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.

CBC 126: Art Davis retrospective

Art Davis.png We’re featuring a guest interview by bassist Tim Wolfe, Jr. interviewing his former teacher Jim Miller about Art Davis. Tim and Jim discuss Art Davis’ life, career, and pedagogical approach. They discuss Art’s book and his four-finger approach to the double bass, among other subjects.

We’re also featuring excerpts from “Duo,” a track from the Art Davis Quartet album Life and featuring Art Davis, John Hicks, Idris Muhammad & Pharoah Sanders. This album (along with other music from Art’s considerable career) is available through iTunes.

Tim also created a timeline (PDF) detailing milestones in Art’s career:

Art Davis Timeline

CBC 118: Jon Burr interview

Jon Burr.png We’re chatting with jazz bassist Jon Burr on this week’s Contrabass Conversations episode. In addition to an active career recording and performing original tunes with the Jon Burr Quartet, Jon has toured and recorded with many great jazz masters, including Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Horace Silver, Hank Jones, Art Farmer, Stephane Grappelli (from 1986-1997), Sir Roland Hanna, Dorothy Donegan, and Buddy Rich. From 1980 – 1985 he toured with Tony Bennett; he has also worked with Lainie Kazan, Rita Moreno, Barbara Cook, Eartha Kitt, among others. Jon was a founding member of violinist Mark O’Connor’s “Hot Swing” trio, with guitarist Frank Vignola.

In our interview, we discuss Jon’s early years on the bass, his time spent touring with Stephane Grappelli and Tony Bennett, his upcoming book “The Untold Secret to Melodic Bass Playing,” upcoming projects, as well as advice for younger players coming up in the business right now. After the interview, we feature “Nobody Said It Was Easy,” one of Jon’s original tunes.

Learn more about Jon at his website jonburr.com and his food blog highfibercooking.com, and find him on Twitter at twitter.com/jonburr.

CBC 87: Rufus Reid interview

We’re featuring an interview with jazz bassist Rufus Reid on this week’s episode of Contrabass Conversations. This interview was conducted by guest host Win Hinkle, a former member of the Florida Symphony Orchestra (this orchestra dissolved in 1993) who also worked in Florida as a trombonist, electric bassist, and double bassist, including a lot of time at Walt Disney World.

Rufus Reid is, without a doubt, one of the most influential bassists working in jazz today, and he has had a significant impact on double bass performance and pedagogy throughout his career. His book The Evolving Bassist was one of the earliest of the contemporary generation of double bass method books, and it continues to be a foundational text for double bass students. I recommend it to all of my students who are interested in jazz, and I use many of his exercises for arco study and sight reading practice even with students who only study classical music.

We’re also featuring Rufus Reid and bassist Michael Moore performing All Blues from their album Double Bass Delights, as well as some listener feedback, bass news, a link of the week, and much more. Check out more recordings of Rufus in various settings on his website’s recordings page. Enjoy!