Contrabass Conversations

Niklas Lukassen is a German bassist, composer, and doctoral researcher splitting his time between London and Berlin. His bandleader debut album Still Waters releases February 20th on Kurt Rosenwinkel's Heartcore Records with liner notes by Ron Carter.
The quartet features Ben Van Gelder on saxophone, Kit Downes on piano, and Francesco Ciniglio on drums, with guest appearances from Rosenwinkel, Wanja Slavin, and Geoffroy De Masure. Niklas is also exploring the bass cello—a unique hybrid instrument—in his trio with Gwilym Simcock and James Maddren, while pursuing doctoral research at the Royal Academy of Music on the reciprocal effects of bass doubling.
In this conversation, we explore Niklas's musical journey from a tiny village in Germany's Black Forest to studying at Manhattan School of Music with Ron Carter, his forced exit from New York during the pandemic, and how he rebuilt his career between London and Berlin.
We discuss the different scenes and aesthetics of these global jazz cities, his approach to playing upright bass, electric bass, bass guitar, and the bass cello, and how working with different instruments sparks new improvisational ideas. Niklas shares insights on collaboration, giving space in the music, and the challenges and gifts of constantly adapting to new instruments and environments.
Enjoy, and connect with Niklas at his website and Instagram!
 
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Jon Henriksson is a Stockholm-based double bassist and composer who has become one of the leading voices in the contemporary Scandinavian jazz scene. Born in 1996 in Gothenburg, his path to the bass started when a high school big band director gave him just two months to learn the instrument for a Christmas concert.
His 2023 debut album Harmonia placed second in Orkesterjournalen's Golden Album readers' poll, and his new album Shapeshifter drops March 20th, 2026, featuring a quartet with pianist Rasmus Sørensen, drummer Jonas Bäckman, and saxophonist Karl-Martin Almqvist.
In this conversation, Jon talks about discovering bird watching and nature photography during the pandemic as a counterbalance to musical life. He shares his compositional process of improvising at the piano and layering ideas on his phone, the Swedish folk high school system that's created a vibrant jazz pipeline to Stockholm, and the jam sessions he hosts twice weekly at Stompin in Old Town.
Jon explains how he writes music drawing from Brazilian influences, folk, and pop alongside jazz traditions, and why he wanted Shapeshifter to give space for his favorite musicians to express their personalities.
Connect with Jon on Instagram, and listen to his music on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
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Chris Jennings is a Canadian left-handed double bassist who's been based in Paris since 2002, traveling extensively across jazz and world music projects to all corners of the globe. A D'Addario Orchestral Artist, Chris has carved out a unique niche playing in ensembles where there's often no bass part written, working with artists like Nguyên Lê, Dhafer Youssef, and exploring the rhythmic complexities of Gnawa music.
In this episode, Chris shares the story of his game-changing Petite Double Bass made by Polish luthier Piotr Poludniak — a hand-carved, neck-off instrument that weighs just 12kg in its carbon fiber case and sounds remarkably like a full-size acoustic bass.
We also dive into his bow technique journey with Tom Martin and Edgar Meyer, his philosophy of being "in service to the music," his travel productivity hacks, the polyrhythmic world of Gnawa music, and much more.
Enjoy, and connect with Chris on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
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Matt Rybicki is a jazz bassist, author, and educator who helps bassists of all levels master jazz bass. Through his online courses and YouTube channel, Matt makes jazz bass education accessible to students worldwide.
His new course, 8 Weeks to the Jam Session: First Notes to Walking Like a Pro, takes beginners from their first notes to confidently walking bass lines at jam sessions.
Check out the new course here and explore Matt's past podcast appearances.
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Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera
Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Lens
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Join us for a conversation with two frequent podcast guests, Gaelen McCormick and Michael Geib, as they discuss their recent article Bass Is for Everyone!, published in the American String Teacher journal.
Gaelen is the Director of the Eastman Performing Arts Medicine Center and a passionate advocate for inclusive bass pedagogy. Michael teaches at the University of Central Oklahoma as a bass educator and is also President-Elect of his local ASTA chapter.
Enjoy, and check out this cool article here!
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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
 
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Theme music by Eric Hochberg