Mark Deutsch and his Bazantar

Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman

09/30/24

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132m

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Mark Deutsch is a brilliant and unique musician who has devoted the last 3 decades of his life to his instrument the Bazantar, which is unique to him. There is only one Bazantar, which is a double bass hybrid with elements of the sitar: it has 6 main strings, 4 drone strings, and 29 sympathetic strings. Mark grew up as a multi-instrumentalist, but primarily a classical, jazz and rock bass player, and gave up a successful career as a performer to devote himself to the Bazantar. While studying sitar with Ustad Imrat Khan, Mark begin delving into the universal fundamentals of music and its underlying frequency structures. The nonlinear mathematical patterns that exist in sound are found universally in the natural world, includeng seashells, and Mark goes into some of the math of the overtone series in some detail, as well as fascinating specifics of how the Bazantar and his playing of it have evolved. You’ll hear Mark talk about how he developed his patented engineering solution to construct a separate housing for the sympathetic strings. In this episode, Mark demonstrated live, and also is sharing not only excerpts from previously released recordings, but a preview from an upcoming album.

Mark Deutsch website https://bazantar.com/

Podcast website with Transcript and Video link: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/mark-deutsch-and-his-bazantar

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(03:16) Mark’s background, sitar, and inspiration for creating the Bazantar

(10:52) Bazantar music: excerpt from Lahja from the Picasso Tunings

(12:13) studying sitar with Imrat Khan

(14:10) Alain Danielou’s book Music and the Power of Sound, the math of frequencies and music

(18:14) building the Bazantar

(22:17) excerpt from Avodah from the album Fool

(23:32) Prehistoric Planet

(25:09) 8Dio samples, different tunings and playing techniques

(34:19) Bazantar demo

(39:37) Other episodes you’ll like and different ways to support this series!

(40:54) sympathetic strings with demo

(44:09) excerpt from The Crooked Road from The Picasso Tunings

(45:04) prototypes and the patented engineering solution to the Bazantar

(55:55) different bridge designs

(58:46) improvisation plucked Bazantar

(01:04:13) cross-country tour stories with the Bazantar, Mark’s musical interests

(01:08:38) different approaches to improvisation, learning to play what you’re hearing

(01:14:05) Mark’s approach to teaching and playing

(01:21:50) first album “Fool” with both sitar and Bazantar

(01:25:40) excerpt from Painted Bird on Fool

(01:26:58) fasting

(01:29:00) Picasso Tunings albums

(01:31:45) Antique Slippers, 8th movement from the Picasso Tunings

(01:35:25) decision to move to San Franciso, different tunings

(01:39:18) special effect with just the sympathetic strings with demo from unreleased recording Bardo

(01:42:29) Jaron Lanier, Quincy Jones disbelief

(01:44:13) more Bazantar demos, ideas about improvisation, background to Kundalini Rising

(01:51:54) excerpt from Kundalini Rising from Fool

(01:52:55) more demos and the math of the harmonics and frequencies, developing the Bazantar

(02:08:25) Mark’s approach to improvisation

Previous Episode

Stephen Burns

September 23, 2024

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107m

Trumpeter, composer and conductor Stephen Burns is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project in Chicago. He has been acclaimed on four continents for his virtuosity and interpretative depth in recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber music, and multi-media performances.In this interview you’ll hear him talk about some of his mentors including Arnold Jacobs, and Pierre Thibaud. Stephen Burns won several important competitions and awards which helped launch his solo career at a young age, the Maurice André Concours International de Paris, but touring internationally brings challenges which he discussed candidly with me. Stephen has worked closely with Madeline Bruser and is a certified teacher in the Art of Practicing.

We talked about mindfulness, the importance of a student-centered approach to teaching, the deep connection to your audience, programming innovative programs, and specific advice for not only brass players and musicians, but for all of us. See Timestamps below for the topics covered.

Like all my episodes, you can also watch this on my YouTube channel and I’ve also linked the transcript to my website:

https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/stephen-burns

Stephen Burns Fulcrum Point: https://www.fulcrumpoint.org/founder

Episode with Madeline Bruser: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/madeline-bruser

Telemann: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m5b5ZQtTEQjEfrDUAsQv6qjxLVALKEV0E

Hindemith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmHwJbYls5Y&list=OLAK5uy_nUp5ihSm80-NXa1Zk5nGGEqvsh7PvWQ6o&index=5

Original Merch for sale: https://www.leahroseman.com/beautiful-shirts-and-more

Can you buy this independent podcaster a coffee? ⁠https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman⁠

Complete Catalog of Episodes: ⁠https://www.leahroseman.com/about⁠

Newsletter sign-up: ⁠https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter⁠

Linktree for social media: ⁠https://linktr.ee/leahroseman⁠

photo: Josh R Zepka

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(03:13) Madeline Bruser, The Art of Practicing, Buddhist principles

(07:05) Fulcrum Point New Music Project, programming concerts

(16:02) Hindemith Sonata for Trumpet 2nd mvt Maessig bewegt with David Korevaar on piano

(18:45) middle school band teacher Dan Riley

(26:13) making the decision to pursue music as a career

(33:33) moving to New York

(35:03) Telemann Concerto in D Major, 1st mvt Adagio

(35:18) overcoming injury, Armando Ghitalla, Vince Penzerella

(41:44) realistic goals for musicians, finding what makes you happy

(44:51) the personal challenges of an international touring career

(48:48) moving to Indiana then Chicago

(53:33) teaching Mindfulness for Musicians

(55:48) other episodes of interest and ways to support this series

(56:37) Arnold Jacobs

(01:01:26) Telemann’s Trumpet concert in D Major; the last mvt Allegro

(01:01:24) the importance of body awareness, working with dancers Martha Clarke, Ruby Shang, overcoming injuries

(01:07:54) advice for brass players, Pierre Thibaud, Madeline Bruser

(01:15:44) Stephen’s teaching, online challenges

(01:18:40) stage fright, performa

Next Episode

Sara Caswell: Jazz violinist

October 5, 2024

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68m

I was honoured to have this opportunity to record this conversation with the phenomenal violinist Sara Caswell, who is a GRAMMY Nominee for the Best Improvised Jazz Solo. We focused on the recent 9 Horses album, Strum with mandolinist and composer Joseph Brent, and she also spoke to me about some of her other collaborators including esperanza spalding, Chuck Owen, Nadje Noordhuis, and mentors including David Baker, Mimi Zweig and Josef Gingold. She shared how she started playing the 10 stringed Hardanger d’amore, her rich early musical life in Bloomington, and how she is grounded and inspired from her family and friends.

You can read the transcript or watch the video, both linked here on my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/sara-caswell

https://9horses.bandcamp.com/album/strum

https://saracaswell.com/

Merchandise store: https://www.leahroseman.com/beautiful-shirts-and-more Buy me a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Thanks!

Newsletter sign-up: https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter

Catalog of Episodes: https://www.leahroseman.com/about

photo: Shervin Lainez

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(02:19) 9 Horses album Strum, Joe Brent

(07:12) clip from The House that Ate Myself, 9 horses album Strum

(08:30) 9 horses trio and different recording projects