ask me anything
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT BASS SETUP?
I own two basses: one is a Juzek made in Germany in 1950 and it is set up with a mix of steel and gut strings – you can hear it on most of my solo album “Autoportrait.” The other one is a Thibouville-Lamy made in France circa 1840 and it was originally a 3 strings bass converted into a standard 4 strings. It has a flat back and a beautiful dark finish.
As far as sonorisation, I like to use the David Gage Realist or Lifeline pickup for my monitor, combined with an Ear Trumpet Lab Nadine condenser microphone for the house, to get a more acoustic sound. In the studio I really love the AKG C12, combined with Schoepps for the stereo image.
DO YOU TEACH? WHAT IS THE BASS WORKSHOP?
Over the years, my students have included bassists Sylvain Romano, Viktor Nyberg, Adam Gay, Geraud Portal, Alex Gilson, Nicolas Corso, Kevin Yosua, Stavros Kaltampanos, Brady Lynch, Derrick Zhang, Stephane Caroubi, Dave Penneman, Jesse Henege, Philippe Brassoud, John Chapman, Sam Sugerman..
I have also started a Patreon page called the Bass Workshop. Here I share informations through videos and PDFs about many aspects of playing the bass and music in general. It is updated bi-weekly, I see it like a forum of ideas, tips, advices, concepts, practice exercises which can leave a lasting impression on someone’s music path. A little bit like that awesome lesson you had with a musician in New York who showed you something that you’re still using three years later.
For more info: https://www.patreon.com/bassworkshop
HOW WAS IT TO STUDY WITH RON CARTER?
This was one of the best musical experiences of my life. I had the opportunity to see Mr Carter every week for 4-5 years and really get to work on the fundamentals, step by step. As I like to describe it, it took me eight month to go from half-position to the seventh position.
We’ve worked on sound, bass lines, voice leading, posture, left hand/ right hand coordination, awareness, ears, creativity, repertoire, and so much more. He helped me open my mind and find my voice, to build a strong musical concept regardless of the style I want to perform.
WHERE CAN I BUY SHEET MUSIC?
All of these items are available in my Chart Shop