contrabass

854: Cole Davis on jazz career development

Cole Davis recently released a solo bass album titled Contrabass. He won the Ron Carter Bass Competition in 2017 and was named a “Future Jazz Master” by National Endowment of the Arts in 2018.

We talk about this new album, Cole’s journey through the jazz world, his impressive artistic output, and much more. Cole also has a course titled Innovative Thumb Position Techniques and has many titles available in our sheet music store.

Check out his new album here, and be sure to follow Cole on his website, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

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Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Upton Bass String Instrument Company – Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated to helping each student achieve their goals as a musician. Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city’s ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah’s website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

Ear Trumpet Labs – They make hand-built mics out of Portland, OR and they have an excellent mic for upright bass called Nadine. The Nadine is a condenser mic with a clear natural sound and incredible feedback rejection. This mic is a completely new design — the head mounts in between the strings above the tailpiece with a rubber grommet, and the body securely straps to the tailpiece with velcro elastic. A 14-inch Mogami cable connects the two parts making it easy to place on any bass. It’s durable and holds up to the demanding needs of the instrument while offering excellent sound quality. Ear Trumpet Labs is offering a free t-shirt just for Contrabass listeners with the purchase of a mic, just visit EarTrumpetLabs.com/contrabass to claim yours and check out the Nadine!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Jason Heath, host
Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
theme music by Eric Hochberg

CBC 117: Mark Morton interview 2

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We’re concluding the interview that we began on CBC 114 with double bassist Mark Morton, who is currently professor of bass at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX and has also served as Principal Bass of the Columbus Symphony. Mark was the first prize winner at the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition, and he was the assistant double bass instructor for Gary Karr at the Hartt School of Music. He is well-known for writing and publishing the “Dr. Morton” series of books on the art of bass playing, and he is the founder of the American School of Double Bass.

We start this segment of our interview discussing Mark’s Simandl-Plus® approach and how it increases the number of techniques available to the modern bassist, as well as some specific examples in orchestra repertoire where these kind of techniques can be used. We also talk about when Mark starts using the third finger and the thumb on the neck, adopting a more flexible approach than advocated in Simandl technique. We also discuss melodic gestures and when to shift according to a particular gesture, lyrical and technical fingerings and when to use them, shifting strategies, the value of Simandl and how it teaches the “grid” of the fingerboard, Mark’s fingerboard mapping system, and some of his upcoming projects.
We also feature a recording this week of Mark playing the Gliere Tarantella from his album Russian Rendezvous, which is available from CD Baby or the iTunes Music Store.

I recommend downloading Mark’s Simandl-Plus® packet and following along with our discussion to get a more complete idea of how he implements these concepts.

This week, we discuss

Links: American School of Double Bass, Texas Tech School of Music

CBC 89: An Afternoon With Gary Karr

We’re featuring Gary Karr, one of the all-time most influential double bassists, on Contrabass Conversations today in an interview with University of Washington and former Contrabass Conversations guest ) Barry Lieberman. 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.

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.

CBC 80: Peter Askim interview

We’re featuring double bassist, composer, and conductor Peter Askim on today’s episode of Contrabass Conversations. A former member of the Honolulu Symphony and an internationally acclaimed composer, Peter currently serves as music director and composer-in-residence for the Idyllwild Arts Academy. His Eight Solitudes for Double Bass won the 2002 International Society of Bassists Composition Competition. Learn more about Peter at his website peteraskim.com.

There are some excellent opportunities for high school bassists at the Idyllwild Arts Academy. Bassists study with Chris Hanulik (Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Bass) and Jeremy Kurtz (San Doego Symphony Principal Bass) and recieve a great deal of attention from Peter as well. Learn more about this program at idyllwildarts.org. Enjoy!

CBC 79: Kristin Korb interview

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We’re featuring the multi-talented and extremely engaging double bassist and vocalist Kristin Korb on this week’s Contrabass Conversations episode. Kristin and Jason chat about her early years as a bassist and vocalist, life growing up in Montana, her studies on the bass, and how she established herself as a jazz performing artist. We also feature a recording of Kristin performing her own unique take on the Ellington classic “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”

Learn more about Kristin on her website at www.kristinkorb.com. Enjoy!

About Kristin:

Born and raised in Montana, Kristin grew up in a musical family and often presented concerts with her three younger brothers. Her passion for music eventually led to a bachelor’s degree in music education from Eastern Montana College. In 1992, she moved to San Diego to hone her bass skills with bass professor Bertram Turetzky, earned a master’s degree from the University of California (San Diego), and became one of the busiest bassists in San Diego. Kristin had a brief stint as director of jazz studies at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. After two years of teaching, she decided to follow her dreams and relocated to focus on her performing career based out of Los Angeles. She hasn’t looked back since.

Her debut CD, Introducing Kristin Korb, was on the Telarc label and featured bassist Ray Brown (Kristin’s main musical influence), pianist Benny Green and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. Guest artists included Conte Candoli, Plas Johnson and Oscar Castro-Neves.

Kristin tours internationally as both an artist and educator. Recent performances include concerts at the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) Conference (2004), the 2005 Playboy Jazz Festival at the Rose Bowl, the West Coast Jazz Party and Bass Encounters conference in Vienna, Austria. She was a featured performer and clinician at the International Society of Bassists Conference (2005) and is a member of their Board of Directors.

In addition to Ray Brown and Benny Green, Kristin has appeared with such artists as Bill Mays, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, Alan Pasqua, Carl Allen, Joe LaBarbera, Tamir Hendelman and Mike Wofford. Her own trio features Llew Matthews (former musical director for Nancy Wilson and Lena Horne) on piano.

Link of the Week:

Carmen, Full of Bull – Part I from Bruce Hembd