Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

1160: What Bottesini Really Wrote – Mark Morton’s Urtext Editions

Mark Morton joins Jason to discuss his decades-long project creating practical Urtext editions of Giovanni Bottesini’s music. 

Drawing on 3,656 photographs of manuscripts from the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma, Mark has completed editions of 11 works so far, with the goal of eventually covering all 84 of Bottesini’s compositions. He explains how he compares multiple surviving versions, preserves the composer’s choices, and avoids imposing editorial preferences—including in familiar pieces such as Elegy No. 1.

The conversation explores the advantages of writing the bass part in the sounding octave, or suono reale, as well as Bottesini’s minor-third solo tuning and its effects on projection, orchestral balance, and tone. Mark also shares the story behind his research in Parma, the practical decisions involved in preparing piano accompaniments, his recording Bottesini’s Greatest Hits, and the possibility of future editions with suggested fingerings and bowings.

Enjoy, and learn more about Mark Morton on his website and YouTube channel!

Thank you to our sponsor, Wiedoeft Double Bass Rosin

We want grip and longevity from rosin. Most fail at one of them. We get a lot of rosin sent our way to evaluate on the job. Wiedoeft is the one we keep using, from symphony stages to theatre pits.

All Season — Balanced grip across normal swings in temperature and humidity.
Ultra-Grip — A softer blend built for cold halls and dry climates. Use code DBHQ for free shipping, direct from Wiedoeft.

Connect with DBHQ

Gear used to record this podcast

When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ.

Theme music by Eric Hochberg

1159: Cole Davis and Jason Heath teach each other bass lessons!

Cole Davis is an bassist, composer, educator, and the creator behind Better Bass Lessons, where he brings a playful, practical approach to jazz bass education. In this episode, Cole and Jason Heath trade lessons across the classical/jazz divide, building on their previous New Simandl collaboration and digging into Cole’s ideas around walking lines, open strings, and groove.

Jason then turns the tables with a bow lesson for Cole, covering fresh rosin, French bow hold, using the whole bow, vibrato as its own hand position, “uni-finger” concepts, and finding a thicker arco sound through bow weight, contact point, gravity, and relaxation.

Enjoy, and follow Cole at Cole Davis, Better Bass Lessons, Instagram, and check out his Simandl quiz and his Double Bass HQ collection.

Thank you to our sponsor!

We want grip and longevity from rosin. Most fail at one of them. We get a lot of rosin sent our way to evaluate on the job. Wiedoeft is the one we keep using, from symphony stages to theatre pits.

All Season – Balanced grip across normal swings in temperature and humidity.
Ultra-Grip – A softer blend built for cold halls and dry climates. Use code DBHQ for free shipping, direct from Wiedoeft.

Connect with DBHQ

Gear used to record this podcast

When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ.

Theme music by Eric Hochberg

1158: Neal Miner on Juzeks, Golden Spirals, and the Art of Playing Bass Melodies


New York City jazz bassist Neal Miner joins the podcast to talk about his new book of original bass-feature compositions, an 11-song collection designed for students and professionals to use in ensemble settings.

Neal shares how longtime collaborator Chris Byars encouraged the project, how the book grew into play-alongs and a My Music Masterclass, and how his work as a bassist, teacher, composer, and documentary filmmaker all connect through a patient “chip away” creative process.

We dig into Neal’s love of bass melodies, contrafacts, gut strings, his longtime Juzek bass, Golden Spiral strings, DPA mic setup, recording acoustic bass, and the realities of playing unfamiliar instruments on the road. Neal also talks about his YouTube documentaries, his trio album Invisibility on Cellar Music, and life as an active New York jazz musician.

Enjoy, and learn more at Neal’s website, follow him on Instagram, and check out his work on YouTube! Be sure also to check out Neal’s excellent appearance on 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.

Connect with DBHQ

Gear used to record this podcast

When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ.

Theme music by Eric Hochberg

1157: Kathryn Schulmeister on Imagining Hands

Kathryn Schulmeister joins the podcast to talk about Imagining Hands, her debut solo album on Protomaterial Records. A bassist, improviser, composer, and University of Wisconsin faculty member, Kathryn brings together contemporary music, storytelling, extended technique, and deeply personal experience in a project shaped by her time at UC San Diego, her work with Mark Dresser, and the narrative world of Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run With the Wolves.

We dig into the album’s connection to The Handless Maiden, the thread-and-tabletop bass techniques behind “Underground Forest,” the prepared-bass sounds of “Harrowing,” the role of injury and recovery in “Silver Hands,” and how contemporary music can expand what bassists imagine is possible on the instrument. Kathryn also reflects on growing up in Hawaii, discovering contemporary improvisation at New England Conservatory, studying at McGill and UCSD, working with ELISION Ensemble in Australia, and why classical, experimental, and improvisational practices can strengthen each other.

Enjoy, and follow Kathryn on her website and Instagram, and listen to Imagining Hands on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music!

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.

Connect with DBHQ

Gear used to record this podcast

When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ.

Theme music by Eric Hochberg

1156: SoJung Kim’s journey from Korea to the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra

SoJung Kim joins the podcast to share her journey from discovering the double bass in Korea to joining the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. A graduate student at the Colburn Conservatory studying with Peter Lloyd, SoJung has performed with the One Korea Youth Orchestra and Orchestra Ensemble Seoul, spent summers at the Pacific Music Festival and Music Academy of the West, and first came to the instrument after hearing the deep resonance of a bass ensemble at her cousin’s concert.

We talk about SoJung’s move from solo repertoire into the world of orchestral excerpts, the wake-up call of studying alongside highly prepared Colburn colleagues, and the practice routines that helped her prepare for a massive San Francisco Opera and Ballet audition list. She shares why long tones and glissando work became central to her warm-up, how recording lessons and asking for feedback shaped her preparation, and what she has learned from playing Nutcracker and other ballet repertoire night after night. Enjoy, and check out the video version of this podcast here.

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.

Connect with DBHQ

Gear used to record this podcast

When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ.

Theme music by Eric Hochberg