Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

Elaine Fine posted this video on her Musical Assumptions blog recently, demonstrating the relative level of importance that government places on music and music performers here in the United States. Listen to Bush’s response to the question posed to him by an Altissimo Records representative, and (more disturbing and surprising) check out the [...]

After discovering this Maniac World post through Digg, I did some hunting and pecking, eventually finding the same video on YouTube (allowing me to embed it here). Zappa remains, in my mind, one of the great musical minds of the 20th century, a unique, compelling, and real voice, doing his own thing with [...]

Check out this episode from NPR’s From The Top featuring the great Bela Fleck and a young bassist named Mike Thurber. Just visit this page and click the ‘Listen’ button at the top. I love From The Top. To me, it is one of the best examples of how to engage young [...]

I have been checking in regularly with Corner Violin Shop, a blog started by A. Cavallo Violins about daily life in a violin shop. This blog is an outstanding example of a small business utilizing the power of social media (like blogs, podcasts, Facebook, YouTube, and the like) to establish a connection with the [...]

The Jason Seed Elixir Ensemble, the group that we featured on the blog yesterday, will be performing on September 6 at the Elbo Room in Chicago, Illinois. They go on at 11 p.m., so if you’re in the area (and many readers are), check this excellent group out!
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No matter how many years I’ve done it, I still get a thrill after coming home from a concert, my body temperature elevated from the music and the excitement of the moment. The sound of an audience clapping and cheering is always a great way to end a night, and this feedback keeps me [...]

Grant Park Symphony bassist John Floeter recently wrote a post about the difference in audience and orchestra enjoyment of pops concerts. Reflecting on a summer concert with The Decemberists, he writes:

I’ve played lots of rock concerts in the backup orchestra, and usually it’s a very uncomfortable experience with repetitive parts, deafening sound despite earplugs, [...]

I’d like to thank people for the positive comments about Ranaan Meyer’s Czardas video, which we put out as a Contrabass Conversations episode yesterday. If you’re a subscriber, then you also received this video on the podcast feed. If you aren’t a subscriber, please consider doing so! It’s free, and having more [...]

Jazz bassist Eric Hochberg sent me this obituary over the weekend for the great Art Davis, a musician who not only worked with John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk but also with the New York Philharmonic and NBC and CBS Orchestras as well as earning a doctorate in clinical psychology.
You can visit the Art [...]

In case readers missed it, Phillip Serna posted a great video of Jay Leonhart singing a song about getting a bass on a plane. Check out Phillip’s post here.
Bass blog contributor Benjy reminded me about this post he contributed concerning European train travel woes. He also shared with me some of his experiences [...]