Contrabass Conversations double bass life

Thomas Zera has undertaken a fascinating project these past couple of years: play in the bass section of many of the United States’ major orchestras and learn the differences between how these sections approach their craft. Tom performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and many others. Tom and I dig into pizzicato placement, use of vibrato, how different halls influence the bass section, what bass sections sounds like out in the hall, and much more!

I was driving from Santa Cruz to San Jose with Barry Green recently. We were talking about folks I should connect with for the podcast, and Eric Hansen was the first person Barry suggested. Eric teaches bass at Bringham Young University and is the former principal bassist of the Winnipeg Symphony.

Like so many great artists, it’s hard to pin down the artistry of Matthew Golombisky. His website states “Bassist, Composer, Educator, Ideator.” That’s an intriguing tagline for a fascinating and multidimensional artist. Matthew runs ears&eyes Records and is the founder and conductor of the Tomorrow Music Orchestra. AllAboutJazz writer Jakob Baekgaard called Matthew a modern “renaissance man” in this fascinating deep-dive into his career.

When Moulin Rogue bandleader and bassist Bernard Gallone reached out to me about doing an episode on the unique challenges of being a left-handed bassist, I was intrigued. Bernard plays the bass left-handed, with his right hand doing the fingering and his left hand plucking the strings. He keeps the string order the same, so his G string is on the same side as the standard bass set-up. We dig into issues that left-handed people (and bassists in particular) face and more.

James Ham is a legend in the double bass luthier world. After a multifaceted background that landed him in Victoria, British Columbia, James Ham created a series of revolutionary designs for the double bass. His first instrument was commissioned by Gary Karr after a deep analysis of the various positive and not-so-positive traits of the Karr-Koussevitzky bass, Jim created a marvelous instrument on which Gary Karr still plays.

Fellow International Society of Bassists board member Marcel Villaflor suggested that I get in touch with high school junior Haruki Gonai about winning the Yonkers Philharmonic Concerto Competition. Haruki is the first bassist ever to win this competition! Learn about Haruki’s background, training, and hopes for the future in this interview—my first ever with a high school student!

The Johann Matthias Sperger Competition is being held from 22 to 29 July 2018 in Ludwigslust / Germany. This competition is open to all double bass players with an age limit of 35. Applications are required to submit audio links.

We talk about how he got into the luthier trade, his time spent working at David Gage’s Shop and the Bass Violin Shop, how he ended up as a luthier in the Bay Area, thoughts on set-up, and much more!

Charley Sabatino is on a mission to re-vamp the way people teach music theory. He’s a man in constant motion: composing new music, teaching clinics on improvisation, and working with the next generation of players on the art, science, and business of music. We dig into all kinds of topics today, like Charley’s first trip to the NAMM show (and the unexpected cosplay happening in the halls!), the “tune/tone/time” pyramid, the ups and downs of a living as a creative artist, and much more.

Ole Wilson is the CEO of Wilson Pickup Systems, which have been making the signature Wilson Pickup for double bass for over 34 years. Wilson provided the first commercially available piezo pickup systems for the double bass back in the 1980s, and it has been used by artists like George Mraz, Gary Peacock, and John Patitucci. We dig into the history of the pickup, how the company has branded out into other string instruments, how the pickup is installed, and more in this special gear-centric episode!

Yoshi Horiguchi is a Baltimore -based double bassist and educator as well as a faculty member of Maryland’s thriving Bass Works program. In the fall of 2017, Yoshi got in touch with me about putting his analysis of George Vance’s Progressive Repertoire Book 1 online. We got it up on the blog, and it has proven to be a popular resource for bassists worldwide.

As the son of Dominic Duval Sr. (Cecil Taylor’s bassist for a decade), Dominic Duval Jr. grew up immersed in the world of avant-garde jazz. Dominic attended the Eastman School of Music, working with James VanDemark and Jeff Campbell. He has performed at venues like Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall, and many New York jazz clubs.

It was a pleasure to connect with Cielito de Jesus and chat about the vibrant double bass educational scene she has built in Southern California!  As the founder of the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles, Cielito has dedicated her career to teaching Vance-Rabbath pedagogy to middle and high school students throughout the Los Angeles area.  She works with over 60 bassists each week. Be sure to check out the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles for more information about this great event!

Christian just won his sixth Grammy for the Christian McBride Big Band’s new album Bringin' It, and he has a course available titled Fundamentals of Jazz Bass and Beyond. We dig into all kinds of topics (including many suggestions from podcast listeners!), like: • the story behind his Benedict Puglisi bass • what Christian looks for in a bass setup • hearing Ray Brown play live for the first time • Christian’s heartwarming story about James Brown

Former Guildhall Strings solo double bassist Chris West has built a tremendous resource for learning thumb position, and he’s finally unleashed it upon the world.  Titled Reaching the Heights - Thumb Position on the Double Bass, it’s chock full of useful exercises and pieces that will have you navigating the upper reaches fo the fingerboard in no time.