Contrabass Conversations

Jon Liebman has led a varied and prolific career through the music world, and a lot has changed about his website For Bass Players Only since we last chatted for the podcast.

We talk about how Jon has consolidated his offerings into a single site, how he has restructured his interviews for the site, his online teaching offerings, and upcoming book projects. We also dig into a ton of great tales from Jon's wild adventures from his years in the music business.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow along with Jon and his great content at For Bass Players Only!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

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Ian Allison has been going all-in on Instagram these past few years, and he has been inspiring countless people in the process. As the bassist for Eric Hutchinson and a seasoned veteran in the industry, Ian has been working to connect and educate through Instagram, and the results have been incredible.

We talk about growing up in Montana, the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and its early influence on him, basing his career in Minneapolis, the "synth bass on electric" niche that he has created for himself, what the pandemic is like, the practice routine he outlined for a Bass Magazine article, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out Ian and his remarkable work on Instagram!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Alyssa Peterson has had quite the freshman year. She hails from La Crosse, Wisconsin and has spent the past year at New England Conservatory, where she launched a podcast called Something to Consider: College Edition.

We talk about how crazy her first year of school has been with the pandemic, her goals for starting the podcast, the importance of self-care for musicians, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out Alyssa on Instagram and her podcast on Apple Podcasts!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Jason Haaheim's path to his current position as principal timpanist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is unconventional and inspiring. He didn't go to music school, instead of getting a PhD and working for 10 years as an engineer and researcher for a Chicago-based nanotechnology startup.

Through the principles of deliberate practice, Jason set out on a long journey of continual improvement in his playing, ultimately winning an audition for his current position.

We dig into a ton of topics, like our shared time spent freelancing in Chicago, discovering deliberate practice, the groundbreaking work of Anders Ericsson and his impact on Jason, realities of life in the MET Orchestra, the two fascinating podcasts he did on The Bulletproof Musician, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out Jason's website for more great content on deliberate practice and information about his next upcoming Deliberate Practice Bootcamp Online!

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

Brooklyn native Richard Myron has spent his professional life in Europe working in the early music world. Currently residing in Paris, Richard is professor of contrabass and chamber music in the early music department of the CRR de Paris and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Music de Paris.

He is also a founding member of the Freiburger Barockorchester and Consort, the Atlantis Ensemble, Il Seminario Musicale, les Basses Réunies and a member of the Ensemble Mosaïques, and he has performed internationally with a great number of other ensembles.

We dig into many topics, including growing up in New York City, memories of his time at Juilliard studying with Homer Mensch, how he found himself being drawn to Europe, discovering early music, parallels between jazz and early music, how the scene for this music has developed over the decades, and much more.

I hope you enjoy this spirited conversation, and I can't wait to have Richard on the podcast again for a round two!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

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

I had a wonderful conversation with Jonathan Haskell a few years ago, and a lot has changed in his life since then.

He recently retired from L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande in Switzerland, and he has been diving deep into the world of contemporary music. He also wrote a thoughtful article for the Chicago Tribune about the conflicting emotions surrounding retiring after 40 years on the job.

We talk about a wide range of topics, including diving into contemporary music, how he approaches learning a piece, the bass' role in contemporary ensembles, how he has been handling the pandemic, and much more.

I hope you enjoy these wide-ranging conversations from one of the most interesting musicians I know!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

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

T. Alan Stewart wears many musical hats in the Baltimore/Washington DC area.

In addition to serving as principal bass with the Williamsburg Symphony and Roanoke Symphony, Alan has performed with the Baltimore Opera, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Spoleto Festival, Alexander Schnieder String Orchestra; and many other ensembles in the area.

We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, digging into topics like Alan's path through the music world, his time in the New World Symphony and subsequently working with Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony, audition preparation, The Artist's Way, diversity and inclusion in classical music, freelance life, and much more.

I hope you enjoy Alan's thoughtful insights and perspectives, and I can't wait to spend some more time with him in the future!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Andrea Beyer is a bassist, teacher, and advocate for social growth. Having recently finished up three years with the New World Symphony, Andrea has relocated to Austin, Texas.

She recently started blogging for AuditionCafe.com, where she has been focusing on how all kinds of musicians are handling the pandemic and lockdown. Andrea also recently asked me to write a piece for the blog, which was a pleasure for me to do.

We talk about her background, the teaching and performing that she has done in Mexico, El Salvador, Uruguay, Bolivia, and other countries, the work that she does for the MusAid Organization, how she has been handling the pandemic, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow Andrea and her great work on AuditionCafe.com and Instagram!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

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

It was great to connect with Gahlord Dewald about his latest album Coherent Light Enclosed Without. This album was recorded at The Tank Center for Sonic Arts on a hill above the town of Rangely, Colorado.

We talk about this fascinating performance venue, how Gahlord found himself heading to The Tank for this project, what it's like preparing to record in such a unique acoustic space, and much more. Enjoy, and measure to follow Gahlord on YouTube and check out this new album here!

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

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

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

It was great to connect with Giovanni Sanguineti for the podcast.

We start off talking about an online workshop that past podcast guest Danny Ziemann has been doing online. Giovanni is obsessed with learning and growing as a player, and we dig into a number of resources, including Dennis Whittaker's new series Incredibly Useful Exercises for Double Bass.

We also talk about the time we spent together in Lucca, Giovanni's latest album Remember The Future, how he has been handling the pandemic, his visual approach to composition, and much more. Enjoy!

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