Contrabass Conversations and the Double Bass Blog are continues is series on early bass performers. It will highlight many different perspectives on early bass/ violone performance. Our next guest is luthier Thomas Schiegnitz. We hope that you will enjoy these interviews and glean a good deal of information from our esteemed guests.

About Thomas Schiegnitz:

Thomas Schiegnitz is an instrument builder and restorer at the Musical Instruments Museaum Berlin. Thomas Schiegnitz trained at the Geigenbauschule in Mittenwald (1978-1981), worked in violin building in Germany and abroad and has been a restorator with the Musikinstrumenten-Museum Berlin since 1992. He is a builder and restorer of period instruments including cellos, double basses & Viennese Basses.

You can visit Thomas Schiegnitz’s website at http://www.geigenbau-schiegnitz.de/.

Viennese bass, Johann Josef Stadlmann, Vienna, about 1750

When and how did you become interested in early music, and how has it shaped your life musically?

In about 1980 ( being ca.24 years while studying at the “Geigenbauschule” in Mittenwald) looking for a facsimile for a Boccerini-Quintett at the Munich Bibliothek, which we played then, still on modern instruments, but impressed by the praxis of baroque-music performance by dutch groups ( Koopman, Kuijken family etc.)

What instrument did you start on?

First treble recorder ( my mother teached recorder, my father piano and organ), then with 12 years violoncello as main instrument, later double bass also. During this time also a 3 years period of learning piano (father teaching).

In addition to violone, what other instruments (period instruments or otherwise) have you studied or played? Have these informed your approach to period bass/ violone performance?

See above.

Who were some of the early music performers who have had a lasting affect on you?

Living later in the Netherlands (1982-85) I had more intensive contact to groups and musicians of the baroque-scene there through listening to and talking with them.

Where did you go to college?

I became violinmaker in Mittenwald during 1978-1981

Viennese bass, Johann Josef Stadlmann, Vienna, about 1750

What ensembles have you performed in (period instrument or otherwise)?

On the Violoncello in quartet and double bass Bach Kantaten and Jazz (both modern instr.),

After 1990 baroque cello in different groups, and double bass in contemporary and improvised music.

Do you have any favorite performers you have worked with?

Thomas Wiedermann, trombone (contemporary and improvised music.

What advice would you give an aspiring double bassist who might want to immerse themselves in early music?

Studying the sources and a good teacher.

What are the advantages of using period instruments?

The experience of how good baroque music can sound actually ( for example Harnoncourt).

Have you undertaken any research in regards to period instrument performance?

Looking for facsimile written music.

What information would you impart regarding what kinds of instrument played at the bottom end in the 17th-18th centuries?Always look at instruments who survived in the original state. What repertoire do you find works well on contrabass register instruments? Why?

Only the original, transcription is not acceptable.

What kind of basses and violone do you play on?

Baroque cello copy after a Peter Rombouts cello, Den Haag, ca. 1690, double bass copy after Andreas Jais, Tötz, 1730.

How long have you owned these instruments?

Self made in 1995 and 1999.

Do you play German bow, French bow? When you play violone, do you use a violone bow (large viola da gamba bow)?On bass French bow.

What kind of strings do you use? What other brands have you used in the past?

Gut strings from “Efrano” and Nicholas Bulldog.

What kind of rosin do you use?

Nymans.

Viennese bass, Johann Josef Stadlmann, Vienna, about 1750

For future installments in the Early Bass Performance – Early Music Interview Series, please visit the Double Bass Blog (http://www.doublebassblog.org/) and the Contrabass Conversations Podcast (http://www.contrabassconversations.com/).

We have also chatted with luthier Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand for the podcast earlier in March. Chris makes beautiful basses and extensions and does repair work from his shop in Iowa City. Check Chris out online at www.heartlandsbs.com. We also did an episode with Chicago-based luthier and retailer Steve Reinfranck for the podcast. Steve and I discussed the Chinese instrument market, Steve’s organization of a Gary Karr benefit concert a few years ago, and his private teaching studio.

__________

I also interviewed double bassist Robert Meyer for Contrabass Conversations last week. Robert has had a long and illustrious career on the double bass, working for over 50 years in most of the major orchestras in London (including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, and BBC Symphony), as Principal Bass of the Vancouver Symphony, and has taught at the Universities of British Columbia and Victoria. He has also worked under conductors such as Furtwangler, de Sabata, von Karajan, Klemperer, Giulini, Bruno Walter, Koussevitsky, Stokowski, Rhozdesdensvky, Stravinsky, and Khatchaturian, and he was close friends with Benjamin Britten, having actually premiered several of Britten’s chamber operas. When Britten wrote works like Albert Herring, he had Robert in mind as his double bass musical model!

We’ll be releasing this interview in the next couple of weeks. It was a real pleasure to chat with Robert! Robert also maintains a blog called Musical Reminiscences that is filled with great stories from his career, advice for double bassists, and much more. Check it out–it’s a great read and full of fascinating material.

Robert has also recorded several videos relating stories, experiences, and observations. You can find many of them on YouTube (here’s a good page of them) or on his blog. In the following video, Robert discusses what separates the truly great conductors (and he’s worked with a lot of them!) from the rest of the herd:

_____________

Co-host John Grillo and I also did a great interview with Michigan State University bass professor Jack Budrow last Friday. Jack has been a significant presence of the double bass scene for decades, having taught at Interlochen for the past 30 years, at Michigan State for the last 12 years, and having been Principal Bass of the North Carolina Symphony and a former member of the Houston Symphony and Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. Jack is a warm, funny, and articulate individual, and his love of the bass and of teaching shines through in everything he says. Folks will really enjoy this interview with Jack! We’ll release the first part of this interview on April 5, so stay tuned for it.

These conversations with double bass teachers, performers, and luthiers are an invaluable way to learn more about the instrument and our business, and they are a great way to get to know these influential figures better. Students and teachers out there will really enjoy hearing Jack’s thoughts and perspectives on music education, double bass teaching methods, setup and maintenance issues, methods of holding the instrument, surviving long rehearsals and performances, and much more.

___________

We’ll also be releasing the first episode of Eclectic Bass his week. This new offering from Contrabass Conversations highlights music from double bassists worldwide, and will prove to be a nice 20-30 minute complement to our interview episodes. We’ve got a huge wealth of double bass music in the Contrabass Conversations archives, and this new show provides a great way to highlight the vibrant contributions from the double bass community. This first episode will feature music from Frederick Charlton, Lila Horovitz, and Bill Koehler, and we’ll be releasing it mid-week, so stay tuned, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast (click here if you use iTunes and here for e-mail and other subscription methods) so that you don’t miss this new feature!

Barrie discusses Kolstein rosin, challenges facing modern double bass retailers and luthiers, advice on buying a double bass, and how the business has changed in the past few decades. Visit the Kolstein shop online at www.kolstein.com, and check out our co-host John online at www.classicalmusicnews.tv. Enjoy!

About Barrie Kolstein:

1967-1971

State University of New York at Albany
Obtained a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration and Marketing.

1967-1973

Formally studied the Double Bass under the pedagogues: Frederick Zimmermann, Assistant Principal of the New York Philharmonic; Orin O’Brien, New York Philharmonic; Georges Andre, Metropolitan Opera; Robert Gladstone, Principal Bassist Detroit Symphony; Samuel Hollingsworth, Principal Bassist Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; David Holland, renowned Jazz artist.

1971-1974

Served in formal apprenticeship for instrument and bow restoration, construction and appraisals, under the expert auspices of renowned violin and bow maker, restorer, and appraiser, Samuel Kolstein.

1974-1978

Served as staff instrument and bow restorer as well as making numerous new violin and celli with Samuel Kolstein.

1979

Promoted to head violin master in the shop of Samuel Kolstein.

1981

Assumed full business responsibilities for operating all aspects of Samuel Kolstein & Son, Ltd. and Kolstein Music, Inc.

1981 to present

Head violin maker, restorer, and appraiser with a staff of nine violin makers working under his supervision.

Published numerous technical articles on restoration and appraisals in the International Society of Bassists with feature article published in the Strad, February 1991; presently editor of the “Luthier Corner” in the International Society of Bassists magazine restoration and repair forum; published regularly in the Double Bassist magazine and the Strad magazine, both of London, England, since 1996. These articles have ranged form interviews with makers and performers, technical articles on repair/making, and expert appraisal articles on historic master makers; featured in the violinmaking segment of Robin Lehman’s documentary, Young Peoples Guide to the Orchestra; contacted to appear in the upcoming educational video on “Careers in Music”. On the expert appraisers staff of Art Conservation fine arts adjusters as a String Instrument and Bow Expert.

Barrie Kolstein has completed well over one hundred instruments (Violin, Viola, Cello and Bass Violins) utilized by renowned players including Jeffrey Turner, Pittsburgh Symphony; Robert Gladstone, Detroit Symphony; James Van Demark, Professor of Double Bass Eastman School of Music and world famous soloist; Charles Urbont, Metropolitan Opera; James Clute, Minnesota Symphony Orchestra; David Sheets, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Lou Norton, New York Philharmonic; Caitlyn Kamanga, Hong Kong Philharmonic;, Scott Haig, Assistant Principal Bassist, Cleveland Orchestra; Hienrich Joachim, renowned soloist and former member of the New York Philharmonic; Lew Norton, New York Philharmonic; Barbara Yendell, Hong Kong Philharmonic, to name a few! Mr. Kolstein is a member of:

• Appraisers Association of America, 1994 to present
• International Society of Bassists, 1979 – present
• Violin Society of America, 1980 – present
• Viola Congress, 1983 – present
• Cello Congress, 1982 – present

Listed in The Violin Makers of the United States, by Thomas J. Wenberg, Mount Hood Publishing Company, 1986.

Learn more about the Kolstein shop at www.kolstein.com

Music Provided by:

• Eric Hochberg – www.erichochberg.com

Special thanks to Daniel Chmielinski for technical assistance – www.carsleuth.net

Show Notes:

www.kolstein.com – Kolstein Music, Inc. – Kolstein & Son, Ltd
www.musicfreight.com – shipping and musical instrument transport company recommended by Barrie – run by musicians for musicians!
Highly Recommended

Andrew Chilcote (New England Conservatory) wrote
at 5:40pm on March 4th, 2008

douglas mapp makes transcriptions into orchestral/solo tuning of most of the standard repertoire (including the hindemith sonata). There isn’t a midi file of it, but there is a transposed piano part to orchestral tuning
http://www.douglasmappmusic.com/display_transcriptions.php

Ira Gold, a member of the National Symphony bass section and a previous guest on the Contrabass Conversations podcast, is now on faculty at the Catholic University of America’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music in Washington, D.C.

The school is accepting late applicants for Fall of ‘08. If interested, students can either view information at music.cua.edu or contact Ira directly at irajgold@gmail.com. The school offers Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate degrees and also students have the option of being enrolled part time.

Catholic also welcomes videotapes, DVD’s and CD’s for applicants should they not be able to come to a live audition in the next month or so on such short notice. Contact Ira for more information or visit the website at the above URL.

____________

Release Date: 3/29/08

Length: 68:46

listen by phone: +1 (360) 227-5632

call our comment line (24 hour voice mail): +1 (206) 666-6509

Website: www.contrabassconversations.com

E-mail: feedback@contrabassconversations.com

Blog: www.doublebassblog.org

Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass

MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17621298264

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.

Check out our jazz forums at JazzDoubleBass.com.

Join our Facebook group and share videos, chat on discussion boards, leave ideas for the show, and interact with other bassists!

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

Barrie is a perceptive and extremely knowledgeable figure in the double bass community, and it was a real pleasure to do this interview. John, Barrie, and I actually chatted for a couple of hours, and it is all excellent content, so I’ll be breaking this interview into two hour-long segments, and you’ll be hearing the first half today. Visit the Kolstein shop online at www.kolstein.com, and check out our co-host John online at www.classicalmusicnews.tv. Enjoy!

About Barrie Kolstein:

1967-1971

State University of New York at Albany
Obtained a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration and Marketing.

1967-1973

Formally studied the Double Bass under the pedagogues: Frederick Zimmermann, Assistant Principal of the New York Philharmonic; Orin O’Brien, New York Philharmonic; Georges Andre, Metropolitan Opera; Robert Gladstone, Principal Bassist Detroit Symphony; Samuel Hollingsworth, Principal Bassist Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; David Holland, renowned Jazz artist.

1971-1974

Served in formal apprenticeship for instrument and bow restoration, construction and appraisals, under the expert auspices of renowned violin and bow maker, restorer, and appraiser, Samuel Kolstein.

1974-1978

Served as staff instrument and bow restorer as well as making numerous new violin and celli with Samuel Kolstein.

1979

Promoted to head violin master in the shop of Samuel Kolstein.

1981

Assumed full business responsibilities for operating all aspects of Samuel Kolstein & Son, Ltd. and Kolstein Music, Inc.

1981 to present

Head violin maker, restorer, and appraiser with a staff of nine violin makers working under his supervision.

Published numerous technical articles on restoration and appraisals in the International Society of Bassists with feature article published in the Strad, February 1991; presently editor of the “Luthier Corner” in the International Society of Bassists magazine restoration and repair forum; published regularly in the Double Bassist magazine and the Strad magazine, both of London, England, since 1996. These articles have ranged form interviews with makers and performers, technical articles on repair/making, and expert appraisal articles on historic master makers; featured in the violinmaking segment of Robin Lehman’s documentary, Young Peoples Guide to the Orchestra; contacted to appear in the upcoming educational video on “Careers in Music”. On the expert appraisers staff of Art Conservation fine arts adjusters as a String Instrument and Bow Expert.

Barrie Kolstein has completed well over one hundred instruments (Violin, Viola, Cello and Bass Violins) utilized by renowned players including Jeffrey Turner, Pittsburgh Symphony; Robert Gladstone, Detroit Symphony; James Van Demark, Professor of Double Bass Eastman School of Music and world famous soloist; Charles Urbont, Metropolitan Opera; James Clute, Minnesota Symphony Orchestra; David Sheets, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Lou Norton, New York Philharmonic; Caitlyn Kamanga, Hong Kong Philharmonic;, Scott Haig, Assistant Principal Bassist, Cleveland Orchestra; Hienrich Joachim, renowned soloist and former member of the New York Philharmonic; Lew Norton, New York Philharmonic; Barbara Yendell, Hong Kong Philharmonic, to name a few! Mr. Kolstein is a member of:

• Appraisers Association of America, 1994 to present
• International Society of Bassists, 1979 – present
• Violin Society of America, 1980 – present
• Viola Congress, 1983 – present
• Cello Congress, 1982 – present

Listed in The Violin Makers of the United States, by Thomas J. Wenberg, Mount Hood Publishing Company, 1986.

Learn more about the Kolstein shop at www.kolstein.com

Music Provided by:

• Eric Hochberg – www.erichochberg.com

Special thanks to Daniel Chmielinski for technical assistance – www.carsleuth.net

Show Notes:

Release Date: 3/15/08

Length: 74:16

listen by phone: +1 (360) 227-5632

call our comment line (24 hour voice mail): +1 (206) 666-6509

Website: www.contrabassconversations.com

E-mail: feedback@contrabassconversations.com

Blog: www.doublebassblog.org

Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass

MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17621298264

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.

Check out our jazz forums at JazzDoubleBass.com.

Join our Facebook group and share videos, chat on discussion boards, leave ideas for the show, and interact with other bassists!

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

Barrie is a perceptive and extremely knowledgeable figure in the double bass community, and it was a real pleasure to do this interview. John, Barrie, and I actually chatted for a couple of hours, and it is all excellent content, so I’ll be breaking this interview into two hour-long segments, and you’ll be hearing the first half today. Visit the Kolstein shop online at www.kolstein.com, and check out our co-host John online at www.classicalmusicnews.tv.

One of the most exciting things to me about Contrabass Conversations is watching people’s eyes light up when they really get what we’re trying to do here. I’ve babbled on and on about podcasting and how cool it is over the last several weeks, so I’ll try not to go on another long tear about that subject, but let me just say this:

I’ve been looking through the podcast stats over the last week or so. Libsyn, the hosting company I use for the podcast, recently did a major upgrade on their stats package, making it much easier to analyze how these files are being accessed. What I’ve discovered is that these older episodes continue to be downloaded at a very high rate, with several podcasts that are over a year old still getting hundreds of downloads each month. Each podcast gets downloaded in a big clump at first from our subscribers, but there is a log and steady stream of downloads after that initial 2-4 day period.

This phenomenon illustrates one of the key differences of podcasting. In many cases, show listeners are enjoying the entirety of our episode catalog, not just downloading the latest episode we put out. Much like selecting content on a Tivo based on what mood a person is in, there are episodes for all tastes, and folks can pick and chose the order that they want to listen to them. This model is very different from radio, Internet radio, or television. In fact, it’s like an on-demand service for double bass content, only in an episodic show format.

Also, listeners participate in the shows themselves, submitting links, comments, feedback, bass news, and stories, which are then in turn wrapped into the show. Guest suggestions are incorporated into future offerings. Listeners submit bass tracks, which are then incorporated into upcoming shows. This setup makes it our show–a show by and for the bass community, not my show.

It was a real pleasure to sit down and chat with Chris. I own a low B extension on my Jakstadt bass that Chris crafted, and it is a really excellent piece of hardware. I’ve also enjoyed playing on his various double basses, and I’ll be excited to see how he continues to push the boundaries of instrument making and come up with new and innovative ways of crafting double basses.

We’re also featuring a track from University of Iowa bass professor Volkan Orhon performed on one of Chris’ instruments. Check out the photos below for samples of Chris’ work. More photos, plus detailed information about the Heartland String Bass Shop and contact information for Chris can be found at www.heartlandsbs.com. Enjoy!

About Chris (all photos feature basses by Chris):

Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand started playing bass at age nine. He earned a full scholarship to the University of Iowa where he studied under Eldon Obrecht and earned a Bachelor of Music in String Bass Performance. Chris has played with the Quad Cities Youth Symphony, the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Symphony Orchestra, and the Quad Cities Symphony. He has also performed with many bands during his career, ranging from jazz to blues to folk in communities as far ranging as Nagoya, Japan and Austin, Texas.

Chris has had a life-long interest in the sound and responsiveness of basses. As a player, Chris knows that having a finely tuned instrument is critical, and he recognizes the remarkable difference a slight sound post adjustment or bridge arching can make.

His interest in sound and the influence of craftsmanship and ingenious problem solving led him to world famous Collings Guitars. While working at Collings and living in Austin, his cat (a black one!) knocked over and broke the neck on his bass. At the time, Chris was taking private lessons from Professor David Neubert at the University of Texas. Frustrated with the quality of the repair work on his bass, Chris asked Professor Neubert to recommend a good repair shop. “Albuquerque” was the guiding answer. Robertson & sons Violin shop is one of the world’s finest string instrument repair shops & is located in Albuquerque, NM.

For five years at Robertson & Sons, Chris had the opportunity to learn the craft of bass repair and construction under the tutelage of an acknowledged master, and work on some of the finest basses in the world. From neck grafts to cracks, Chris’s skills were applied to a full range of challenges. But he also developed many original techniques, including installation of custom low C & B extensions that integrate into the scroll rather than cutting the scroll and gluing the extension to the modified scroll.

In 2003 it was time to set up shop in his home state of Iowa, and bring his remarkable set of skills and experiences to musicians in the Midwest. Heartland String Bass Shop is the complete manifestation of a musical life, a commitment to sound, and skills honed under the watchful eye of the finest instrument makers and repairers in the world.

Learn more about Chris at www.heartlandsbs.com.

Music Provided by:

• Volkan Orhon – www.volkanbass.com
• Eric Hochberg – www.erichochberg.com
• Fonkmasters

Special thanks to Daniel Chmielinski for technical assistance – www.carsleuth.net

Show Notes:

Release Date: 3/8/08

Length: 30:16

listen by phone: +1 (360) 227-5632

call our comment line (24 hour voice mail): +1 (206) 666-6509

Website: www.contrabassconversations.com

E-mail: feedback@contrabassconversations.com

Blog: www.doublebassblog.org

Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass

MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17621298264

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.

Check out our jazz forums at JazzDoubleBass.com.

Join our Facebook group and share videos, chat on discussion boards, leave ideas for the show, and interact with other bassists!

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

This was an absolutely wonderful interview.  Barrie takes us back in time to the early 20th century with stories of Barrie’s father Samuel, Fred Zimmermann, and the vibrant post-World War II New York City double bass scene in this interview.  He also covers the various iterations of the Kolstein shop, from its early mid-town Manhattan location to its relocation to Long Island and eventual home in the community of Baldwin, New York.

We also discuss Barrie’s own instruments, the double bass market and consequences of the continuing rise in price of older instruments, plus many of the Kolstein line of products, from the flight case to Kolstein rosin production and much more.  We will be releasing this interview the weekend of March 14th, so stay tuned!

Learn more about the Kolstein shop at www.kolstein.com. 

We’ll be including several photos of basses by Chris in the episode show notes and featuring a clip of double bassist (and Bad Boyz of Bass member) Volkan Orhon performing on one of Chris’ basses.  Come to think of it, Anthony Stoops, our guest on episode 67 will also be performing on one of Chris’ basses during their upcoming performance in Indianapolis…and I’m interviewing this group this weekend to boot!  See how small this bass world of ours really is?

In the meantime, check out this scroll by Chris, and stay tuned for his interview this weekend!

Aaron is working on producing a copy of Chicago Symphony bassist Dan Armstrong’s 1731 Camillo Camilli double bass.  Here’s a shot of Dan at the Chicago School of Violin Making (CSVM) with this wonderful bass.  You can watch a video of Dan performing with the award-winning Jason Seed Elixir Ensemble here:

Dan outlines some of the specific characteristics of this bass for the CSVM team:

Aaron mentions that the tuning machines on Dan’s Camilli are the same ones on Aaron’s own 1901 Hawkes Panormo.

The CSVM takes measurements of Dan’s bass in preparation for the replication process:

Here are some shots from the actual bass-building project.  Aaron is getting the CSVM "Camillo Camilli" (they’re calling it Hoss in the shop) maple plate ready for joining in the following photos:

Andy Brittle (another bassist and CSVM classmate) assists Aaron on the bass-building project.  The maple they are using is Big Leaf Maple from somewhere is the United States Pacific Northwest.

Chris Threlkeld-Weigand of the Heartland String Bass Shop in Iowa City will be helping the team with any problems during the project.  I’m a real fan of Chris’ work, having put together two videos about Chris’ basses recently (one shows a bass he’s made, and one features my comments about his most recent instrument).

Here’s a photo of Chris playing on his most recent bass, which was designed to fit in a coach seat on an airplane.

Stay tuned for more updates on this project in the near future!

We also listen to a track from the Redd Holt Unlimited Quartet featuring Steve on bass, plus listener feedback, news and notes, a very fun holiday track from Jonathan Coulton, and much more. Enjoy!

About Steve:

Steve has performed and taught on the Double Bass for over twenty-five years, principally in the Chicago Area, but in places as far away as New Zealand, Japan, Kenya, and Germany.

He plays section bass with a variety of area symphonies, and plays jazz with Isaac “Redd” Holt, original drummer with the Ramsey Lewis Trio. Steve is also involved in Klezmer, Bluegrass, and other folk styles.

Steve has presented at Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, Illinois Music Educators convention, the Kentucky Music Educators convention, and at many of the conventions of the International Society of Bassists.

He was awarded a three-week study tour of Japan under the aegis of the Fulbright Memorial Fund, and was voted Outstanding Studio Teacher by the Illinois Chapter of ASTA, the American String Teachers Association.

Steve runs the largest shop in the Chicago Area dedicated strictly to the needs of the Double Bassist.

He maintains a private teaching studio of about 50 students, and edits the “Young Bassists’ Page” for BASS WORLD, journal of the International Society of Bassists.

Steve teaches most Summers at ISYM, Illinois Summer Youth Music, held at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana.

Steve enjoys playing hockey, ice skating, reading, cooking, and politics when he isn’t making music.

About SMR Double Basses:

We are a Chicago-Area shop catering to the largest member of the String Family, the Double Bass. We sell basses from the least expensive [that meet our minimum quality requirements] to several select instruments that are valued at over $20,000.00. All of our instruments have new professional-level strings and almost all have an upgraded endpin – except in cases where a good one comes from the factory.

Our “Special Niche” is to provide reasonably priced instruments and bows for professionals and the serious student, perhaps bound for conservatory studies in college. Over twenty instruments in the $4,000.00 – $12,000.00 range are presently available.

Link of the week:

Hundreds of free, Creative Commons holiday songs-lots of great stuff with a lot of humor thrown in:

http://www.hermann-uwe.de/blog/10-100-creative-commons-christmas-songs

Tracks played:

From ‘Right Together’ by the Redd Holt Unlimited Quartet

• Tenor Madness (Sonny Rollins)

Music Provided by:

• Steve Reinfranck – www.smrdoublebasses.com
• Eric Hochberg – www.erichochberg.com
• Fonkmasters
• Jonathan Coulton – www.jonathancoulton.com

Show Notes:

Release Date: 12/22/07

Length: 1:08:40

listen by phone: +1 (360) 227-5632

call our comment line (24 hour voice mail): +1 (206) 666-6509

Website: www.contrabassconversations.com

E-mail: feedback@contrabassconversations.com

Blog: www.doublebassblog.org

Podcast T-shirts, hats, and more: www.cafepress.com/doublebass

MySpace: www.myspace.com/cbcpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17621298264

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.

Check out our jazz forums at JazzDoubleBass.com.

Join our Facebook group and share videos, chat on discussion boards, leave ideas for the show, and interact with other bassists!

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