Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

504: Katie Thiroux and her dynamic Jazz career

We’re chatting with Katie Thiroux on today’s episode.  Katie’s album Off Beat was named one of Downbeat’s Best Albums of 2017, and she recently completed a three-month stint at Quincy Jones’ Dubai Jazz club.

We dig into all kinds of topics, like:

  • growing up in Los Angeles
  • Katie’s favorite Jazz audiences around the world
  • What she does with six hours of practicing
  • Advice for those embarking on a music career

..and much more!  This is an engaging conversation with one of Jazz’s great young artists!  Enjoy, and be sure to follow along with Katie on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D’Addario Strings

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.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

501: How to Practice with Lauren Pierce

Lauren Pierce has just released a new course called Practiceology.  As the name implies, this is a deep-dive into the hows and whys of practicing.

We dig into all kinds of topics with Lauren, like:

I hope you enjoy this discussion with Lauren on a very important topic!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D’Addario Strings

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.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440‘s commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

488: Matthew Golombisky on starting a record label

Like so many great artists, it’s hard to pin down the artistry of Matthew Golombisky.  His website states “Bassist, Composer, Educator, Ideator.”  That’s an intriguing tagline for a fascinating and multidimensional artist.

Matthew runs ears&eyes Records and is the founder and conductor of the Tomorrow Music Orchestra.   AllAboutJazz writer Jakob Baekgaard called Matthew a modern “renaissance man” in this fascinating deep-dive into his career.

Matthew has been active as an artist in New Orleans, Chicago (where he played in the Gunelpumpers with my former teacher Michael Hovnanian), Oakland, and Buenos Aires.  We covered a lot of ground in this interview—enjoy!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D’Addario Strings

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.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440‘s commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

487: Bernard Gallone on left handed bass playing

(photo courtesy of Upton Bass)

When Moulin Rogue bandleader and bassist Bernard Gallone reached out to me about doing an episode on the unique challenges of being a left-handed bassist, I was intrigued.  I am also a left-handed bassist, though like many other left-handed people, I was taught to play in the traditional, “right-handed” way.

Bernard plays the bass left-handed, with his right hand doing the fingering and his left hand plucking the strings.  He keeps the string order the same, so his G string is on the same side as the standard bass set-up.

We dig into issues that left-handed people (and bassists in particular) face, the impact that learning an instrument with the non-dominant hand might have early on, and much more surrounding that topic.

We also dig into Bernard’s career, the time he spent studying at Berklee in Boston, what it’s like leading the band at Moulin Rogue, and how the aging process affects performers.  Enjoy!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D’Addario Strings

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.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440‘s commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

479 : Dominic Duval Jr.

As the son of Dominic Duval Sr. (Cecil Taylor’s bassist for a decade), Dominic Duval Jr. grew up immersed in the world of avant-garde jazz.  Dominic attended the Eastman School of Music, working with James VanDemark and Jeff Campbell.  He has performed at venues like Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall, and many New York jazz clubs.

The classmate of former podcast guests Danny Ziemann and Eric Steffens, Dominic and I dig into all kinds of topics, like:

  • playing cruise ships (it can be a crazy gig!)
  • daily routines
  • the highs and lows of a music career
  • when to say yes to a project

…and much more!  Be sure to follow Dominic on Instagram to keep up with his career, and it was a pleasure having him on the podcast.

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D’Addario Strings

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.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!