Contrabass Conversations

 

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We’re featuring Gary Karr, one of the all-time most influential double bassists, on Contrabass Conversations today. Hearing Gary Karr on record was a defining experience for me in my youth (as was the case for bassists worldwide), and hearing him live remains one of my most memorable double bass performances of all time.

The complete audio version of this video is available through the media player at contrabasssconversations.com (at the top of this post) and through the podcast feed for subscribers. You can watch the complete video below (1 hr 40 min) or download it through the following link:

• An Afternoon With Gary Karr - Barry Lieberman and Friends - download (667 MB)

This video is a magnificent tribute to Gary Karr. University of Washington bass professor Barry Lieberman interviews Gary as they listen (along with an enthusiastic audience) to recordings from various stages of Barry’s career. The video concludes with a performance from Gary and pianist Harmon Lewis, a rare treat from this retired duo.

Lear more about Gary Karr at his website garykarr.com, and learn more about Barry Lieberman and his project featuring arrangements of great chamber music that include the double bass at theamericanstringproject.com. We’ll also be releasing this complete video in segments on YouTube, so feel free to search for it there as well. Enjoy, and stay tuned next week for the first segment of our interview with Barry Lieberman, which will feature performances from The American String Project.

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We’re featuring a video episode of double bassist Guy Tuneh on this week’s episode of Contrabass Conversations. Guy has been featured many times on the podcast in the past, and it’s a real pleasure to hear his fine playing again on the show. This episode is being released in both audio and video versions. You can check out our previous episodes featuring Guy Tuneh in our archives.

We’re also featuring listener feedback, bass news, a link of the week, and much more. Enjoy!

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The outstanding double bassist Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) performs an excerpt of the fourth movement from Mendelssohn’s Sextet in D Major with Villa Musica. Listen to Guy Tuneh in interview on his Contrabass Conversations page, and check out more videos from him here.

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The outstanding double bassist Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) performs the third movement Sextet in D Major with Villa Musica. Listen to Guy Tuneh in interview to his Contrabass Conversations page, and check out more videos from him here.

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Jason thanks readers, listeners, and viewers for being a part of the Bass Blog and Contrabass Conversations in 2007, and double bass virtuoso Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) plays excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations.

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Jason chats about a very entertaining stand partner he works with, plus offers some advice for keeping relations with your colleagues cordial in the orchestral environment.

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Iowa City double bass luthier Chris Thelkreld-Wiegend recently brought a new bass he had completed to Chicago for folks to check out. It’s a small bass–more like a 5/8 size than a 3/4 size, which is an interesting departure for Chris. I share my thoughts on this new bass in this short clip (1 min 40 sec).

Learn more about Chris and his basses by visiting www.heartlandsbs.com.

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The outstanding double bassist Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) performs the second movement Sextet in D Major with Villa Musica. Listen to Guy Tuneh in interview to his Contrabass Conversations page, and check out more videos from him here.

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This is likely to be the first time most people have ever hear Angel of Dusk, Einojuhani Rautavaara’s double bass concerto. Special thanks to double bassist Phillip Serna for securing the distribution rights to this piece.

This piece is approximately 26 minutes long. Two technical issues are worth noting:

1. The video footage is lost for the first couple of minutes. This happened during the original taping, and there’s nothing we can do about it. You’ll be seeing some background information about the piece, but don’t worry–the video will start up after the titles finish.
2. There are some synchronization problems between the audio and video. Again, this was a problem from the original recording, so don’t be surprised if some of Phillip’s motions don’t seem to line up with what you’re seeing.

This piece is so cool that these two issues shouldn’t mar your enjoyment of it. I’m excited to be able to spread the word about this piece!

Click here for complete recital information plus individual videos for each movement of the concerto

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Check out this beautiful bass by Heartland String Bass Shop owner and instrument maker Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand.

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