Contrabass Conversations double bass life

Johnny Hamil has dedicated his life to teaching bass. Starting out as a music education student, Johnny met George Vance at an International Society of Bassists Convention, and his life has never been the same since.

Garrett Hope of The Portfolio Composer and I wanted to feature each other on our podcasts. But we couldn't figure out the best way to do it. So we chucked the script, flipped on the mic, and riffed for an hour on the subjects that interest us the most.

Szymon Marciniak played a killer recital in Prague for BASS2016. Here's a great photo from that standing-room-only event. The centerpiece of this recital was Frank Proto's compelling new Sonata No. 3.  Frank wrote this piece expressly for Szymon, and it is--to say the least--epic in scope.

David Heyes needs no introduction. Since founding Recital Music over 20 years ago, David has brought the music of composers like Tony Osborne, Teppo Hauta-aho, and Simón García to countless bass players.   David has also commissioned over 500 double bass compositions.  Talk about an impact on the bass world!

Jonathan Haskell may very well be the world’s most interesting man. He’s a bassist. In a great orchestra: L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande in Switzerland. Also, he’s the president of the musician’s union. An accomplished conductor. Fluent in multiple languages.

Allan Santos and I met 15 years ago at the Britt Festival in Oregon. I vividly recall drinking beer with him at the bar while Dave Anderson shot pool in the corner. After studying with players like Shinji Eshima and John Hood, Allan had landed an orchestra gig in the Toledo Symphony. The goal had been reached. But Allan felt like things were at an 8 in his life. Not a 10.

it would be sacrilege to use capital letters when writing about auditionhacker founder rob knopper. rob plays percussion in the metropolitan opera orchestra. which is quite cool. but rob also started auditionhacker, a site devoted to mastering the systems and processes required to win an audition.

Seth Hanes is a horn player, digital marketing consultant, and the author of the new book, Break into the Scene: A Musician's Guide to Making Connections, Creating Opportunities, and Launching a Career, which is available now on Amazon. If you want to check out some free email templates that will help you pick up gigs and some other bonuses, visit breakintothescene.com.

Spread and focus. That’s what Trevor Davis thinks about as he makes his basses. It’s all in the arching. That’s what makes an instrument sound great. But Trevor didn’t just magically know this from the start.

The first Royal College of Music International Double Bass Festival will be taking place on October 16, 2016.  Gabriele Ragghianti, Dan Styffe, and Alberto Bocini discuss this exciting new event on today's episode.

Sandor Ostlund has had a staggering set of quality teachers throughout his life journey. First, he studied with Hans Sturm. Then he worked with Richard Davis. From there, he found his way to Paris to study with François Rabbath. In Paris, he met Paul Ellison, with whom Sandor would study with for his DMA. In fact, Sandor was the first student to every receive his DMA with Paul at Rice University.

Shinji’s impact on the double bass world has been tremendous. He has performed with the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Opera Orchestras for decades. He teaches at San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His students have gone on to perform with the San Francisco Symphony, Utah Symphony, London Philharmonia, Montreal Symphony and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.

Jazz is Frank Proto's native language. Growing up in Brooklyn, Frank spent his days studying with Fred Zimmermann and his nights hanging out at Birdland. I love hearing Frank describe what it was like studying with Fred. In fact, Frank's lesson slot was right after Charles Mingus.

Craig Butterfield loved Edgar Meyer's bass playing ever since discovering it. Lately, he has been following in Edger's footsteps. Performing American roots music with mandolinist Jesse Jones is now a key creative outlet.

Corey Brown started out on the "traditional" music school path. Starting out at the University of North Texas, Corey left and became a graphic designer. He began developing on the web in the early 1990s. Fast forward a few years, and he created Squidoo with bestselling author Seth Godin. Squidoo became one of the most-visited websites ever with over 85 million monthly visits.