Contrabass Conversations double bass life

Lucia Turino is the bassist for The Devil Makes Three and has the best crazy gig stories.  She's been rained out, nearly blown over, had beer bottles hit her bass... and that's just for starters!

Larry Grenadier is a longtime member of the Brad Mehldau Trio and Pat Metheny's group, and has recorded with Paul Motian, Charles Lloyd, Enrico Rava, Danilo Perez, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and many others.

Saxophonist and educator Nick Mainella is the host of the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Podcast.  Each podcast focuses on a particular aspect of jazz and includes a downloadable PDF.

Dennis Tobenski is a composer of acoustic new music whose work has been described by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times as “distinctive and engaging”. He is also a vocalist and a strong advocate for new music and for the interests of living composers.

We talk about career realities for orchestrally trained musicians on today's episode

This episode takes a look at the benefits and drawbacks to seated and standing approaches to playing the double bass. 

This episode is a deep-dive into developing bow strokes on the double bass.  

Jonathan Glawe has established himself as one of the rising stars in the music education world. He is the current Director of Orchestras for Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and he is in demand across the country as a clinician.

Dennis Whittaker has had a fascinating journey through the music world. After his studies in music education at Baylor University and a masters degree with Jeff Bradetich at Northwestern University, Dennis found himself teaching middle and high school orchestra in Texas.

I'm so pumped to bring you today's episode covering the tonal differences of various woods with Seth Kimmel!  Seth is an awesome luthier located in Eugene, Oregon.  I had the chance to play some of his basses at the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention and was blown away.

Barcelona-born Alexis Cuadrado is one of New York's most sought-after musicians. In addition to performing as a sideman with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo, Youssou N'Dour, Dianne Reeves, Omara Portuondo, Steve Wilson and Seamus Blake, Alexis maintains a thriving career as a composer and educator.

What's the deal with strings anyway? We all play them, yet we often don't give much though to them. What, exactly, goes into a string?  What's inside those metal windings? Our chat today with D'Addario Orchestral Product Manager Lyris Hung answers these questions and much more!

Jessica Valls has created a fascinating career as a double bass performer, educator, and free improvisor. She performs regularly with the Austin Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and the vocal group Conspirare.  She also plays chamber music, jazz gigs, and solo performances. Jessica teaches at Southwestern University, Austin Community College, and Huston-Tillotson University.  She is also the founder ad director of the Austin Bass Workshop.

Stuart Pearce is an engineer by trade.   Three years ago, he sent his youngest child off to college and did a "rest of life" evaluation. What do things look like for the next 20-30 years? Golf and finishing would be fun... but it didn't have the appeal to Stuart. Playing an instrument came to mind.  Inspired by hearing Edgar Meyer, he decided to pick up the bass. He's three years in and is loving it!

During the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention, I had the chance to meet Rebecca Lawrence.  Rebecca is entering her senior year at the University of Southern California and is studying with David Allen Moore. A few weeks after the convention, I had the chance to sit down and chat with her about her experiences as a bass student, where she sees herself going professionally, challenges and setbacks, and much more.