About the Teacher

Hi! My name is George Urbaszek. I'm the Bass Teacher. I have a B.Mus. in Double Bass Performance from the Wiesbaden Conservatory, Germany and a Grad.Dip. in Jazz from the Australian National University. My main instruments are the 4, 5, and 6-string Bass Guitar as well as (you guessed it) the Double Bass. I have been involved in wide-ranging styles of music, including chamber music, orchestral work, avant-garde, cabaret, blues, pop, rock, country, and most jazz styles. I have participated in numerous studio, radio, TV and video recordings and have backed many leading performers in various genres. I have done pre-production, co-arranging, co-writing and bass playing on several albums.

My teaching credentials include thirteen years in the Jazz Dept. of the Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, as Lecturer in Bass and Ensemble Performance. I also have workshop and clinic experience and have been lecturing Bass, Jazz Improvisation, Ensemble Performance and Jazz Theory at the Riverina Summer School for Strings since 1990. I have been teaching bass for twenty-six years and have been teaching by audio correspondence for seven years.

I have written and published a book titled "Bass Guitar for the Complete Musician". For my Graduate Diploma I wrote a treatise, which received a High Distinction, titled "Fundamental Concepts for Walking Bass - A Systematic Method". I write a regular column for Australian Musician Magazine titled "Bass Improvisation" as well as a column titled " Creating Bass" for the online magazine Global Bass.

I have the experience of well over 3000 Performances to guide myself and my students through most musical situations and I continue to maintain an active performing career. I have had lessons from bass guitar wiz Kai Eckhard and jazz guru Charlie Banacos.

I have just recorded two CDs. One with a violin, piano accordion, double bass trio formerly known as Wilf Jones and Friends, now known as WAG and the other with a 9-piece band (funk, soul, blues, swing, reggae - you name it) called Sweet Mischief.

Excerpt from CD review, Sweet Mischief, Australain Musician Magazine: "Untouchable presents Urbaszek with an opportunity to infiltrate the airwaves with his extremely slick envelope filtered bass grooves."

The core of my teaching philosophy is to impart knowledge to anyone who has the desire to learn, but to make students aware that they must transform this knowledge through further investigation to enable creation of their own musical voice.

LET'S GET THAT GROOVE!