Take Five With Shayna Dulberger

Meet Shayna Dulberger: Shayna Dulberger, born in 1983, was raised an hour north of Manhattan in Mahopac, NY. She started playing the upright bass when she was fourteen.

After graduating from The Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, NJ, she moved to Brooklyn where she created a weekly series dedicated to improvised music. She has also performed in the Vision Festival XII, Music Now!, C.O.M.A. and the Phantom Ear Music Series. Some of the musicians she has performed with include William Parker, Ras Moshe, Daniel Carter, and Joe Giardullo.

Shayna is very interested in playing a wide variety of original music and developing bands that have unique sounds and concepts different from each other. She is also very motivated to collaborate with artists of different media including visual artists, poets, and dancers. One of her goals is to explore the new spaces where the arts collaborate to create new experiences for artists and audiences.

Instrument(s): Upright Bass.

Teachers? Some of my most important teachers: Bina Garcia, Josh Christian, Conal Fowkes, Bob Sabin, Linda McKnight (Simandl, patience, strength) Todd Coolman, Michael Goetz, Mike Richmond (soloing melodically) Paul Harris (bow technique), Ralph Bowen (harmony), Deborah Weisz (composition and arranging) and Conrad Herwig (tunes, listening).

Influences? Paul Chambers was the first bassist I wanted to play like. When I first started playing jazz I listened mostly to him, then Reggie Workman, Doug Watkins, Percy Heath, Ray Brown, Sam Jones, Ron Carter, etc. When I heard Mingus I really connected with his aggression and intensity. I was fourteen. I related his music very much to being alienated from the norm.

When I learned more jazz history I started checking out Jimmy Blanton, Slam Stewart, Milt Hinton and others. When I got to college I focused on Wilbur Ware because of the Sonny Rollins Live at The Vanguard recording without a chord instrument. When I discovered William Parker, Peter Kowald, David Izenzon, Henry Grimes, Kent Kessler I was really inspired. At nineteen I was reintroduced to Charlie Haden and Dave Holland which I didn't care for too much in high school but I quickly came to my senses.

I also love Red Mitchell, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Scott Lafaro. Non-bass influences are Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Lenny Tristano, Lee Konitz, Warne Marsch, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Charlie Parker, Annette Peacock, Jimmy Lyons, Don Cherry, Frank Lowe, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Peter Brotzmann, Morton Feldman, John Cage, Gyorgi Ligetti, Anthony Braxton, Alban Berg, the list goes on.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I started playing upright bass in the high school orchestra after I had explored a bunch of other instruments. It was a very simple decision back then.

Your dream band: John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones.

Did you know... Did you know about the "Music Now! series at the Brecht Forum, "The Phantom Ear Music Series at the Union Pool, "C.O.M.A" at ABC No Rio.

Did you know about all the great music that is going on now in NYC!?

What is in the near future? In 2006 I recorded an album TheKillMeTrio with Darius Jones (alto sax) and Jason Nazary (drums). This album features my compositions and arrangements and it is the first record I produced as a bandleader. In 2007 I recorded with Ras Moshe's Quartet, Transcendence.

In 2007 I also recorded with The Chris Welcome Quartet (Tigerasylum Records) with Jonathan Moritz (tenor, soprano sax) Chris Welcome (guitar, compositions) and John McLellan (drums). This album has group improvisations with composed material and solos but focuses on the use of silence and counterpoint. This quartet sometimes evolves into a septet with Marcus Cummins (soprano, alto), Ryan Snow (trombone), and Juan Pablo Carletti (drums). I've also been playing with Ben Miller's Push and Pull Quartet, trio with Joe Giardullo and Todd Capp, duo with Bill Cole, and quartet with Daniel Carter.

Other projects that include electronics and distortion are The Young Equestrians (Mickey Hart, Rich Levinson, Chris Welcome) and Stoney Mountain (Chris Welcome, Ben Ross).

By Day: I teach private lessons on upright bass and I teach young people piano, guitar and drums. It's an amazing feeling to be able to teach a six year-old how to sing and play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the guitar.

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