Podcast – Page 208

CBC 92: DaXun Zhang interview part 1

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We’re featuring an interview with and music from double bass soloist DaXun Zhang this week on Contrabass Conversations. The winner of numerous prestigious solo competitions, DaXun is a true virtuoso, capable of a level of musical expression and technical dexterity rarely seen on the instrument.

In this first segment of our interview (which we will conclude next week), we discuss DaXun’s early years on the instrument, his studies at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, and his relocation to the Interlochen Arts Academy in high school. We intersperse musical selections from DaXun’s recent self-titled solo album into the interview in the following order:

Invention No. 6 by J.S. Bach
Invention No. 11 by J.S. Bach
Capriccio di Bravura by Giovanni Bottesini

Learn more about DaXun on his website at daxunzhang.com. Enjoy!

CBC 91: Barry Lieberman interview part 2

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We’re concluding our interview with double bassist Barry Lieberman. The former Assistant Principal Bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Principal Bass of the Winnipeg Symphony, Barry now serves as co-director of The American String Project, an innovative string ensemble which features arrangements of string quartets for small string ensemble with double bass.

On today’s episode, Barry (pictured here with his John Lott double bass) discusses the arranging process that he goes through for the American String Project, his recording of the Vivaldi Cello Sonatas, and his beautiful Maggini bass.

About Barry:

Barry Lieberman is now in his sixteenth year as double bass faculty at the University of Washington. He began his career at age 21 as principal bass of the Winnipeg Symphony. In 1976 Zubin Mehta appointed him associate principal bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a post he held for sixteen years.

Lieberman has been a regular performer with Chamber Music Northwest, Music From Angel Fire, the International Festival in Seattle, Bravo Colorado, Bargemusic, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and Mostly Mozart, and served as Principal Bass of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado. Most recently Lieberman performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, both in New York City and on tour in Europe. He has also performed with and toured the Far East, Europe, and the U.S. with the Mostly Mozart chamber orchestra.

CBC 90: Barry Lieberman interview part 1

Barry Lieberman double bass 1.jpg

This week, we’re featuring an interview with double bassist Barry Lieberman. The former Assistant Principal Bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Principal Bass of the Winnipeg Symphony, Barry now serves as co-director of The American String Project, an innovative string ensemble which features arrangements of string quartets for small string ensemble with double bass.

On today’s episode, Barry discusses his early years on the instrument, his time spent as principal bass of the Winnipeg Symphony and assistant principal bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the formation of The American String Project.

About Barry:

Barry Lieberman is now in his fifteenth year as double bass faculty at the University of Washington. He began his career at age 21 as principal bass of the Winnipeg Symphony. In 1976 Zubin Mehta appointed him associate principal bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a post he held for sixteen years.

CBC 89: An Afternoon With Gary Karr

We’re featuring Gary Karr, one of the all-time most influential double bassists, on Contrabass Conversations today in an interview with University of Washington and former Contrabass Conversations guest ) Barry Lieberman. Hearing Gary Karr on record was a defining experience for me in my youth (as was the case for bassists worldwide), and hearing him live remains one of my most memorable double bass performances of all time.

This video is a magnificent tribute to Gary Karr. University of Washington bass professor Barry Lieberman interviews Gary as they listen (along with an enthusiastic audience) to recordings from various stages of Barry’s career. The video concludes with a performance from Gary and pianist Harmon Lewis, a rare treat from this retired duo.

Lear more about Gary Karr at his website garykarr.com, and learn more about Barry Lieberman and his project featuring arrangements of great chamber music that include the double bass at theamericanstringproject.com. We’ll also be releasing this complete video in segments on YouTube, so feel free to search for it there as well. Enjoy, and stay tuned next week for the first segment of our interview with Barry Lieberman, which will feature performances from The American String Project.

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!