The DoubleBass Workshop

Charlie Haden
1937 - 2014

Jazz great Charlie Haden died today, July 11, 2014, after health struggles due to post-childhood polio syndrome the past few years. Although he no longer performed live, he continued to record and receive honors and accolades. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Master in 2012. The ISB honored Charlie Haden with its 2011 Special Recognition Award for Jazz Performance. A three-time Grammy winner for collaborations with guitarist Pat Methany and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, he first attracted notice as a member of Ornette Coleman's groundbreaking quartet in the late 1950s. Always a believer in music as a political force as well as a vehicle for beauty, he founded the Liberation Music Orchestra in 1969, and performed in various ensembles over the decades with a veritable who's who of jazz, including Hampton Hawes, Art Pepper, Dexter Gordon, Keith Jarrett, Don Cherry, Paul Motian, John Coltrane, Lee Konitz, Joe Henderson, Abbey Lincoln, Joe Lovano and Dizzy Gillespie, as well as forays into pop and rock projects. His Quartet West project, launched in 1986, recorded eight critically acclaimed albums. In 2008, Charlie and his family members revisited his country and bluegrass roots with Rambling Boy, featuring vintage radio clips of his earliest appearances singing with his older brothers and sister in the Haden Family country band - he made his professional debut at the ripe age of 22 months. What becomes his final recording, Last Dance, with longtime collaborator pianist Keith Jarrett, was only recently released. According to his label ECM, Ruth Cameron, his wife of 30 years, and his children Josh Haden, Tanya Haden, Rachel Haden and Petra Haden were all by his side when he passed away in Los Angeles.

Double Bass Bows

We have a choice of fine
Pernambuco Bows
and Composite Material Bows for you to choose from.

Double Bass Bows from Thomas Martin 

The “Claude Marchand” Double Bass Bow

Working closely with a leading bow maker, Thomas Martin has introduced the “Claude Marchand” bow. They are available in both French style (modelled on Vigneron and Sartory) and German model (inspired by the old H.R. Pfretchner). 

Only the finest pernambuco wood and silver mountings are used. Balance and playability are the first consideration. They are priced to suit any budget, and many are used by top professional players.

T&G Martin Carbon Fibre Bass Bows

The French model is well presented and silver mounted with the classic French style frog. With a fine arch and taper, the balance is fine and the playability is excellent rivalling the finest wooden sticks.

The German style bow shares the same fine characteristics of balance, workmanship, and playability as the French model. The superb arch and taper to the stick making it a great playing bow.

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This beautiful doublebass was made in about 1830 by Gaetano Guadagnini II, a real work of art from great violin making family. It is presently on offer from Thomas Martin, of Banbury in North Oxfordshire, UK.