Contrabass Conversations double bass life

Christian Dillingham is a longtime friend and musical collaborator of mine.  He and I played together in a bass quartet when we were both living in Chicago, and he has continued to develop an interesting career in the classical and jazz worlds. We dig into our shared history, what it has been like living in Chicago, life on the South Side, and much more in this in-person chat at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention.  Enjoy!

Erica Bramham is a critically acclaimed vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and composer from Melbourne, Australia.  She has recently taken up the bass and has been studying with Anita Hustas.  We talk about her projects, the value of routines, reflections on her first year of playing double bass, and more, and we also feature excerpts from her singing and her partner Adam Speigl playing bass on A Low Heavy Sun.

Bassist and composer Ehud Ettun has been on a fascinating musical journey.  Originally from Israel, where he studied with Michael Klinghoffer, Ehud went on to  study at New England Conservatory. He has developed a thriving career as a jazz artist and also as an educator.  We talk about his path through the music world, starting a music school in rural Israel, the dramatic roots of his latest album, and much more. Enjoy, and check out Ehud on his website, Facebook, and YouTube!

Lloyd works as a certified music practitioner at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.  He’s also one heck of a composer, and I’ve played several of his pieces from his great collection The Way Back for the past few years. It was an honor to sit down with Lloyd and finally do a “round 2” conversation—enjoy! Subscribe to our newsletter: http://smarturl.it/cbcnews

Departure Duo is an innovative collaboration between soprano Nina Guo and double bassist Edward Kass.  Eddie and Nina have dedicated themselves to performing, commissioning, and researching music for soprano and double bass, and the results have been fascinating. We talk about their 30 by ’30 project (30 hours of soprano+bass music by 2030), how they became enthralled by this musical combination, their extensive database of soprano+bass music, and much more.

Amanda Rice-Johnston and I finally met in person after over a decade of being online friends.  She has a vibrant career as a double bass performer and a down to earth perspective on what a life in music is really like. We cover a wide array of topics, from her path through the music world to how she balances working in a cheese shop with a performing career.  It was a pleasure to connect with her at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention!

Larry Hutchinson recently retired from the Detroit Symphony after 34 years in the bass section.  A leading proponent of double bass education in the state of Michigan, Larry has organized countless bass events over the years.  He has also served on the faculties of Western Michigan University and Wayne State University and is in demand nationally as a clinician. We chat with Larry about his career, life in the Detroit Symphony, staying inspired as an orchestral section member, and much more.  Enjoy!

Brett Shurtliffe is the Associate Principal Bassist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.  Brett is a former student of James VanDemark and Jeffrey Turner. In 2003, Brett was the Top American Prizewinner at the ISB Solo Competition, and two years later took 1st Prize at the ISB Orchestral Competition.  We had a wonderful chat about his career, life in Buffalo, auditions, and much more.  Enjoy!

Naj Qureshi of Ottawa Imports has an interesting business model.  Naj has made it his mission to get the highest quality hand carved Italian basses into the hands of bassists at prices that are unbeatable for the quality of Ottava’s Inventory. His priority starting Ottava has been to make sure that any bassist has access to marvelous instruments crafted in the Old World Tradition at realistic, fair and uninflated prices.

Chris Kosky is a former bassist for the Air Force Band and just came out with a book titled The Thumb Transition Zone. Designed for intermediate and advanced students, this book focuses on the middle area of the double bass fingerboard, providing exercises for playing more effortlessly and musically in this region of the bass. You can pick up a copy of this new book at the International Society of Bassists Online Store. Enjoy!

Hector Tirado can’t hear, but uses the the technique of proprioception to play the double bass by feeling the vibrations of the double bass through his skin.  He has presented at several International Society of Bassists conventions, and he has a great collection of videos on his YouTube Channel demonstrating how he plays the bass Here’s a video of Hector playing the introduction of the Bach Chorale meine freude.  Enjoy!

Tom Knific leads a full life as a bassist, composer, and educator.  He has taught at Western Michigan University since 1987 and was appointed Director of Jazz Studies in 2000.  He is also active as a composer and touring musician. Tom has also been involved in the double bass community for many years as a past president of the ISB and host of the 2005 ISB Convention. We sat down with Tom at the 2019 ISB to talk about his career, the bass community, composing, and much more. 

Audrey Jo Williams is the owner of Music with Audrey and teaches string lessons in Bloomington, Indiana.  We had the chance to sit down with her at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention and chat about her career, teaching, starting a business, and more. Enjoy, and learn more about Audrey and what she does through the following links: student testimonials bass videos Music with Audrey on Facebook

Claus Freudenstein has recently released a new album with the Bassmonsters called UNIO.  Learn more in this short chat with Claus live from the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention, and check out the video version here.

Today’s show, recorded live at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention, is a look inside the inner workings of the Contrabass Conversations brand and business with Trevor Jones. Trevor joined the team in 2017 and has been instrumental in tightening up what we do here on the podcast.  What we talk about here can be applied to many projects in life, and if you’d like to chat with Trevor about making progress on projects, you can reach out to him at trevor@contrabassconversations.com.