Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features an interview and musical performances from double bassist John Grillo. John has got some great insight into the world of the bass, and this interview was both a lot of fun to do and very informative and interesting.

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CBC #6 Show Notes

episode length: 36:24
Release Date: 2/5/07

Today’s Episode features an interview with double bassist John Grillo with musical tracks from one of John’s recent recitals.

John Grillo biography:

John started playing Double Bass at the age of 11. He attended The Julliard School during high school and was a scholarship student at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana where he studied with Lawrence Hurst. After graduating from IU, he attended the Manhattan School of Music completing his Masters Degree with Timothy Cobb. Mr. Grillo performed at The Tanglewood Music Center from 1994 – 1996. Other festivals include the National Repertory Orchestra, Festival di Due Mondi in Italy, and Pacific Music Festival in Japan. John was a member of the New World Symphony from 1999-2002. His other professional engagements include performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, Wheeling Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and the Sarasota Opera. John was a faculty member with The Pittsburgh Music Academy from 2002-2006. Future engagements include the Princeton Symphony and the Philadelphia Classical Symphony.

Double bass tracks for this episode consist of excerpts from David Anderson’s Seven Double Bass Duets and Slow Dance by Stanley Chepaitis.

Complete information:

David Anderson-Seven Double Bass Duets
Kibbles & Kibitz
Parade of the Politically Prudent Pigs
Gustav’s 11 O’clock Dance
Schgweik Farht
Lament
Blue Cheeze
Rush Hour
Peter Guild- Double Bass(member Pittsburgh Symphony)
John Grillo - Double Bass

Stanley Chepaitis-Slow Dance
Duet for Violin and Double Bass
(Transcription-John Grillo)
Stanley Chepaitis- Violin
John Grillo - Double Bass
Stanley is a violin professor at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Original piece written for violin and cello.

Feedback from listener and double bassist Ben Huff.