Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

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This is a special Recital Showcase edition of Contrabass Conversations featuring the music of John Grillo. John was interviewed on Contrabass Conversations episode 6. This episode is a live performance of John’s complete recital, which was performed in Pittsburgh, PA in 2006.
You can also visit John’s Recital Showcase page or subscribe to [...]

This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features an interview and musical performances from double bassist John Grillo. John has got some great insight into the world of the bass, and this interview was both a lot of fun to do and very informative and interesting.
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We just completed the January IRIS concert tonight here in Memphis, Tennessee, and it really got a great reception. Jason Vieaux played fabulously, and the commission by Adam Schoenberg went really well.
Finding Rothko (Adam’s commission) was a really rich and satisfying piece. It was based on the paintings of Mark Rothko. Here [...]

I have a few minutes to myself here in Memphis tonight, and I’d like to describe a couple of cool new features that Blogger has rolled out. As I mentioned earlier today, I have a new URL for this blog (doublebassblog.com). This is the sort of endeavor that normally produces much angst and [...]

I am out the door to Memphis, so I can’t put out my usual posts until after rehearsal tonight. You’ll be hearing from me today, just not until the evening hours. Before I take off, I just want to direct people’s attention to my new URL, which is http://doublebassblog.com. Now, the cool [...]

We just finished up our IRIS Chamber Orchestra concert with the bluegrass trio Time for Three, and these guys completely brought down the house. It was really amazing. These three guys (Zach, Nick, and Ranaan) combine the best of bluegrass with the best of classical playing. Their tunes are filled with quotes [...]

Every summer I think Chicago’s great. It’s sunny, warm, the beaches are filled with people, the city is bustling with activity, and the lake is beautiful and inviting. I am convinced that it’s the greatest city in the world. Then winter hits (in November, or perhaps October or maybe even in September [...]

I have had the unfortunate experience of doing many all night drives over the years to get from one gig to another. This is never fun. The main problem is that I work in Memphis, Tennessee and in Chicago and Wisconsin. IRIS Chamber Orchestra concerts will start in Memphis at 8 [...]

All of the IRIS bass section substitutes have gone on to have great full-time orchestra jobs:
Charles Carlton - Cleveland OrchestraMatt Medlock - Naples PhilharmonicIra Gold - National SymphonyJeff Kail - Kansas City Symphony
My stand partner Scott Best has been principal bass of the Memphis Symphony since the beginning of IRIS. The two of us [...]

The IRIS Chamber Orchestra does not operate like a typical symphony orchestra. It reminds me much more of a summer festival atmosphere (like Aspen or another such festival). We perform approximately one concert a month during the regular season (September through May). Since we only get together once a month things always [...]