a stronger reader, and much more Enjoy, give Mary Ann a follow on Instagram, and check out this feature of her on YouTube: WPL's Jazz Series: Meet Mary Ann McSweeney. Thank you to our sponsor! Carnegie Mellon University

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01:06:31

1149: Caleb Quillen on auditions, orchestral sound,...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/06/11

Caleb Quillen returns to the podcast to talk about the path that took him from growing up in Sugar Land, Texas, to principal bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Along the way, he reflects on formative teachers, including Dennis Whittaker and Paul Ellison, the influence of the Boston bass tradition, and much more. Check out our text/media version of this conversation and our interview with Caleb from 2016 here, and learn more about Caleb on his Boston Symphony and New England Conservatory pages

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44:15

1148: Georgia Wartel Collins on Practice, Texture,...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/06/04

Photo credit: Oscar Benjamin Berg Bassist, improviser, and genre-crosser Georgia Wartel Collins joins us today to talk about the winding path that led her to New York, via Gothenburg, Trondheim, and Amsterdam, and how a deeply musical family shaped everything from early street performances to a life that's always moved freely between styles. Georgia also shares how rock and grunge became real creative fuel alongside a love of melody, and why the upright bass, alive and changing every day, keeps

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48:06

1147: Unsung Songs - David Bowden Goes Solo

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/05/28

Glasgow-based bassist David Bowden joins the show on release day for Unsung Songs, a solo double bass record shaped by years of gigging and arranging. David talks about coming up in London before moving to Glasgow for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, finding a creative home in Scotland's close-knit jazz scene, and how folk music and "sounding like yourself" became central to the way he thinks about writing and playing. We also talk solo bass, favorite recordings, right-hand technique, gear,

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48:38

1146: Twelve Bees in a Jar - Rosie Moon's Dragonetti...

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/05/22

Rosie Moon joins us today to share the story behind *Twelve Bees In A Jar, her* multi-year Dragonetti project exploring his music on gut strings, a three-string bass, and a convex "Dragonetti" bow. Rosie talks about how a chance encounter with a bow at a UK bass shop kicked off a deep dive into historical equipment, technique, and the surprisingly big that happens when you take a string off the instrument. Enjoy, and be sure to follow Rosie on her website, Instagram, and Facebook! Connect with DBHQ

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48:09

1145: Bowen Ha on his audition process

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/05/14

Bowen Ha joined the San Francisco Symphony at the start of the 2024–25 season after training at Juilliard with Timothy Cobb and Harold Robinson, and appearing as a substitute with major orchestras. Born in Shanghai, Bowen's path ran from piano to cello and finally to bass, through Interlochen, the Shanghai Conservatory's affiliated program, and Juilliard. We dig into the nuts-and-bolts of what changed between Bowen's early pro auditions and his San Francisco win: obsessing over details and doing

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36:22

1144: John Goldsby on Big Band Bass

Contrabass Conversations ·

2026/05/07

John Goldsby returns to the podcast to celebrate Big Band Bass, a project that spotlights the double bass at the front of the band alongside the legendary WDR Big Band and arranger/conductor Bob Mintzer. We talk about what it felt like to close a 30-year run in one of the world's rare full-time jazz ensemble jobs, and how stepping away has opened up space for hand-picked gigs, home projects, and new recordings. We dig into the album's origin story—why Vince Mendoza's "Sonatinita" is the lone

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