Contrabass Conversations

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Andrés Martín’s Signature Edition double basses are now available through Eastman!  We go behind the scenes with Andrés on the experience of making these basses today.

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Elsen Price recently released a new album titled Gastronomy Astrology, which features some of Australia’s leading jazz players.  We talk about this latest album and much more in this third interview …

Marek Romanowski recently released his first CD.  Titled Contemporary Sonatas for double bass and piano, this release features music by Sofia Gubaidulina, Lowell Liebermann, and Frank Proto.

We talk…

We’re reconnecting with Stephanie Patterson today.  Stephanie specializes in teaching adult learners and was featured on the podcast in 2019, and we dig into what she has learned about teaching adu…

Marc Johnson recently released Overpass, his first solo double bass album.  We talk about the process behind putting this album together, Marc’s path through the music world, reflections on his time …

Micah Howard teaches at Carnegie Mellon University, which is one of the nation’s leading programs for double bass study.  CMU has recently come on board as a podcast sponsor, and Micah chats about th…

Valentina Ciardelli is now teaching at the London Performing Academy of Music and is accepting applications through the end of September, including scholarship opportunities.  You can visit this li…

Canadian-born bassist and composer Michael Bates has had a multifaceted career in the jazz world.  Michael and I connected in person during the 2021 Wabass Institute, and it was great to spend some t…

Frank Lestina is an educator and double bassist in metro Chicago.  He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Roosevelt University and his Master’s Degree in Administration from the Un…

Born in Sweden and raised in Germany, Christian Fabian attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. 

Through Brian Bromberg, one of his early mentors, Christian became the bassist for the…

Today’s episode features a conversation with Joseph Brown, the new owner and current vice president of the J.F. Nordlie Pipe Organ Company.  Joe is my brother-in-law, and it was great to talk about t…

Michael Fanelli is a bassist, educator, musicologist, and author who is also Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Northern Iowa.

As string/orchestra specialist at the UNI Malcolm Pri…

Dr. Jeffrey C. Zimmerman is a bassist and former student of Stuart Knussen.  His thirty-plus years of experience and study across various disciplines from masters in music, Asian medicine, martial ar…

James Oesi is the founder of the Dutch Double Bass Festival, which will be running for the third edition on October 29th and 30th in Rotterdam.  This year’s lineup will include Dave Holland, Ben Will…

Ishani Bhoola is building an orchestra of young musicians to tour South Africa in July 2024.  This project is called International Youth Orchestra Bridges and is a collaboration between the West Coas…

Susanna Klein and Randall Pharr have recently released a new iOS practice app called Clipza.  In this episode, we discuss the inspiration behind the app, the simple interface, and how it solves a key…

Chris West has released a new book titled The Paganini of the Double Bass: Bottesini in Britain.  This book tells the complete life story of Bottesini, with a huge amount of supporting material from …

We’re chatting with Paul Sharpe and Ella Sharpe about what it’s like studying the bass from your parents.  We talk about how both Paul and Ella got into playing the bass, the unique bass program at t…

Andrew Reinartz is a musician and educator based in Sioux Falls, SD. Playing primarily upright and electric bass, he easily fits into a variety of styles including Jazz, Classical, Funk, R&B, Rock, a…