Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

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A recent article in the Chicago Tribune (May 28, 2008) reignited some long-standing concerns that I’ve had for a longtime about the massive amount of educational debt many musicians accrue during their years of training. This trend is affecting all college students (not only musicians), but since our earnings tend to be rather meager [...]

The cycle repeats itself, the faces on the gigs and the music on the stand changing in a never ending cycle of concert halls, Styrofoam cups of coffee in underground orchestra lounges, hauling basses, stools, and stands out of parking garages.

Kennedy Expressway - 7 a.m. - jammed up on the freeway, riding the brake [...]

At long last, my book Road Warrior Without an Expense Account is completed and ready for purchase. It’s priced at $14.95 and is available now from Lulu.com (click below to purchase), and will be available through Amazon.com, Borders, and Barnes & Noble in the next 6 weeks or so.
Putting this book together has really been [...]

I had the opportunity to addend a master class featuring Tim Cobb this past Wednesday (5/28/08), which washosted by Northwestern University’s Peter Lloyd. In addition to serving as principal double bassist with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Tim serves as principal double bassist for the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Prior to [...]

As I spend more of my time focusing on local activities (playing, teaching, etc.) and less on driving all over the country, I’ve gotten a chance to really take in this remarkable city that I live in. What a fascinating and multifaceted place metro Chicago is! I’m currently sitting on the Midway Pleasance, gazing up [...]

 

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We’re featuring the multi-talented and extremely engaging double bassist and vocalist Kristin Korb on this week’s Contrabass Conversations episode. Kristin and Jason chat about her early years as a bassist and vocalist, life growing up in Montana, her studies on the bass, and how she established herself as a jazz performing artist. We also feature [...]

One of the cool things about doing a weekly interview podcast is watching this body of work grow over the weeks, months, and years. After 1 1/2 years of doing Contrabass Conversations, we’ve got quite a body of content (approaching 100 interview shows, plus numerous video lessons, all-music shows, and special feature episodes), and this [...]

 

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This week’s episode continues the interview with jazz bass legend Steve Rodby that we began on episode 58 of the podcast. Rodby has played bass on every Pat Metheny Group record since 1980, co-produced the group’s last five albums and won 10 Grammy Awards with the group. He has toured with jazz greats Joe [...]

The class glances uneasily at the clock as it slowly ticks:
1:13…..1:14…..1:15….
Suddenly, the professor bursts in, shirt rumpled and tie caught within the jumbled stack of file folders, books, and binders he clasps in his arms.
“Hi class, sorry sorry sorry…um, how’s everybody this Tuesday..er, Wednesday. Sorry, sorry, let me just get things…. set up… uh…. what [...]

Houston Symphony Principal Bass Tim Pitts will be teaching at the Beijing Music Festival this summer (which will actually be held in Shanghai this year to avoid the Olympics). San Diego Principal Bass (and former Tim Pitts student) Jeremy Kurtz provides the following details:

…my former teacher, Tim Pitts, is going back [...]