Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

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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Bonus: Sara Neilson, Online Beginner Bass Camp

Sara Neilson will be running an online beginner bass camp for students age 8-12 from July 6th through July 30th.  She’ll be doing hourly sessions from 10-11 am Central Time.

Sara teaches bass at the Merit School of Music in Chicago, and she has been running a series of warm-up classes each weekday on Facebook.  She also recently wrote an article titled ‘Game Changer’ for the International Society of Bassists’ Bass World magazine.

We talk about all this, how things have been going during the pandemic, staying relaxed on the bass, and much more.  You can also check out her podcast appearance on a career advice panel from the 2019 Chicago Bass Festival.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow Sara on Instagram!  

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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

707: Susanna Klein on Practizma

Susanna Klein has been working on a really cool project in the past few years: Practizma.  This is a journal that takes you through 16 weeks of guided practice, with goal setting, reflection prompt, action challenges, and journal pages to track your practice.

In addition to this very cool system, we talk about Susanna’s background, what it has been like teaching online these past few months, the evolution of the journal, the concept of deliberate practice, my trusty practice app Modiacty, and much more.

Be sure to check out the Practizma website for more info and to get a free sample, and be sure to follow along with Susanna on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook!

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

This podcast is brought to you by the International Online Bass Summit and the sponsors who are proudly involved with this event:

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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706: Tom Walley on staying active during quarantine

Tom Walley has certainly been keeping busy during the quarantine, publishing a ton content on his Instagram and YouTube, including his arrangement of the Adagio from Mahler’s 9th Symphony with his fellow London Philharmonic Orchestra section members.

Tom and I talk about this recording and his other quarantine projects, canceled tours, moving out of London for the time being, long distance relationships, traveling with a bass, and even shaving his head!  Enjoy, and be sure to say hi to Tom on Instagram. 

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This podcast is brought to you by the International Online Bass Summit and the sponsors who are proudly involved with this event:

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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705: Hans Roelofsen and Rudolf Senn on bass duo adventures

I’ve been following along with the musical adventures of Hans Roelofsen and Rudolph Senn for years.  They have toured the world as a bass duo, with 15 trips to the United States alone.

Throughout these trips, they have collected some fantastic stories.  We dig into these stories, how they came to play as a duo, challenges of transcription, the implications of choosing a particular key for an arrangement, and much more.  Enjoy!

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

This podcast is brought to you by the International Online Bass Summit and the sponsors who are proudly involved with this event:

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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