181: Carlos Henriquez on playing with Wynton Marsalis, developing a creative voice, and creating effective Afro-Cuban bass lines

Jazz at Lincoln Center and Wynton Marsalis bassist Carlos Henriquez

We are featuring Carlos Henriquez on today’s show. Carlos has been the bassist for the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for nearly 20 years, and he has just released his first solo album The Bronx Pyramid on Blue Engine Records. You’ll hear clips from the title track before and after the interview, and we have a link to check out the entire album, which I highly recommend, in the show notes. We talk with Carlos about growing up in the Bronx, meeting Wynton, developing Afro-Cuban bass lines, finding your voice, and much more.

Be sure to check out our sponsor Discover Double Bass! Whether you’re looking for lessons on walking bass lines, technical exercises, soloing concepts, or phrasing with the bow, Discover Double Bass has helpful resources to get you to the next level in your craft. You can check out over 70 free lessons and much more at discoverdoublebass.com.

About Carlos:

Carlos Henriquez was born in 1979 in the Bronx, New York. He studied music at a young age, played guitar through junior high school and took up the bass while enrolled in The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program. He entered LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts and was involved with the LaGuardia Concert Jazz Ensemble which went on to win first place in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival in 1996.

In 1998, swiftly after high school, Henriquez joined the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, touring the world and featured on more than 25 albums. Henriquez has performed with artists including Chucho Valdes, Paco De Lucia, Tito Puente, the Marsalis Family, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Marc Anthony, and many others. He has been a member of the music faculty at Northwestern University School of Music since 2008, and was music director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s cultural exchange with the Cuban Institute of Music with Chucho Valdes in 2010.

179: Douglas Mapp on successful freelancing, life as a jazz bass professor, and ISB insider insight

International Society of Bassists president Douglas Mapp

We are featuring Douglas Mapp on today’s episode. Douglas is the current president of the International Society of Bassists and is also on faculty at Rowan University, where he is professor of jazz studies and teaches double bass. He is also extremely active as a performer, serving as principal bassist of the Reading Symphony and Assistant Principal of the Delaware Symphony and he performs regularly with some of the regions premiere ensembles including the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Philly Pops, Harrisburg Symphony, and several other groups in the area.

Douglas and I had a great chat about a wide variety of topics, including the realities of making a living as a freelancer, what makes the International Society of Bassists conventions so special, and his company douglasmappmusic, which has for 20 years been providing piano parts written in keys that fit with standard orchestral tuning. Enjoy!

About Douglas:

Bassist Douglas Mapp is at home in many styles of music ranging from classical to jazz and Broadway to contemporary classical. The list of artists that he has performed, recorded and toured with includes Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Donnie McClurkin, Richard Smallwood, Natalie Cole, Randy Brecker, Sean Jones, Ernie Watts, Lana Del Rey, Earth Wind and Fire, R Kelly, and Jeff Majors.

He is the principal bassist of the Reading Symphony and Assistant Principal of the Delaware Symphony. He performs regularly with some of the regions premiere ensembles including the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Philly Pops, Harrisburg Symphony, and has a twenty-year tenure with the Philadelphia based new music ensemble Relâche. He has performed as substitute bassist with the Philadelphia Orchestra both at home and on tour. He has performed as a soloist with many of the groups with which he performs, including his spring 2015 performance of the Bottesin Grand Duo Concertante with the Reading Symphony.

His publishing company, Douglas Mapp Music has been helping bassists to solve the age-old dilemma of solo versus orchestra tuning for over twenty years with piano parts written in keys that fit with standard orchestral tuning. He is president-elect of the International Society of Bassists and will chair the 2015 ISB convention at Colorado State University.

Mr. Mapp is a graduate of the University of the Arts and Temple University where his primary teachers were Neil Courtney and John Hood.

166: Larry Gray on multi-instrumentalism, thinking in jazz, and the history behind Chicago’s Jazz Showcase

Larry Gray is one of the most versatile and creative bassists working in contemporary jazz.

We’re featuring an interview with bassist Larry Gray on this week’s episode. Larry’s multi-instrumental path has taken him through performance on guitar, flute, cello, and piano in addition to bass. Larry is in high demand as a jazz bassist in Chicago, performing regularly for decades at Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase, and he teaches at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Enjoy!

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About double bassist Larry Gray

Born on Chicago’s south side, Larry Gray is considered by many to be one of jazz music’s finest double bassists. His impressive versatility and uncommon musical curiosity keep him in demand as both a leader and sideman.

Larry began his musical studies at the age of five when his father brought home an accordion and introduced him to his first teacher. Invigorated by this study, Larry added the guitar to his arsenal and studied piano seriously for many years thereafter. It was not until he was in his twenties that he decided to switch to the double bass. Larry went on to study classical music extensively, eventually adding the cello to his long list of loved instruments. His principal teachers were Joseph Guastafeste, longtime principal bassist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and cellist Karl Fruh, a highly regarded soloist and teacher. Under Mr. Fruh’s guidance, he received bachelors and masters degrees in cello performance from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University.

Throughout his long and varied career, Larry has worked with numerous exceptional artists and jazz legends, including McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, Danilo Perez, Branford Marsalis, Benny Green, Freddy Cole, Benny Golson, Steve Turre, George Coleman, Lee Konitz, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Fortune, Ira Sullivan, Junior Mance, David “Fathead” Newman, Willie Pickens, Ann Hampton Callaway, Charles McPherson, Antonio Hart, Jackie McLean, Sonny Stitt, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Al Cohn, Randy Brecker, Nicholas Payton, Kurt Elling, Eric Alexander, Phil Woods, Jon Faddis, Roscoe Mitchell, Von Freeman, Wilbur Campbell, Eddie Harris, and Les McCann. In addition, he has collaborated with guitarists Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, and Tal Farlow, as well trumpeters Donald Byrd, Harry “Sweets” Edison, and Tom Harrell, among others.

Larry continues to tour extensively, performing at jazz festivals and clubs around the globe, including the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Havana Jazz Festival, Rio Sao Paulo Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, ECM Festival in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, the Poznan Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, the Montreaux Detroit Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Hollywood Bowl, Village Vanguard, Blue Note (New York and Tokyo), Kennedy Center, and the Ravinia Festival, with such jazz luminaries as Marian McPartland, Clark Terry, Nancy Wilson, Frank Morgan, James Moody, Larry Coryell, Louis Bellson, Barry Harris, Dorothy Donegan, Monty Alexander, Frank Wess, Joe Williams, Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band, Kenny Drew Jr., and most recently, Ramsey Lewis.

As a classical musician, Larry played several seasons with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, including a year as principal bass. He worked on many occasions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under master conductors Erich Leinsdorf, Rafeal Kubelik, Carlo Maria Guilini, and Sir George Solti. He also was the featured double bassist with Lyric Opera for the world premiere of the opera Amistad.

Larry is an arranger and composer whose work has been widely recognized as uniquely melodic and exceptionally refined. His discography includes 1,2, 3,…, on Chicago Sessions, the solo bass record, Gravity, One Look, and Solo + Quartet, all on Graywater Records, as well as the Ramsey Lewis and Nancy Wilson collaborations Meant to Be and Simple Pleasures. He can also be heard on the Ramsey Lewis recordings Appassionata, Time Flies, and With One Voice, and the latest release, Songs From the Heart. Larry also arranged and produced the critically acclaimed CD, Django by Ferro.

Furthermore, Larry has recorded with Chet Baker, Curtis Fuller, Ira Sullivan, Lin Halliday, Willie Pickens, Nicholas Payton, Randy Brecker, Bunky Green, Bob Moses, Irish flute-whistle virtuoso Laurence Nugent, pop sensations Linda Eder, Dennis DeYoung, and Peter Cetera, and songwriter Michael Smith, among others. In addition, Larry is a first-call studio musician, and his playing can be heard on many commercial radio and television jingles and studio projects as well as the PBS television series, Legends of Jazz, where he can be seen performing alongside Jim Hall, Benny Golson, Chris Potter, Phil Woods, David Sanborn, Chris Botti, Clark Terry, and Roy Hargrove.

In addition, Larry’s original composition for double bass and guitar, Five Movements, was commissioned and performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Symphony Center in Chicago. Most recently, Larry has composed two commissioned works for the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Tribute to the Bass Masters Suite was premiered at the Poznan Festival in Poland in 2008 to much acclaim. A second work, String Thing, was first presented in Chicago in October 2010 as part of the Jazz Institute of Chicago Jazz in Chicago series. Larry also completed a collaborative project with bassists Rufus Reid and Joseph Guastafeste that was premiered in March of 2011 in Chicago.

Larry Gray is also a dedicated teacher and is Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also served for many years on the faculties at DePaul University and Northern Illinois University. Active as a clinician at high school and colleges and festivals thought North America, he also coaches various instrumentalists in jazz techniques as well as music theory, sight-singing, and composition.

CBC 141: David Grossman Interview

This week’s episode of Contrabass Conversations features an interview with double bassist David Grossman, a member of the New York Philharmonic bass section and an active jazz bassist. Hosted by John Grillo, this interview covers David’s early musical experiences, his dual interest in jazz and classical music, current projects, his philosophy and approach as a teacher, and a variety of other topics.

About David:

Bassist David J. Grossman began playing with the New York Philharmonic as its youngest member in December 1999 before graduating from The Juilliard School in May 2000. Born and educated in New York City, Mr. Grossman has performed as double bassist and pianist in orchestral, chamber, and jazz venues worldwide. He is a member of the double bass faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, and regularly gives master classes across the country. (view complete bio)

Tracks featured:

Thirds The Charm – from The Bass Of Both Worlds Jazz (iTunes link)
Janacek: Pohadka (Fairy Tale) Mvt. 3 – from The Bass Of Both Worlds Classical (iTunes link)

More information on David’s recordings is available on his website davidjgrossman.com.

Other John Grillo-hosted podcasts:

CBC 137: Todd Coolman interview

We’re featuring an interview with jazz bassist Todd Coolman on the podcast. This episode is guest hosted by double bassist Win Hinkle, who interviewed Rufus Reid previously for Contrabass Conversations as well.

After listening to this interview, I went out and downloaded Perfect Strangers, Todd’s newest album, and I highly recommend it to listeners. Truly top-notch and extremely enjoyable playing all around! We’ll begin today’s episode with a brief excerpt from Crescent City Ditty, and well conclude with Todd’s bass solo from Connotation. Both excerpts are from Todd’s new album and you can find it on iTunes here.