Contrabass Conversations
Jason Heath
Show overview
Contrabass Conversations has been publishing since 2007, and across the 19 years since has built a catalogue of 1,165 episodes, alongside 58 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 890 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 30 min and 1h — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Music show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 33 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2017, with 151 episodes published. Published by Jason Heath.
From the publisher
Contrabass Conversations features interviews and performances from top leaders in the world of the double bass. Podcast host Jason Heath dives deep into what makes these world-class artists tick. With 2 million downloads and counting, Contrabass Conversations is the most popular podcast for double bassists. Join the community and experience life on the low end of the spectrum!
Latest Episodes
View all 1,165 episodes1158: Neal Miner on Juzeks, Golden Spirals, and the Art of Playing Bass Melodies
1157: Kathryn Schulmeister on Imagining Hands
1156: SoJung Kim's journey from Korea to the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra
1155: Orion Miller on preparation, structure, and trusting the process
1154: Dominik Wagner on teaching, competitions, and finding your sound
1153: Remembering Don Prell
1152: Noa Eve on Late Bloomer, Edgar tuning, and finding your own musical lane
1151: Hal Robinson on technique, teachers, and tools that work
1150: Mary Ann McSweeney on Broadway Bass, Fado Roots, and the Reality of Subbing
1149: Caleb Quillen on auditions, orchestral sound, and leading by example
1148: Georgia Wartel Collins on Practice, Texture, and Creative Freedom
1147: Unsung Songs - David Bowden Goes Solo
1146: Twelve Bees in a Jar - Rosie Moon's Dragonetti Waltzes on Three Strings
1145: Bowen Ha on his audition process
1144: John Goldsby on Big Band Bass
1143: Professional Instruments Aren't Luggage with Valentina Ciardelli
1142: Slow Water, Deep Grooves with Stephan Crump
1141: Gut Strings and Time Travel - Michał Bylina on Early Music
Ep 11401140: Isaac Trapkus on Rosin, Hidden Manuscripts, and Open-Source Music Tools
Isaac Trapkus is a bassist with the New York Philharmonic, rosin maker, and developer of Monkey Wrench DB—a tool that syncs sheet music PDFs with YouTube performances. He's also the creator of a free urtext-style edition of the Koussevitzky Double Bass Concerto, based on a previously unknown personal score copy he discovered at the Library of Congress. We cover a wide range of topics: Isaac's years-long journey developing his handcrafted rosin (Winter), the unique acoustic challenges of the double bass that make rosin so stubbornly hard to get right, and his Library of Congress discovery of Koussevitzky's clean personal score—complete with hidden measures taped over by the composer himself. We also dig into AI's expanding role in Isaac's tech projects, the ethics of open-source music tools, and the tension between building things because you can versus building things that actually matter. Find Isaac's Koussevitzky edition on IMSLP, explore Monkey Wrench DB at monkeywrenchdb.org, and check out his past podcast appearance here. Connect with DBHQ Join Our Newsletter Double Bass Resources Double Bass Sheet Music Double Bass Merch Gear used to record this podcast Zoom H6 studio 8-Track 32-Bit Float Handy Recorder Rode Podmic Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Lens Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM Lens When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ. Theme music by Eric Hochberg
Ep 11391139: Building The Sub Pool with Thomas Zera
Bassist and arts administrator Thomas Zera joins us today to share what changed between our first chat years ago and now, including life in the Utah Symphony and the path that led to building his new project, The Sub Pool. We dig into what The Sub Pool is, why orchestra sub lists so often "run dry," and how a centralized, musician-friendly platform can help personnel managers find the right players, including for rarer instruments and big-repertoire needs. Tom also explains how the service is designed to be low-friction for musicians, what feedback has shaped the early feature set (including faster notifications), and what they're building toward next. Learn more at The Sub Pool, reach Tom at [email protected], and check out his past podcast appearance here. Connect with DBHQ Join Our Newsletter Double Bass Resources Double Bass Sheet Music Double Bass Merch Gear used to record this podcast Zoom H6 studio 8-Track 32-Bit Float Handy Recorder Rode Podmic Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Lens Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM Lens When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ. Theme music by Eric Hochberg