Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

969: Chuck Israels on his new bass and upcoming projects

Chuck Israels recently picked up a new Jonathan Li bass from Eastman Strings, the company for whom I work.  I got together with Chuck in Portland over the holidays to talk to him about what he likes about it and to do some play tests.  Enjoy!

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Connect with us:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

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 sponsor!

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.

968: Cole Davis – The New Simandl

Today’s episode digs into a new version of the Simandl Method by Cole Davis that is re-fingered with the jazz bassist in mind.  Enjoy!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

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 sponsor!

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.

965: Hagai Bilitzky on New Sound of the Middle East

Hagai Bilitzky recently released a new album titled New Sound of the Middle East.  Hagai specializes in the Middle Eastern double bass and is an active performer and teacher based in Jerusalem.  We spoke live for the podcast at the 2018 European Bass Congress in Lucca.

Today, we talk about the story behind this new album, what Hagai has been up to the past few years, double bass in Middle Eastern music, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out the new album and follow along with Hagai on Spotify, Apple Music, and bandcamp!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

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 sponsor!

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.

961: Nick Scholefield on winning a position in the Atlanta Symphony

Nick Scholefield joined the double bass section of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2022. Prior to joining the ASO, Scholefield was a member of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2019. He studied with Jeffrey Turner and Bruce Bransby and is a Georgia native.

We talk about Nick’s audition process, lessons learned along the way, his preparation process and how it evolved, and much more.

Enjoy, and give Nick a follow on YouTube to hear this great player in action!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

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 sponsor!

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.

957: Rufus Reid on his life in jazz

It was such a pleasure to sit down with Rufus Reid and catch up on his recent activities!  Rufus was in San Francisco doing a residency at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and we got a chance to carve out some time to talk shop.

We dig into the origins of his revolutionary book The Evolving Bassist, his time at Northwestern, lessons learned on the gig, and much more.  Enjoy, and check out Rufus’ recent CD Celebration to hear some super-cool writing for jazz trio and string quartet!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

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!

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.