Contrabass Conversations

It was a real pleasure having Sydney bassist Elsen Price back on the podcast to talk about his recent projects.

Elsen was been up to a lot just before the global pandemic hit, including:

• a world tour throughout Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the UK
• his solo album Descent of the Free (ABC Jazz/ Universal)
• Eishan Ensemble
• Ephemera Ensemble
• Masha's Legacy
• Paul Cutlan String Project
• Marais Project
• Sonya Holowell and Elsen Price

We also play a couple of excerpts from Elsen's recent album Descent of the Free. Enjoy!

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

When I saw a couple of recent projects that Hugh Sung had been working on since the pandemic hit, I knew that I had to have him back on the podcast and talk through what he was doing.

Hugh Sung is one of the most creative people I know when it comes to harnessing the power of technology to enhance our music teaching. As co-founder of the excellent AirTurn foot pedal, Hugh has inspired me for years.

We dig into a number of topics, including Hugh's Online Virtual Chorus and Orchestra Project, the collaborative sheet music reading app Newzik, cool ways to get a more immersive lesson experience in Zoom, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow along with Hugh on YouTube, Instagram, and his immensely useful blog.

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

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

It was an absolute pleasure having Morgan Daly on the podcast! In addition to a busy performing life, active teaching schedule, and working for the education program for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Morgan has created a really cool product called the ContraCover.

We talk about all the features of this cool bass cover, moments when I really wished I'd had one of these, Morgan's many projects, and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to follow her on Instagram also!

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

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

We're featuring Dmitry Gorodetsky on today's podcast. Dmitry has been on the road constantly since moving to LA a little over 4 years ago, working with Charlie Puth and many other artists.

Recently, his work has shifted more toward studio work, and he has been transforming himself into an artist working on dates for film, commercials, TV, and the like. He has been splitting his time between the electric and upright, working on projects with Kanye West, Dionne Warwick, recording for the Grammys, and many other artists.

We get into the specifics of these projects, growing up in Boston, living in New York, the Coronavirus pandemic, and much more with Dmitry. Enjoy, and be sure to follow him on Instagram!

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

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

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

Today we're featuring Christian Fabian, the longtime bassist for the Lionel Hampton Big Band. We spent some time in person together during the 2020 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.

Born in Sweden and raised in Germany, Christian attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. Through Brian Bromberg, one of his early mentors, Christian became the bassist for the Lionel Hampton Band. He currently serves as co-leader of the New Lionel Hampton Band featuring Jason Marsalis, and he also co-founded the Native Jazz Quartet.

We talk about Christian's long association with the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, what it was like working with Lionel, the joys and challenges of leading the New Lionel Hampton Band, studying with Ron Carter and Mike Longo, and much more. Enjoy!

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

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

We're chatting with Eleanor Martindale about the third annual RCR Double Bass Camp, which will be coming up August 17-22 in the south of France.

We talk about how the camp is organized, Lorraine Campet, Bernard Salles, Alberto Bocini, Giuseppe Ettorre, and all the other teachers that will be there, and much more.

Enjoy, and you can learn more about the RCR Double Bass Camp on their website and Facebook page!

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

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

Houston Grand Opera principal bassist and University of Houston bass faculty Dennis Whittaker recently launched a YouTube Channel called Incredibly Useful Exercises.

Dennis has 45 of his favorite exercises that he is putting on YouTube and also into a series of 16 volumes plus an appendix. He rates each exercise on a scale of 1-5 for the following attributes:

• Control
• Mindfulness
• Expression
• Power
• Velocity
• Coordination
• Endurance

We dig into his inspiration for the project, efficiency, and mindfulness while practicing, and much more. Enjoy!

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

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

After 30 years at the University of Washington, Barry Lieberman is retiring. I've had Barry on the podcast several times in the past, and we had an engaging chat about the hefty list of bass players that he has brought to the university for his Barry Lieberman and Friends series.

We also chatted about a wide variety of videos and artists, including:

• Barry's orchestral solo videos on his YouTube Channel
• An Afternoon with Gary Karr
• A Rigoletto arrangement by Joe Lescher
• Northwest Profiles: Roma Vayspapir
• Rodion Azarkhin plays Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso
• Rustem Gabdullin plays Bottesini "Alla Mendelssohn"

This episode was recorded on March 10, 2020, and I congratulate Barry on his accomplishment!

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

I had a great time having Kieran Hanlon back on the podcast. In this episode, recorded on February 20, we talk about the Fredonia Bass Fest, which had recently wrapped up and which had past podcast guests Danny Ziemann and Lauren Pierce as guest artists.

We also dig into Kieran's new trio edition (bass, guitar, cello) of the Eccles Sonata, the interesting self-care topic that came up at the Bass Fest, and more. Enjoy!

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity

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

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

It was great to have Valentina Ciardelli back on the podcast to talk about all the new developments in her career. In this episode, recorded on February 20, we dig into her new arrangements, including Zappa, Stravinsky, and her new arrangement of 'Nei Cieli Bigi' from La Bohème for cello and bass. We also talk about Music Academy International and other topics.

Valentina is currently offering Skype lessons for bassists worldwide, so be sure to reach out to her if you'd like to study with this inspiring artist! Also, she is now selling the following two arrangements online:

• Sonata Nr.1 per contrabbasso e pianoforte: Sonata for double bass and piano (Music from the Sphinx)
• Vissi d'arte - from opera "Tosca" for solo double bass

I'd also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you'd like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase:

• D'Addario Strings
• Upton Bass
• The Bass Violin Shop
• Steve Swan String Bass
• Kolstein Music
• A440 Violin Shop
• Modacity