Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

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International Society of Bassists manager Madeleine Crouch recently sent out the following information regarding jazz bassist Dennis Irwin:
Jazz icon Dennis Irwin, bassist with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (formerly the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Band) for more than 20 years, and sideman with Art Blakey, Joe Lovano and John Scofield (among many others), has become very [...]

Double bassist and Contrabass Conversations guest Guy Tuneh just rolled out a great new redesigned website.  Guy is a rising star in the double bass and classical music community, galvanizing audiences internationally as a soloist under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, in collaboration with Miloslav Gajdos, and in chamber settings with Villa Musica.
We [...]

 

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This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features an in-depth analysis of the double bass opera excerpts most commonly requested at auditions. Double bassist (and regular Contrabass Conversations guest and co-host) John Grillo discusses each of these excerpts–stylistic considerations, differences in articulation and bow strokes, and suggestions for effectively learning them–and then performs them. We believe [...]

I’ve written several times on this blog about both why I teach music and reasons why one might choose music teaching as a career.  I’ve also wrestled with misconceptions across the performer/educator divide, finding myself alternately surprised, shocked, and intrigued about the assumptions each camp has about the other.
One woefully neglected and quite obvious [...]

Post by Phillip Serna - www.phillipwserna.com
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My student Patrick Richards (has a fabulous project restoring amplifiers and bass guitars for low-income bass students http://www.myspace.com/thefreewheels &
http://www.myspace.com/swimmermissing) passed on this interesting post by Denson Angelo, bassist and teacher in the Salt Lake City area. It is always good to find new stretches and exercises to do while on [...]

Lyric Opera of Chicago bassist (and Contrabass Conversations guest) Greg Sarchet sent me a link to what is pretty much the greatest bass video of all time. I’m not sure whether to put an ‘explicit’ warning on this one–let’s just say that you may want to skip this one if you have delicate sensibilities.
For [...]

Jerry Fuller directs the Chicago-area period instrument ensemble Ars Antigua in Chicago’s Quigley Chapel. Photos by Robert Osterlund
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The following is a guest post from Double Bass Blog contributor Phillip W. Serna. Check out Phillip’s recitals and interviews on his Contrabass Conversations page, and visit him online at http://www.phillipwserna.com/. Enjoy!
 
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Contrabass Conversations and the Double Bass Blog [...]

Abu Bratsche: New Year, new boss
Robert Levine on MSO’s Edo de Waart appointment: “Most members of the orchestra regard this as very good news, I think. He’s arguably the best-known conductor we’ve ever had as music director (certainly the one with the most illustrious career prior t
(tags: edo de waart milwaukee symphony robert levine classical [...]

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this story to get caught up with this wacky but typical week in the life of a freelance musician.
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Now on our third rehearsal, the orchestra for this small but feisty opera company congregated at the concert venue (a nice modern facility) for our first time performing with [...]

PostClassic: Aniara
Kyle Gann from PostClassic writes: “Just before leaving for Europe I chanced to pick up a vocal score of Karl-Birger Blomdahl’s science fiction opera Aniara, and I’ve only recently had time to spend with it….”
(tags: aniara karl-birger blomdahl postclassic classical music blog)

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