About Frederick Zimmermann:

Frederick Zimmermann was an American double bassist and teacher. He played in the New York Philharmonic from 1930-1966 serving as assistant-principal and principal and taught at the Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, Columbia University, Manhattan School of Music, and New York University. He is considered by many to be the most influential American double bass teacher of the 20th century.

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Tracks performed:

• Nel cor piu non mi sento
• Final de la Somnanbule

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We’re doing a brief podcast interview today with Barry Green, who we recently featured in an interview/performance episode on Contrabass Conversations. Barry describes the setting for the 2011 convention (which will be awesome!), and some other details that I’m sure will make you excited for this event. Enjoy!

Guy Tuneh 2010 New Year Recording (MP3)

In this interview, we chat about Barry’s early years on the bass, his time as a member of the Cincinnati Symphony as at the bass instructor at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, writing the Inner Game of Music and his subsequent books, the influence of François Rabbath, teaching younger bassists, and his many and varied musical activities in the Bay Area. We also feature Barry performing Cri of Venice by François Rabbath. He is accompanied by pianist Heather MacLaughlin.

Learn more about Barry Green, the Inner Game, and his many activities at thegreenartsnetwork.com.

• Phil Palombi
• Mark Dresser
• Douglas Mapp
• Frank Proto
• Jason Heath (me!)

Enjoy!

This new book is filled with excellent and informative about musical entrepreneurship, product development, branding, marketing, networking, and much more. I hope that you enjoy this interview and check out David’s book, and be sure to also visit his blog, which is a great supplement to the book and quite entertaining.

After the interview, we feature a live recording from the 2007 International Society of Bassists Convention of Jeff performing the Ostinato from Tom Schnauber’s Alba and Ostinato. Enjoy!

• visit PeabodyDoubleBass
• visit Jeff’s Peabody faculty page

Peabody Double Bass Faculty:

Paul Johnson, Jeffrey Weisner (classical). Michael Formanek (jazz). Artist in Residence Hal Robinson.

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About Jeff:

B.M., Boston University School for the Arts; M.M. , Peabody Conservatory. Bass instruction with Lawrence Wolfe, Edwin Barker, and Hal Robinson. Member, National Symphony Orchestra, Washington DC, since 1995. Active chamber musician and solo performer, with recitals and masterclasses at venues including San Francisco Conservatory, the Colburn School for the Performing Arts, and Interlochen Arts Academy.

video of Jeff playing David Anderson 4 pieces

The topic of discussion for today’s brief (15 min) episode focuses on tips for helping students to make quality audition tapes. Alan listens to many audition tapes each year when choosing bassists for the Birch Creek Symphony, and he offers advice to help students make better tapes and get more out of the process. Enjoy!

This week’s episode of Contrabass Conversations features an interview with double bassist David Grossman, a member of the New York Philharmonic bass section and an active jazz bassist. Hosted by John Grillo, this interview covers David’s early musical experiences, his dual interest in jazz and classical music, current projects, his philosophy and approach as a teacher, and a variety of other topics.

About David:

Bassist David J. Grossman began playing with the New York Philharmonic as its youngest member in December 1999 before graduating from The Juilliard School in May 2000. Born and educated in New York City, Mr. Grossman has performed as double bassist and pianist in orchestral, chamber, and jazz venues worldwide. He is a member of the double bass faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, and regularly gives master classes across the country. (view complete bio)

Tracks featured:

• Thirds The Charm – from The Bass Of Both Worlds Jazz (iTunes link)
• Janacek: Pohadka (Fairy Tale) Mvt. 3 – from The Bass Of Both Worlds Classical (iTunes link)

More information on David’s recordings is available on his website davidjgrossman.com.

Other John Grillo-hosted podcasts:

• Ed Barker interview
• The State of the Orchestra
• Differences in Opera and Orchestra Playing
• Opera Excerpt Breakdown
• Orchestral Excerpt Breakdown
• Owen Lee interview
• Max Dimoff interview
• Dan Krekeler interview
• Ranaan Meyer interview
• Lawrence Hurst interview
• Jack Budrow interview
• Barrie Kolstein interview
• John Grillo Recital Showcase
• John Grillo interview

Artistic director (and former Contrabass Conversations guest) Barry Lieberman describes the documentary as follows:

We have produced a documentary about the Project, created from extensive film footage of our May 2009 concert week. Being able to show how we work, rehearse, and perform to those who have never experienced the Project in person will be a very valuable tool for us. There are many sequences showing our rehearsal process as well as interviews with some of our musicians.

Enjoy the following video, and be sure to visit the website for more extensive information:

Video Download Link (350 MB)

Barry was previously interviewed on Contrabass Conversations in 2008, and on that occasion we discussed his early years on the instrument, his career in the Los Angeles Philharmonic and subsequent move to Seattle, and many other topics. We focus on recent developments with The American String Project in this episode, including their recent selection as “Pick of the Month” for all North American releases of classical music discs in the August issue of the BBC Music Magazine (more details on the String Project website).

This fascinating and virtuosic ensemble also recently produced a documentary detailing what happens behind the scenes each year with the String Project, and it is a well-produced and highly engaging glimpse into the workings of some of the world’s finest leaders in the string world in a rare collaborative setting. You can see it now on the TASP website, and we will be releasing the entire video on the podcast next week as well.

One of our most popular offerings on Contrabass Conversations since its inception has been Barry’s interview with Gary Karr for his Barry Lieberman and Friends series at the University of Washington. You’re in for a real treat if you haven’t seen this in the past–check it out!

We’ve featured a great deal of String Project music on both the blog and the podcast–so much in fact, that I decided to put together a PDF listing everything that we’ve used (in some fashion) here:

American String Project music featured on doublebassblog.org.pdf

Today’s episode features an excerpt from the String Quartet Op. 18, No. 4 Mvt. 4 (Allegro) by Beethoven and the complete Allegro Non Troppo movement from the String Quartet #3 In F, Op. 73 by Shostakovich. You can also check out all the works that the String Project has performed on their page within doublebassblog.org.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Barry has a passion for mid-20th century furniture, and we’ve included several photos below that show his furnishings from this period (click “read more” if you don’t see the photos):

Video Download Link

We’re featuring an interview with jazz bassist Todd Coolman on the podcast. This episode is guest hosted by double bassist Win Hinkle, who interviewed Rufus Reid previously for Contrabass Conversations as well.

After listening to this interview, I went out and downloaded Perfect Strangers, Todd’s newest album, and I highly recommend it to listeners. Truly top-notch and extremely enjoyable playing all around! We’ll begin today’s episode with a brief excerpt from Crescent City Ditty, and well conclude with Todd’s bass solo from Connotation. Both excerpts are from Todd’s new album and you can find it on iTunes here.

This week’s episode begins with a recording of Joel performing the fourth movement from the Sonata For Solo Contrabass by Weinberg, and the episode concludes after the interview with Joel’s performance of the Bottesini Elegy. Both of these tracks are from his new album Garden Scene. Learn more about this album and Joel’s numerous other projects at www.joelquarrington.com.