Thierry Barbé plays Per Questa Bella Mano

Here’s a great video of fellow International Society of Bassists board member Thierry Barbé playing Per Questa Bella Mano with bass vocalist Ugo Rabec and the Opera de Paris Orchestra:

Airlines are the enemy of bass players

My former student Ian Hallas (now a bass student at the Colburn School of Music) had a pretty bad experience flying back to Los Angeles after winter break this year. This is the sort of experience that we bassists fear–good thing it didn’t turn out even...

The Fabulous ButtCradle

Ashley Eidbo from buttcradle.com makes, hands down, the best double bass stool covers. You have to try it to believe it–I love it! This stool cover has extremely thick padding that provides great support. I’m used to using either cheesy thin pads or the...

Rockin’ the Brahms with the New World Symphony Bass Section

I just stumbled across this great video showing the current New World Symphony bass section playing an excerpt from the first movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. Cool! If you want to hear interviews with several former New World Symphony bassists (including my...

Gary Karr plays Paganini Moses Fantasy

Here’s a vintage recording of Gary Karr performing Paganini’s Moses Fantasy–a staple of his performing career. I know that Gary’s recording inspired me to learn this piece when I was in high school, and I’m sure that he did the same for...