Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

711: The Scholarship Roadmap with Trevor Jones

Trevor Jones is launching a new program called The Scholarship Roadmap that addresses the tricky business of choosing a college that fits your musical needs.  

We talk about the challenges, experiences, and tactics that Trevor has developed through his broad range of experiences teaching at the high school and collegiate level.  Enjoy!

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710: Dan Turkos on crowdfunding during a crisis

It’s rare for me to interview a fellow San Franciscan like Dan Turkos over the web instead of in person, but we’re in strange times for sure right now.  Despite the pandemic, Dan and his wife successfully raised over $12,000 on Kickstarter for her debut album.

We talk about this, their life before moving to San Francisco and what attracted them to the city, their multi-genre duo Beneath a Tree – Baroque to Folk, having the neck of his bass snapped off during a trip to California, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow along with Beneath a Tree on Instagram and Facebook! 

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

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Johnny Hamil on Bassists 4 Bassists

Johnny Hamil has been building bass events for the past decade, and he has organized something really special for this summer: Bassists 4 Bassists.

This online event will take place July 7-11, and will feature Francois Rabbath, Lynn Seaton, Jessica Valls, Hans Sturm, Billy Sheehan, and many other well-known bassists.

You can register here, and check out this preview video to get a taste of what’ll be happening at the event.  Hope to see you there!

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

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709: Helen Svoboda on her solo album

Helen Svoboda has just released a solo album titled Vegetable Bass featuring her compelling compositional voice and combination of bass and vocals.

I had the chance to chat with her in 2019, and it was so much fun connecting with her about this new project and other topics.

In addition to the album, we talk about our current respective living situations, her upcoming move back to Australia and how the pandemic temporarily derailed it, how she began using the bow, and much more.

Check out Helen’s new album here, and be sure to follow her on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook!

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

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708: Chris Fitzgerald on jujitsu and bass

 Chris Fitzgerald has been putting out incredible jazz bass content on YouTube for years.  He recently released a comprehensive review of the Noble Tube Preamp, and he is in the early stages of a new project that he is calling “Bass Jitsu.”

We talk about this new project, how his early piano teacher was the original inspiration for this approach to the bass, what it’s like putting these massive video projects together, the challenges of teaching online in these current times, and much more.  

I also bring up this excellent video from Chris and a bunch of well-known bassists from the Aebersold camps on varying right hand approaches to jazz bass, and we talk about the importance of getting a “good pull” in the left arm for closing notes securely.

Be sure to follow along with Chris on YouTube, and also check out his recent asynchronous collaboration with Gabe Evans!

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

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