Check out the complete Musical Innovators series here.

This is a new series I’m starting highlighting people involved in forward-thinking projects.  This first edition highlights double bassists (understandably) that are “moving the needle” in interesting ways.  Not all “Innovators” editions will feature bassists, but this first one will.  If you have an idea for an innovator, leave a comment or send me an email at doublebassblog@mac.com.

Innovator No. 1: Barry Green

It is astonishing to think about how much Barry has accomplished in his decades of musical activity.  The man is an idea machine and is constantly pivoting (a spectacular and enviable talent) to focus on new opportunities and ideas.  From his years creating a vibrant “Green Machine” bass scene in Cincinnati to his studies with Rabbath, Barry is a perpetual innovator.  Non-bassists will know Barry best for his books The Inner Game of Music, The Mastery of Music, and Bringing Music to Life, but bassists may be best familiar with him for his ambitious projects like Anna’s Promise, which Barry, Jeff Bradetich, and I talked about in a podcast interview a few months ago.

Here’s a video covering what’s in store for Anna’s Promise, the final installment in Barry’s multimedia trilogy:

Innovator No. 2: Andrés Martín

Andrés is the composer of the music for Anna’s Gift and Anna’s Promise, and he has taken the double bass world by storm with his unique and compelling compositional voice.  His first double bass concerto has been performed a great number of times worldwide, and he continues to contribute prodigiously to the repertoire, pushing the boundaries of the instrument in many interesting directions.  Andrés and I sat down for a podcast interview recently and talked through his compositional process, which you’d find both interesting and inspirational.

Here’s a video of Andrés performing his first bass concerto.  This will make you want to drop everything you’re doing and get a copy of the music–it rocks!

Innovator No. 3: Adam Ben Ezra

Adam is the first person in a long time that made me drop everything that I was doing and run to the bass for several hours to try to figure out a riff.  I must have spent three hours straight practicing Can’t Stop Running when I first heard it on Facebook.  Adam and I had a great chat for the podcast a few weeks back.  His style is completely his own and is both fun and compelling.  If Adam is the future of the double bass, the future looks quite bright indeed.

Here’s the video for Can’t Stop Running, which pulled me in both musically and through the amazingly unimpressed dog in the background:

I’d also like to give a shout-out to our podcast sponsor Discover Double Bass, who just launched a scale package featuring backing tracks and material for 17 different scale patterns.  I interviewed Geoff Chalmers a couple of months ago about the company, and it’s an interesting listen.

International Society of Bassists President Douglas Mapp (another recent interview guest) mentioned Don Hermann’s Accompanied Rudiments course as another excellent resource for scale practice.  I haven’t used this myself before but know that it’s a classic practicing text.

Check out the complete Musical Innovators series here.