Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

255: Frank Proto on jazz influences, bebop violin, and deadlines

Frank Proto

Jazz is Frank Proto’s native language.

Growing up in Brooklyn, Frank spent his days studying with Fred Zimmermann and his nights hanging out at Birdland.

I love hearing Frank describe what it was like studying with Fred. In fact, Frank’s lesson slot was right after Charles Mingus.

Talk about being a part of jazz history!

Frank’s journey from the jazz clubs of New York City to the Cincinnati Symphony is remarkable…and that’s putting it mildly!

Here are just a few of his many career highlights:

  • Bassist and composer-in-residence for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
  • Over 20 large-scale works premiered by CSO
  • Countless shorter works and arrangements premiered by CSO
  • Over 400 performances of Carmen Fantasy for Trumpet and Orchestra
  • Over 500 performances of Casey at the Bat
  • Composed music for Dave Brubeck, Eddie Daniels, Duke Ellington, Cleo Laine, Benjamin Luxon, Sherill Milnes, Gerry Mulligan, Roberta Peters, François Rabbath, Ruggerio Ricci, Doc Severinsen, Richard Stoltzman and Lucero Tena

I could go on and on.

Frank has impacted the world of the double bass immensely.

But he has gone way beyond that.

Best of all, he hasn’t slowed down. In fact, he is continuing to explore new ideas and unexpected collaborations.

I can’t wait to see what he does next.

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Links to check out:

Frank Proto on Wikipedia

Liben Music (Frank’s publishing company)

Brandeis Jazz Festival – Fred Zimmermann, Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller, George Russell

Brandeis Jazz Festival (YouTube)

All About Rosie (YouTube)

Harry Lookofsky: Stringsville

‘Round Midnight – Harry Lakoofsky performance (YouTube)

Music featured in this episode (all written by Frank)

Thanks to our sponsor!

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

254: Craig Butterfield on careers, ProTools, and American roots music

Craig Butterfield loved Edgar Meyer’s bass playing ever since discovering it.

Lately, he has been following in Edger’s footsteps. Performing American roots music with mandolinist Jesse Jones is now a key creative outlet.

Craig also teaches at the University of South Carolina. He shows young bassists how to hone their technique to explore creative new paths.

But that’s not it.

Craig also loves recording. He mixes and masters his own recordings in ProTools. His popular YouTube overdub videos have gotten tens of thousands of views.

We talk about:

  • his time studying with Jeff Bradetich at the University of North Texas
  • touring with Maynard Ferguson
  • career opportunities for musicians

…and much more!

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Links to check out:

Craig’s website

Craig’s YouTube Channel

Pisces (new album with Jesse Jones)

Stickerfoot (album with Jesse Jones)

253: Corey Brown on No Treble, Jaco Pastorius, and the opportunity of being first

Corey Brown

Corey Brown started out on the “traditional” music school path.

Starting out at the University of North Texas, Corey left and became a graphic designer. He began developing on the web in the early 1990s.

Fast forward a few years, and he created Squidoo with bestselling author Seth Godin. Squidoo became one of the most-visited websites ever with over 85 million monthly visits.

Corey fused his passion for the bass with his passion for the web in unexpected and impactful ways.

First, he created and ran the official Jaco Pastorius web site, working on it from 2002 to 2007 and again in 2014.

Next, worked on the Portrait of Jaco… the Early Years box set. He designined and produced the packaging for the release in 2003.

But Corey wasn’t done with innovating for the bass.

In 2008, he founded no treble, which turned into the most popular online bass magazine on the web.

With over a dozen regular contributors and hundreds of thousands of monthly visits, no treble has re shaped the way bassists worldwide connect with and learn from each other.

Learn about Corey’s fascinating career fusion of music and design in this interview!

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Links to check out:

no treble

Corey’s blog

Corey’s web consulting

Corey on Facebook

Corey on Twitter

Corey on LinkedIn

252: Nina DeCesare on injuries, auditioning, and George Vance

Nina DeCesare

Nina DeCesare‘s creative musical quest is inspiring.

First, she won the 14 and under International Society of Bassists solo competition. Then she won it again for the 15-18 division.

She studied at Rice University, Tanglewood, and Domaine Forget. Also, she won a scholarship to study with François Rabbath in Paris. Nina ended her time at Rice by winning a position with the Oregon Symphony.

She has done more in her brief career than many do in their entire life.

But it hasn’t always been easy for her.

In fact, she went through a serious playing injury during her time at Rice University.

Her bass playing ground to a halt for months.

But through careful analysis, she changed her approach to the bass. She problem-solved her way out of the injury and changed her approach to the bass in the process.

We talk about what it was like studying with George Vance and Paul Ellison, playing in Portland bars, thoughts on training as a soloist versus as an orchestra player, and much more!

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Links to check out:

Nina’s Website

Nina’s YouTube Channel

How an Injury Saved my Playing (blog post by Nina)

Too many young double bassists prioritise solo technique over orchestral expertise (by Chi-Chi Nwanoku – from The Strad)

251: Hans Sturm on motion capture, François Rabbath, and A Day in Paris

Hans Sturm

Hans Sturm isn’t afraid to reinvent himself.

Everything changed for Hans when he first met François Rabbath. Before he knew it, he was in Paris soaking up these new concepts.

Fast forward many years, and we find Hans playing the second Rabbath Concerto with Sylvan Rabbath on piano. If you look at the music for this concerto, you’ll see that François dedicated this piece to Hans.

But that’s not it.

Hans also realized that not everybody could hop on a flight to Paris to study with François. So he began to think…

How could he get these teachings to a wider audience? What could he to do take these concepts beyond the printed page?

Here’s the answer:

Hans has reinvented himself in many ways throughout his career.

1) He shaped the digital plan for the International Society of Bassists during his time as president.

2) He explored creative uses of DVD technology in the Art of the Bow and Art of the Left Hand.

3) He even left the stability of a tenured position for new adventures in a different part of the country.

Through these journeys, he has brought tremendous value to the bass community. His commitment to education and to furthering his own education throughout these chapters of his life.

Learn more about his time working with Richard Davis, Jeff Bradetich, and François Rabbath, practice techniques, and the genesis of this most recent album A Day in Paris!

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Links to check out:

Hans’ website

A Day in Paris (new album)

Art of the Bow

Art of the Left Hand

Our Rabbath Technique video series (you’ll love the cats in the background)