| Lisa Riddering, Editor September, 2009 |
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ON SALE NOW
Order print music, CDs, DVDs and videos, convention t-shirts, posters, back issues of magazines and more at www.ISBstore.com.
The Gary Karr Store at the ISBstore.com at
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Send your news and announcements for the ISB's E-Bass Line newsletter to info@ISBworldoffice.com.
If you couldn't be there in person or couldn't get to all the offerings, you can still purchase and download many of the masterclasses presented at the 2009 ISB convention at Mike's Master Classes.
If you have a favorite memory, photos and/or reports from the recent ISB convention at Penn State University, please email to info@ISBworldoffice.com for possible posting on the ISB website and publication in the post-convention issue of Bass World magazine.
NEWS OF NOTE
The first and only biography to date of jazz bassist Scott LaFaro has been published by the University of North Texas Press. Written by his sister, Helene LaFaro Fernandez, Jade Visions tells the story of one of the 20th century's most influential jazz musicians. Best known for his recordings with Bill Evans, he played bass a mere seven years before his life and career were tragically cut short by an automobile accident at age 25. The book combines an intimate look at his family along with insights into LaFaro's music and career by Gene Lees, Don Thompson, Jeff Campbell, Phil Palombi, Barrie Kolstein, Chuck Ralston and many others. Hardback, 352 pages, including never before published photos. $25 plus shipping and handling at http://www.isbstore.com/miscellaneous.html.
 The perfect companion to the Scott LaFaro biography Jade Visions is the newly released CD, Pieces of Jade. Listen to some of LaFaro's earliest recordings with pianist Don Friedman and drummer Pete LaRoca, plus a 1966 interview with Bill Evans, over 20 minutes of an Evans and LaFaro rehearsal, and "Memories for Scotty," a solo piano tribute by Don Friedman. A must-have for fans of jazz and every bassist now available at the ISB Online Store, with a portion of proceeds from sales benefitting the ISB's Scott LaFaro Prize fund. $15 plus shipping and handling at http://www.isbstore.com/miscellaneous.html.
Anna Cecelia Lardin, opus 2 for Heather Miller Lardin, artistic director of the New York State Early Music Association and her husband Cliff, was born July 28th. She tipped the scales at 8 pounds, 6 ounces and just over 20 inches. Congratulations to Heather, Cliff and big brother Josh!
Luthier Carleen Hutchins passed away on August 7, 2009 at the age of 98. A former high school science teacher, she became a violinmaker well known for her body of research into the acoustics of violins, and the creation of a family of eight proportionally-sized violins, The Violin Octet. From 2002 to 2003, Hutchins's octet was the subject of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, "The New Violin Family: Augmenting the String Section." Her greatest innovation, still used by many violinmakers, was a technique known as free-plate tuning. When not attached to a violin, the top and back are called free plates. Her technique gives makers a precise way to refine these plates before a violin is assembled. Hutchins was founder of the New Violin Family Association, authored more than 100 technical publications, and edited two volumes of collected papers in violin acoustics. She was the recipient of four grants from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music, two Guggenheim Fellowships, an Honorary Fellowship from the Acoustical Society of America, and four honorary doctorates. In 1963, Hutchins co-founded the Catgut Acoustical Society, which develops scientific insights into the construction of new and conventional instruments of the violin family.
Jeffrey Weisner, bassist with the National Symphony Orchestra and professor of bass at the Peabody Conservatory, will host a "Masterclass with Hal Robinson," 5 to 6:30 PM, Sunday, September 20th at Griswold Hall. For more information about this special event featuring Hal Robinson, principal bass with the Philadelphia Orchestra and professor of bass at the Curtis Institute, email jeffrey.weisner@gmail.com.
David Gage String Instruments will host University of North Texas professor of jazz bass Lynn Seaton on October 14th and legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter on November 4th as part of its 2009-2010 Workshop Series. Both workshops take place at 7:15 PM. Seating is limited and expected to sell out quickly.The workshop will also be webcast and available for sale afterwards from Mike's Master Classes, www.mikesmasterclasses.com. Tickets ($20 general admission/$15 for students and seniors) are available from www.davidgage.com by calling the store at 212-274-1322 or by emailing info@davidgage.com. Tickets are now on sale and are priced at $20.00, $15.00 for students and seniors. David Gage String Instruments is located at 36 Walker Street, New York, NY. For more information contact Sam Finlay at 917-842-8375.
New Music Detroit will feature Tom Knific's "The Muse and The Master" for solo bass on its Strange Beautiful Music III program on September 19th, performed by Detroit Symphony principal and ISB member Alex Hanna. The piece was commissioned by the ISB as the required piece for the 2009 ISB solo competition. The first prize winner of that competition, Nicholas Schwartz, who also won the Stulberg Competition for strings in Kalamazoo, will also perform "The Muse and the Master" when he returns to solo with the Kalamazoo Symphony in January, 2010. To purchase this piece and more printed music, CDs and other double bass-related merchandise, go to http://www.isbstore.com/printed-music.html.
The world premiere of bassist Alexis Cuadrado's Noneto Ibérico, a nine-movement work commissioned by the Chamber Music America-Doris Duke Foundation "New Works" grant program, is slated for Friday, October 2nd, and will be performed again on Saturday, October 3rd at The Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson St., New York, NY 10013, (212) 242-1063. Sets at 9 & 10:30 PM. $15 /$10 for members, reservations recommended.
The Holland America Cruise Line has two bass positions open for upright players starting in late October, for a minimum of 3 months. This position is with a ballroom trio playing standards, so knowledge of tunes and ability to read lead sheets is important. Pay for this position is $450 a week, plus food, lodging, travel to and from the ship, and complete healthcare while onboard. Successful applicants must have a valid passport and pass a medical and background check. Contact Ben Dransfield, Musician Recruiter and Manager, Suman Entertainment Group, 12426 West Dixie Highway, Unit A, North Miami, FL 33161, 305/981-3136, fax 305/981-3137, email bdransfield@sumanent.com, or go to www.sumanent.com.
FESTIVALS, COMPETITIONS, AUDITIONS
For more information about the Alexander & Buono String Competition, with divisions for Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College/Adult and Amateur Adult, go to www.abstrings.com. Application deadline is October 15, 2009. Winners will perform in recital at Carnegie Hall on November 22, 2009. The 2010 Stulberg Competition at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo will take place Saturday, February 27, 2010. Judges will be the members of the Juilliard Quartet. The application deadline is Dec 18, 2009. Top prize is $5,000 plus a performance with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. For information go to www.stulberg.org, call 269/343/2776 or email stulbergcomp@yahoo.com.
The 2009 Texas Double Bass Symposium will be held October 24-25, 2009 at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Special guest artists are François Rabbath and Joel Quarrington. The faculty, subject to change, includes George Amorim (UT Pan-Am), Jeff Bradetich (UNT), Paul Ellison (Rice), Kip Green (TCU, jazz), Yuan Xiong Lu (TCU), Mark Morton (Texas Tech), David Neubert (UT Austin), Sandor Ostlund (Baylor University), Tim Pitts (Rice and Houston Symphony), John Schimek (Oklahoma City University), Anthony Stoops (Oklahoma University), Dennis Whittaker (Univ. of Houston) and Da Xun Zhang (UT Austin). Bing Luo (Shanghai Conservatory) and Tian Rui Zhao (Shenyang Conservatory) will give masterclasses. In addition to lectures, recitals, masterclasses and exhibits, the symposium will feature a student recital, an All-State Workshop for high school students, and an Orchestra Mock Audition with $500 first prize. Advance registration is $30 for participants (due by October 15), $15 for auditors/$20 at the door. Make checks payable to Texas Christian University, Double Bass Symposium. To register or for more information, please contact Charlene Smith, School of Music, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 297500, Fort Worth, TX 76129, (817) 257-7232, fax (817) 257-5818, c.smith3@tcu.edu. Questions? Call Yuan Xiong Lu, (817) 257-4465.
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