Exploring the Jazz Bass Scene with Contrabass Conversations…

We relaunched Contrabass Conversations (a popular double bass podcast active in the mid-2000’s) in November of 2015, and the response from the bass community has been incredible. Starting with an interview with Chicago Symphony principal bassist Alex Hanna and continuing with artists like Mozart in the Jungle author Blair Tindall, the podcast is back and better than ever!

We’re branching out into the world of jazz in 2016 and interviewing more jazz artists for this new phase of the podcast. We recently released an interview with Jazz at Lincoln Center and Wynton Marsalis Septet bassist Carlos Henriquez. Carlos spoke with us about developing a creative voice, crafting Afro-Cuban bass lines, and his experiences working with Wynton Marsalis. Carlos also has a new album called Bronk Pyramid that has recently been released. It’s an outstanding listen, with great compositions featuring compelling Afro-Cuban grooves.

We will be releasing an interview with jazz bass legend Ron Carter later this month. Ron recently received the Guinness World Record for the most recorded jazz bassist with well over 2200 album credits to his name. We spoke with Ron about developing technique on the bass, his preferred gear, and his perspectives on music education. There are also several archived jazz bass episodes with established masters like Rufus Reid and Jazz Showcase regular Larry Gray that would be of interest to jazz bassists.

Thanks for checking out the podcast, and we have a lot of cool new projects lined up for 2016!