More about François Rabbath from Brian Roessler

The second part of Brian Roessler’s excellent look at the development of François Rabbath’s career as a jazz artist was recently published. Many bassists seem to forget that Rabbath (former Contrabass Conversations guest) was well-known as a jazz bassist and composer in France, and Brian profiles this key figure in the double bass world wonderfully.

Here’s an excerpt from Brian about Poucha Dass (a piece that I play and have worked on with several students):

“Poucha Dass,” from 1968, opens every Rabbath performance to this day. It was the first piece of his that I ever heard, and it is a marvel of sensuousness and musical magnetism. It was not written for a film according to Rabbath, but was instead for his own interest and musical exploration. In keeping with the Zelig-like way Rabbath has of working with many of the most important musicians of our time yet remaining under the radar, he explained the origins of the piece:

Its simple. Because I see Ravi Shankar one day and we planned to play together in the future. And I hear his sitar and the sound, I like it very much. And I say, with the double bass, with the arco we can imitate this. So, I write “Poucha Dass” for that.

Read the complete article (part 2 of a 3-part series) here.