Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

Here is a video sent to me by Jeremy Marino featuring a guy creating a sort of bass out of balloons:

My bass blogging buddy PY sent me a link to her Singaporean bass quartet rehearsing an Irving Berlin rag. They are all amateur bassists from Singapore, and I think it sounds great. I hope theyalso put up pieces from the concert on YouTube.

Here is an unusual piece–this duet was originally written for either violin and cello or else as a duet for two kazoos! This performance is by violinist Perry Ho and bassist Jacky Wu. They recently performed the piece at the Canadian Contemporary Music Showcase.

Check out the set up of this orchestra. The basses are all lined up along the back of the ensemble. Some of them are really getting into the Plink Plank Plunk!

I have decided to quit all of my orchestral work and start a Marimba Queens tribute band. Scott Kreger from the Milwaukee Symphony (and the new double bass instructor and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) sent me this video. Check out the bass player in this band. He has the most fabulous upright slap [...]

Here is another great video of Stefano Sciascia playing the double bass. This is a very different style than the Cancion de Amor video from Stefano that I posted earlier. I recommend checking out Stefano’s website for more information, and I will keep posting his videos every few days (there are a lot [...]

Here is a great video of jazz bassist Marco Panascia soloing over rhythm changes. Notice how Marco uses a positional approach to his soloing. He tends to cross stings and do pivots to stay in a position for a length of time rather than shifting up and down the string. This is [...]

Here is a great double bass video performance of Vittorio Monti’s Czardas on the double bass. This bassist looks a little like me!

I recently found this video of double bassist Jeff Bradetich playing the Gigue from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 on YouTube:

Here is a quote from Jeff’s bio:
Proclaimed by the New York Times as “the master of his instrument,” Jeff Bradetich is regarded as one of the leading performers and teachers of [...]

Here is a video of a double bass player’s high school recital performance of Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen. I can’t find the player’s name on YouTube, but check out his profile here. This piece is becoming increasingly popular to play on the bass. Ever since Edgar Meyer recorded it the floodgates have opened and [...]