Contrabass Conversations

1161: Daniel Chiva Sanz on Intonation, Audition Prep, and Daily Mozart

Daniel Chiva Sanz returns to the podcast to discuss his latest project, Daily Mozart, a new technique book that applies concepts from his School of Patience books to the

1160: What Bottesini Really Wrote - Mark Morton's Urtext Editions

Mark Morton joins Jason to discuss his decades-long project creating practical Urtext editions of Giovanni Bottesini's music. Drawing on 3,656 photographs of manuscript

1159: Cole Davis and Jason Heath teach each other bass lessons!

Cole Davis is a bassist, composer, educator, and the creator behind Better Bass Lessons, where he brings a playful, practical approach to jazz bass education. In this epi

1158: Neal Miner on Juzeks, Golden Spirals, and the Art of Playing Bass Melodies

New York City jazz bassist Neal Miner joins the podcast to talk about his new book of original bass-feature compositions, an 11-song collection designed for students and

1157: Kathryn Schulmeister on Imagining Hands

Kathryn Schulmeister joins the podcast to talk about Imagining Hands, her debut solo album on Protomaterial Records. A bassist, improviser, composer, and University of Wi

1156: SoJung Kim's journey from Korea to the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra

SoJung Kim joins the podcast to share her journey from discovering the double bass in Korea to joining the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. A graduate student at the Colbu

1155: Orion Miller on preparation, structure, and trusting the process

Orion Miller joins the podcast to talk about his path from growing up in New York City to joining the San Francisco Symphony bass section. Orion studied at the Shepherd S

1154: Dominik Wagner on teaching, competitions, and finding your sound

Dominik Wagner returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation recorded during his visit to San Francisco for the 2026 Golden Gate Bass Camp. A prizewinner for man

1153: Remembering Don Prell

Don Prell passed away in 2026 at age 97. Born in 1929, Don went on the road with the Frank Ortega Band, played with people like Buddy Rich and Chet Baker, and was in the

1152: Noa Eve on Late Bloomer, Edgar tuning, and finding your own musical lane

Noa Eve (NoaBass) joins the podcast to celebrate the long-awaited release of *Late Bloomer,* a debut album that blends virtuosic arco playing with the rhythmic grit of bl

1151: Hal Robinson on technique, teachers, and tools that work

Hal Robinson joins the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on bass pedagogy, sound, and the practical fundamentals that actually move the needle. Hal reflects on his

1150: Mary Ann McSweeney on Broadway Bass, Fado Roots, and the Reality of Subbing

Bassist, composer, and educator Mary Ann McSweeney joins Jason to talk about a career that spans Bay Area roots, L.A. training, and the demanding, ever-shifting world of

1149: Caleb Quillen on auditions, orchestral sound, and leading by example

Caleb Quillen returns to the podcast to talk about the path that took him from growing up in Sugar Land, Texas, to principal bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Along

1148: Georgia Wartel Collins on Practice, Texture, and Creative Freedom

Photo credit: Oscar Benjamin Berg Bassist, improviser, and genre-crosser Georgia Wartel Collins joins us today to talk about the winding path that led her to New York,

1147: Unsung Songs - David Bowden Goes Solo

Glasgow-based bassist David Bowden joins the show on release day for Unsung Songs, a solo double bass record shaped by years of gigging and arranging. David talks about c

1146: Twelve Bees in a Jar - Rosie Moon's Dragonetti Waltzes on Three Strings

Rosie Moon joins us today to share the story behind *Twelve Bees In A Jar, her* multi-year Dragonetti project exploring his music on gut strings, a three-string bass, and

1145: Bowen Ha on his audition process

Bowen Ha joined the San Francisco Symphony at the start of the 2024–25 season after training at Juilliard with Timothy Cobb and Harold Robinson, and appearing as a substi

1144: John Goldsby on Big Band Bass

John Goldsby returns to the podcast to celebrate Big Band Bass, a project that spotlights the double bass at the front of the band alongside the legendary WDR Big Band an

1143: Professional Instruments Aren't Luggage with Valentina Ciardelli

Valentina Ciardelli , double bass professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and an active performer/educator, returns to the podcast to talk about a pro

1142: Slow Water, Deep Grooves with Stephan Crump

Stephan Crump is a Brooklyn-based bassist, composer, and educator whose work moves fluidly between groove, spacious sound-worlds, and collective improvisation. We dig int