Sun, 29 July 2007 This week we are wrapping up our interview with double bass virtuoso
François Rabbath. You can hear the previous sections of this interview
on episode 16 and episode 22 of the podcast. We will also be featuring in interesting new twist in Contrabass Conversations interviews today—the Lyric Opera’s Andy Anderson (a regular collaborator on the podcast) will be discussing one piece in depth and offering practice advice and tips. This week we will be discussing the first movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, which we will be doing after the conclusion of our Rabbath interview. Today we will also be hearing tracks from “At the Uke Shack #1�, featuring Seattle bassist Matt Weiner as well as Del Rey on ukulele. You’ll hear “Clockin’ the Vic� right after we conclude our conversation with Rabbath as well as a few tunes at the end of the program. Enjoy! _____________ CBC #31 Show Notes Release Date: 7/29/07 Length: 44:08 Website: www.contrabassconversations.com E-mail: contrabassconversations@gmail.com Blog: www.doublebassblog.com Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast Theme song by Eric Hochberg: www.erichochberg.com This show is brought to you by TalkBass.com, the largest community of bassists on the Internet. Join in the conversation at talkbass.com/cbc. We also encourage you to check out more resources for the jazz bassist at JazzDoubleBass.com, where you can find the Contrabass Conversations jazz forums. You can always call 206-666-6509 to leave a message and join in the conversation! To get Contrabass Conversations downloaded automatically to your computer (for free!), you can subscribe in iTunes François Rabbath visit Rabbath's show notes page for biographical and album ordering information Guest #2 - Andrew Anderson visit all of Andy's podcast episodes here Musical Guest - Matthew Weiner visit him online at www.myspace.com/matthewweiner check out At the Uke Shack #1 Music Provided by: FonkMasters – Podsafe Music Network – music.podshow.com Eric Hochberg Matthew Weiner  Download "Take Out The Trash" (mp3)  More On This Album Download "Hola Cuba Remix" (mp3)
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Sun, 22 July 2007 CBC #30 Show Notes Release Date: 7/21/07 Length: 38:37 Website: www.contrabassconversations.com E-mail: contrabassconversations@gmail.com Blog: www.doublebassblog.com Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast Theme song by Eric Hochberg: www.erichochberg.com This show is brought to you by TalkBass.com, the largest community of bassists on the Internet. Join in the conversation at talkbass.com/cbc. You can always call 206-666-6509 to leave a message and join in the conversation! Guy Tuneh bio:
The
middle child in a family of musicians, Chicago-born Lonnie Plaxico
inherited a gift for music that was discovered and nurtured early. By
the age of twelve he had taught himself to play the electric bass, and
he was soon venturing into In 1980 Plaxico moved to Plaxico's
recording and performance catalog is equally impressive for its
caliber, depth and diversity. He has appeared with such luminaries as Sonny Sitt, Junior Cook, David Murray, Alice Coltrane, Comments[0] |
Fri, 20 July 2007 We hope that you enjoy this special video episode from double bass virtuoso Guy Tuneh! Check out CBC 30 for a complete interview with Guy, and visit him online at www.guytuneh.com. Comments[0] |
Sun, 15 July 2007 This week we are continuing our conversation with Chicago Symphony Orchestra bassist Michael Hovnanian that we began on Episode 24 of the podcast. Michael has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1989, and he serves as the president of Discordia Music (double bass music publisher). Michael also plays for the Gunnelpumpers, Chicago Bass Ensemble, Music of the Baroque, and the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra. He authors the popular CSO Bass Blog,
and he has served on the faculty for Northwestern University and the
Chicago College of Performing Arts. Michael was also my bass teacher
for my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Northwestern, and it was
really great to get a chance to do this interview. You will also get a chance to hear Michael play selections from the Discordia Music edition of the Beethoven Sonata (Op. 17) for Double Bass and Piano Michael is performing from his own edition, which is available for purchase from Discordia Music. Enjoy! __________ CBC #29 Show Notes Release Date: 7/15/07 Length: 37:41 Website: www.contrabassconversations.com E-mail: contrabassconversations@gmail.com Blog: www.doublebassblog.com Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast Theme song by Eric Hochberg: www.erichochberg.com This show is brought to you by TalkBass.com, the largest community of bassists on the Internet. Join in the conversation at talkbass.com/cbc. You can always call 206-666-6509 to leave a message and join in the conversation! Intro -I’d like to thank Ranaan Meyer once again for a great interview last week and for the magnificent playing we heard from Guy Tuneh. You will be hearing he rest of our conversation with Ranaan in an upcoming episode, and you will get a chance to hear an interview with and more playing from Guy Tuneh on next week’s episode. -This week we are continuing our interview with double bassist Michael Hovnanian that we started on Episode 24 of the podcast. Michael is a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra bass section and is involved with a wide range of other music groups, including the Gunnelpumpers, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Bass Ensemble, and the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra. -In Episode 24 Michael and I discussed his early years on the instrument. This episode we get into advice on practicing, life in a symphony orchestra, and much, much more. -Additionally, he runs a publishing company called Discordia Music that specializes in music for the double bass, and you will be hearing selections from his edition of the Beethoven Sonata (Op. 17) after the interview. -Later on in the episode we will also be hearing from Vancouver-based vocalist and double bassist Dinah D. About Michael Hovnanian Michael Hovnanian grew up in the Seattle area and started playing the bass in the public schools. His primary teachers were James Harnett and Ronald Simon of the Seattle Symphony. An early interest in solo playing led to performances with the Seattle Symphony, the Northwest Chamber Orchestra and the University of Washington Symphony. Michael attended the University of Washington and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts where he studied with Frederick Tinsley of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1986 he joined the Victoria Symphony as Principal Bassist and in 1988 the San Antonio Symphony as a member of the bass section. Since 1989 he has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition to playing in the CSO Mr. Hovnanian is active performing solo and chamber music in the Chicago area. He has appeared in the Chicago Symphony chamber concerts at Orchestra Hall and the Art Institute, with Chicago Pro Musica, and at the Winter Chamber Music Festival. Currently he is President of Discordia Music, a pulishing company specializing in new and arranged works for Double Bass. He is also a co-founder of the International Bottesini Society, an organization dedicated to promoting the legacy of that composer. Michael’s blog: www.csobassblog.blogspot.com Discordia Music: www.discordia-music.com Gunnelpumpers: www.myspace.com/gunnelpumpers Chicago Symphony Orchestra: www.cso.org Chicago Bass Ensemble: www.chicagobassensemble.com Ars Viva Symphony: www.arsviva.org Music of the Baroque: www.baroque.org Interview Music from Michael Thanks again for the great interview, Michael. Tune in to episode 24 of the podcast to hear the first part of this interview, and stay tuned for the final segment plus even more double bass playing for Michael on a future episode. Next up on the program, we are going to be hearing Michael performing a selection from the first movement of the Beethoven Sonata (Op. 17) from his own edition of the piece, which is available for purchase from Discordia Music at www.discordia-music.com. News and Notes -I have been just been selected for the Board of Directors of the International Society of Bassists. Getting a chance to serve in this capacity is a real thrill for me, and I appreciate the opportunity. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that my blog is the reason that I was selected to work in this organization, and it is an example of the real power of this new medium. -We’ve gotten a huge listener response from last week’s episode where we featured some of double bass virtuoso Guy Tuneh’s playing. We had many, many questions from listeners about Guy Tuneh, which you can check out over at contrabassconversations.com under episode 28. I really appreciate all of these questions, and I tried to incorporate as many of them as I could into our interview with Guy, which we completed earlier this week. I think that listeners will really enjoy this interiview next week. -You will also be seeing the first video selections from Contrabass Conversations in the next couple of weeks. This video will feature Guy Tuneh, and it will be available at the Contrabass Conversations. If you’re subscribed, it will just come down the pike to you. This is an audio program (obviously), but I have always planned on including some video episodes where appropriate, so stay tuned and let me know what you think! Music from Dinah D website--http://www.dinahd.com music--http://www.myspace.com/dinahdmusic About Dinah I have been playing Bass for a short 5 years. A lot has happened in these few years. Tonnes of road hours, studio hours, playing hours and, of course, rehearsal hours! Not long after I met the upright Bass, I was touring with the (now popular) Be Good Tanyas. That pretty much kick started my career to date. Lots of fun shows! The most recent recording I played was The Contenders (Valdy and Gary Fjellgaard) 'Contenders Two' - sharing the bass stage with vancouver Bass-monster Rene Worst. I live on beautiful gabriola island, where my cat is my best critic, and my friends are my best fans. I love doing freelance work for almost any style of band, as long as they are Upright Bass saavy. Any band who tours with an Upright Bass deserves respect. Cheers to those bands! My own projects have garnished some nice attention in the last few years. Touring with the 'Contraband Trio'(Dinah D and her Contraband Trio) has been a highlight. Playing festivals with this band is another highlight! People are very cool at festivals! I have been doing solo Bass/Voice shows for 3 years now. A combination of song,storytelling, and noises both strong and weak, beautiful and ugly! My most recent incarnation, just another on the wheel of Bass, is Dinah D's Contraband Swingclub. this band ranges from 5 piece to astronomical proportions! great swing music, horns, fiddles, you name it! line-up(for all 3 songs) Upright Bass/Vocal -Dinah(pronounced dye-nah) D Guitar- Kelly Fawcett Drumkit- Andreas Kahre(pronounced Kah-ray) Dawson Dawson was written for the town in the Yukon--- Dawson City. It's an audio voyage to Dawson City in the summer - without having to wreck your station-wagon to get there. It was written on guitar on the ferry between vancouver and vancouver island. I was on tour with a band and we were heading to the Yukon(with a 3 week stint in Dawson). I was trying to describe what the band could expect when they got there.... and they weren't disappointed. They said it was just like the song....and the town has adopted the tune as their national anthem! Renaissance Man This song is 'renaissance man'. It was written after a conversation about 2 chord songs. (With the 2 chords not really belonging together). I took on the challenge. It was written for a friend who was having troubles in love. Outro Music provided today by: Michael Hovnanian FonkMasters – Podsafe Music Network – music.podshow.com Eric Hochberg Dinah D Shagg – Bub Ba Ba Ba  Download "Essa Magia" (mp3)
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Sun, 8 July 2007 This week's Contrabass Conversations podcast features the first part of our interview with double bassist Ranaan Meyer. John Grillo (a frequent guest and collaborator on the podcast) and I co-interviewed Ranaan, who is the bassist for the band Time for Three
and has had a very interesting and multi-faceted career. In addition to
hearing a few musical excerpts from Time for Three, this episode
features music from German double bassist Guy Tuneh, Pittsburgh-based
singer/songwriter Brad Yoder, Los Lonely Boys, and The Latin Soul
Syndicate. Enjoy! ________ CBC #28 Show Notes Release Date: 7/8/07 Length: 39:52 Website: www.contrabassconversations.com E-mail: contrabassconversations@gmail.com Blog: www.doublebassblog.org Podcast forums: www.talkbass.com/cbc Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast Theme song by Eric Hochberg: www.erichochberg.com You can always call 206-666-6509 to leave a message and join in the conversation! This show is brought to you by TalkBass.com, the largest community of bassists on the Internet. Join in the conversation at talkbass.com/cbc. To get Contrabass Conversations downloaded automatically to your computer (for free!), you can subscribe in iTunes: Click here to subscribe through e-mail or through another program besides iTunes Click to listen (right-click to download) or click player below: Intro I’d like to thank double bassist Kate Nettleman again for a great interview! You heard the conclusion of that interview last week on the show, and I really think that Kate has a valuable perspective and a lot to offer bassists everywhere. I’d also like to thank Kevin Tkacz for the music from last week’s show. This week John Grillo and I will be featuring the first part of our interview with double bassist Ranaan Meyer. Ranaan is the bassist for the fabulous band Time for Three, which is really an unclassifiable band that melds classical, jazz, bluegrass, and other influences together into a really awesome and exciting product. In fact, rather than try to describe this band myself, let me just read this quote from Paul Newman: "To hear these three young guys is to be thankful that music was invented... If I had been able to create a sound like these kids a few years back, I might have thought twice about going into acting!" In addition to playing with Time for Three, Ranaan has performed alongside such diverse musical luminaries as Mark O’Conner, Duane Eubanks, has played in the bass sections of the Minnesota Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony, and has written commissioned scores for the Pittsburgh Symphony. He has also taught alongside Hal Robinson at the Strings International Music Festival and for Mark O’Conner’s String Camp. We’ll be hearing a couple of brief selections from Time for Three during today’s interview with Ranaan. To hear more from this band, check out their website at www.timeforthree.com. After the interview, we’ll be hearing a track from German bassist Guy Tuneh and will also feature a track from Pittsburgh-based singer/songwriter and podcast listener Brad Yoder titled “James Bond.� Ranaan Meyer bio: Ranaan Meyer, double bassist and composer, began his musical studies at the piano at age 4; at age 11, he took up the double bass (once he was big enough to hold it). He attended the Manhattan School of Music and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2003. Beyond regular appearances with orchestras such as the Minnesota Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Meyer is also increasingly in demand as a composer, creating unique new works for his trio Time for Three as well as for solo bass and other ensembles. Most recently Mr. Meyer completed a commission, “My Zayda� (for Violin, Piano and Double Bass) for the Kingston Chamber Music Festival in Rhode Island. Other recently completed commissions include a solo double bass piece for the Network for New Music, a double bass and harp duet as well as a set of Time for Three pieces for Astral Artistic Services and a Time for Three composition for the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Symphony, “Of time and three rivers�. All commissions have been expedited through the American Composer’s forum. Mr. Meyer, also an accomplished jazz musician, has performed with Jane Monheight, Victor Lewis, Jason Moran, Mark O’Connor, Ari Hoenig, Duane Eubanks, Mickey Roker and many more. Ranaan, at age 19 produced, directed and performed in the very first Washington Township Jazz Festival which was also broadcasted live on Philadelphia’s WRTI. Mr. Meyer, an avid teacher, has held adjunct Double Bass Professorships at both Princeton University and the University of Delaware. He has spent several Summers teaching alongside Hal Robinson (Principal Bass of The Philadelphia Orchestra) at the Strings International Music Festival in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He has also taught at the Intermountain Suzuki Camp in Sandy, Utah and Mark O’Connor’s String Camp in San Diego, California. Albums from Time for Three: We Just Burned This For You Time for Three's second album, recorded LIVE, in concert, January 13, 2006 in band member Zach's hometown of Bowling Green, Ohio. $15.97 Order Now Time For Three The first album, featuring "The Orange Blossom Special", "Bach Double", and many more. $15.99 Order Now Musical Guest: Visit him online at www.guytuneh.com. Selection performed: Leopold Mozart: Frosh C.Altenburger-Vl Guy Tuneh has been studying in Germany and performing internationally. He is noted for his intense musical involvement and phenomenal performances, combining virtuosity and musicality. Mr. Tuneh has been active as a solo performer, chamber musician, orchestra and opera bassist. Having begun as a violin student at the age of 6, he was drawn to the tone color of the double bass, joining Prof. Michael Klinghoffer's bass studio at the S. Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. Later, he continued his bass studies under Prof. Barbara Sanderling at the Hochschule Für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin, he is now working towards a Solo Artist Diploma with Prof. Wolfgang Güttler at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel. Additionally, he took master classes with Yoan Goilav, Gary Karr and Miloslav Gajdos. His orchestra performances included engagements as a principle bassist with the Berliner Kammeroper, Ensemble "Echo" in the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Theater Erfurt, and most recently with the Solistes Européens Luxembourg. As an orchestra bassist Mr. Tuneh performed under such distinguished conductors as Kurt Sanderling, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Nicolas Harnoncourt and Christian Thielemann. Winner of a Villa Musica Scholarship, Guy Tuneh has performed all over Germany as a chamber musician and a soloist to great acclaim, and participated in chamber music and solo performances recorded by the SWR (Southwest German Radio). These performances included collaborations with Ulf Rodenhäuser, Guy Braunstein, Christian Altenburger, Wen-Sinn Yang, Martin Ostertag, Hermann Bäumer, and other distinguished musicians.The "Allgemeine Zeitung" described his performance as youthful and exuberant. News and Notes -We’ve got a great line-up of future guests coming up here, including some more interviews with people outside of the classical bass realm. I am interested in continuing to broaden the types of guests on this program, and while it will always probably be at least somewhat weighted toward the classical orchestral side of things (seeing as how that’s what I do and where I come from), I’m talking with some really prominent electric bass and crossover players, so expect to hear some interviews with players who have worked in rock and fusion settings. -One of our future interview guests is actually going to be Guy Tuneh, who you just heard magnificently play that Leopold Mozart selection. I have also been in correspondence with some other European guests, and I look forward to bringing more perspectives outside of the United States into the show. Podcasting is global and the double bass community is global and I want to make sure that this show continues to become more and more global. One of the things that really sets podcasting apart from traditional radio is that it is accessible anywhere in the world to anyone with an internet connection, and, as with the blog, I want to make sure that the show reflects the global nature of the medium. -In addition to new guests, we’ve got a wealth of material sitting in the archives from Rob Kassinger, Michael Hovnanian, Francois Rabbath, Eric Hochberg, Greg Sarchet, Jeff Turner, and many other guests, so expect to hear more of this in the next few weeks. Many of the first parts of these interviews wrapped up just as they were getting juicy, so I’m sure that folks out there will be interested to hear some more perspectives from these and other former guests. -This is currently the only active bass podcast for either double bass or electric bass. A couple of excellent podcasts have podfaded, and I feel a responsibility to include some electric bass content as well and to feature guests who work on both instruments, and we will start to see some of that, although the show will still be predominantly about the double bass. -I am also planning on featuring even more music on the podcast, and including submissions from a wide range of sources. If you’d like to have some music played on the podcast, please e-mail us here at contrabassconversations@gmail.com and we’ll get it set up for you. Remember, one of the things that make podcasting really cool and unlike traditional radio is the community involvement and interaction between host, guests, and listener. My door is always open, and I welcome comments, ideas, submissions, guest interviews, and the like. As with my blog, I see this as a community podcast, and I want to continue to grow and develop it according to what you, the listeners, want. -Double bassist and Contrabass Conversations frequent guest Phillip Serna is now a regular contributor to the bass blog. You will see his signature at the bottom of any posts he has contributed. This week he wrote an excellent piece on the Octobass. Check it out if you didn't get a chance to do so earlier this week. Click here to find all of Phillip's contributions. -We put out two blogging/podcasting/subscribing how-to posts this week. One post was written by me, while another post was a great tutorial on how to subscribe to blogs and why it is a good idea. -For more bass news and a summary of what’s been going on in the community, visit www.doublebassblog.org and click on the Weekly Wrap-Up. There, you’ll get a nice summary of this week’s activities. One More Track From Pittsburgh-based singer/songwriter Brad Yoder – titled James Bond – bassist Kevin Kehrberg on this track. You can visit him online at www.bradyoder.com Music provided by: The Fonkmasters From the Podsafe Music Network Check them out at www.music.podshow.com Latin Soul Syndicate Shake It From The Adventures of Johnny Loco  Download "Shake It" (mp3)
More On This AlbumLos Lonely Boys Heaven From Live at Blue Cat Blues – Dallas, Texas  Download "Heaven" (mp3)
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Sun, 1 July 2007 This week on Contrabass Conversations we are concluding the interview with double bassist Kathryn Nettleman that we began on episode 12
of the podcast. Also, this week we feature some jazz bass from Brooklyn
musician Kevin Tkacz plus current news on the bass scene. Enjoy! ___________ CBC 27 Show Notes Release Date: 7/1/07 Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast Theme song by Eric Hochberg: www.erichochberg.com You can always call 206-666-6509 to leave a message and join in the conversation! -This show is brought to you by TalkBass.com, the largest community of bassists on the Internet. Join in the conversation at talkbass.com/cbc. Intro Thanks to Jeff Turner for the great interview last week! This week we’ll be featuring part 2 of our interview with double bassist Kate Nettleman, which we started on episode 12 of the podcast. Kate is a classical double bassist located in the After the interview, we’ll be hearing a track from Brooklyn-based jazz bassist Kevin Tkacz titled ‘Yo, Jimmy!’, so here we go with the second part of our talk with Kate Nettleman. Interview Musical Guest: From Kevin Tkacz Improv4 (Yo, Jimmy!) This track, as well as the majority of the record, was improvised. No News and Notes -URL switched from jasonheath.blogspot.com to doublebassblog.org – don’t worry, you don’t need to change anything if you’re linking to my site or have bookmarked anything on my site. Putting in my old URL or doublebassblog.com will take you there. -Upcoming guests will be Ranaan Meyer (who John Grillo and I are interviewing this weekend) and Minnesota Orchestra bassist Colin Corner. Colin has been a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Vancouver Symphony prior to joining the Minnesota Orchestra, and hearing from a young player who has had such success will really be a great thing for bassists everywhere. -Luthier directory is now up and active. If you click the ‘bass luthiers’ tab on my blog you will be taken to a page featuring a listing of luthiers by state, then alphabetically within each state. I am also including an index so that you can quickly skip to one luthier. Otherwise, you can browse through all of the listings one after another and check out the kind of work that different shops do. In addition to contact information like address, phone number, and website, I am including map directions for each shop, plus photos of their work, background information on the luthiers at that shop and the kind of work they do, and any other relevant information. You can comment on any shop and add information or share your experiences at that shop, and doing so will help this grow into a valuable resource that is more than just a list of addresses and phone numbers. This kind of project takes time, so I only have a few shops listed now. I will continue to list more each day. Feel free to e-mail me your suggestions for the directory, or leave a comment. -The Contrabass Conversations website is getting a massive overhaul this summer. The site that is currently up at ContrabassConversations.com was intended as a placeholder until I could get some time to put up a really slick site, and I’ve got the time now (yay, summer!), so expect to see some changes in the next few weeks. Your experience with the podcast won’t change at all—everything will stay the same—but the Contrabass Conversations site will offer a lot of increased usability. You’ll see—it’ll be awesome. -The Weekly Wrap-Up is a new feature on the blog that I think will help folks to get an easy summary of what the bass news of the week has been/. Things move pretty quickly on the front page of the blog, and it’s easy to let some important stories slip by, so this wrap-up will summarize what’s been going on for the week. You can also subscribe to just the wrap-up if you like. Simply click the tab labeled ‘wrap-up’ for more details. Music provided by: Hathead - Roll & Go -Songs from the Lost Hard Drive and FonkMasters - The Fonks on Music Jam (new outro)From the Podsafe Music Network Check them out at www.music.podshow.com Comments[0] |
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Contrabass Conversations
life on the low end of the spectrum with Jason Heath
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