By Stef Gijssels
I love solo bass albums, yet I often find myself struggling to put the music into words — a nearly impossible task in itself. So my aim here is simply to introduce interested readers and listeners to some recent releases, leaving it up to you to explore, discover, and choose from all this wonderful music. We'll start with a few well-known bassists before turning to some less familiar names, often bringing fresh and intriguing approaches to the instrument. Not everything here is jazz, nor is it all strictly solo bass, but I suspect that lovers of solo bass albums will enjoy the occasional detours along the way. There are some novelties to explores.
Mark Helias - Snapshot (Self-Released, 2024)
With close to 400 albums in which he participated, including with artists such as Don Cherry, Ray Anderson, Dewey Redman, Anthony Davis, Marty Ehrlich, Mark Dresser, Benoît Delbecq, Denis Gonzalez ... Mark Helias needs no further introduction.
This is his second solo album, after "Available Light" (2020).
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
John Edwards - Lisbon Solo (Robalo, 2025)
John Edwards has performed on no less than 532 albums, of which 143 as leader or co-leader. Despite this, "Lisbon Solo" is only his third solo album that I could verify, after "Volume" (2008), and "Just Another Day At Home..." (2020). As you can expect from one of the luminaries of the British free improvisation scene, the technical quality of the playing and the adventurous nature of exploring sound are exceptional and omnipresent.
The albums contains one single 36 minute track.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Bruno Chevillon - États des lieux (Blaser Music, 2026)
French bassist Bruno Chevillon was invited to perform in the Lutheran Protestant Church of "Bon Secours" in Paris in 2011. He played in the church for two days and "Very quickly, it revealed itself to me as a particularly responsive partner, the richness of all its acoustic possibilities inspiring what I call states, each time different and surprising. (...) Listening attentively to the space led us to move through it in search of different sensations of how sound circulates. By varying the distance between the double bass and the microphones, we were able to play with effects of perspective and resonance, without trying to
erase the sounds of the city outside, which remain audible between the pieces".
The bassist was then challenged by the sound technicians for two tracks: he received headphones with music on which he had to improvise, including singing from Bali.
The end result is impressive, a rigorous selection of the final 120 minutes of recording.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Martina Verhoeven - Solo Double Bass (New Wave Of Jazz, 2023)
She is less known as a bassist, which makes this an interesting and open-minded album. She started in a rock band in her earlier years on electric bass, and she switched later to double bass. Her playing is predominantly arco, with a style all of herself, with small sonic bits slowly creating a pointillistic landscape, more aligned with free improvisation than free jazz.
This album is unfortunately not available by itself, yet only as a VIP membership of the label.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Andrew Schiller - Rumble, Rubble, Ripple (Self-Released, 2025)
Andrew Schiller is a bassist, composer, and educator, living in Boston. He holds a DMA from New England Conservatory and is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, where serves in the Ear Training department.
This is one more outcome of the pandemic, like so many solo albums: "This project emerged from a period of necessary solitude," explains Schiller. "I wanted to challenge myself to expand the sonic possibilities of the double bass in its purest form, using only the physical instrument and exploring its full range of expression."
His bass playing is technically excellent and plucked. He plays his own compositions, but also some songs by Hoagy Carmichael, John Coltrane and Michel Legrand.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Nicolas Leirtrø - Cherry Blossom (Sonic Transmissions, 2025)
It contains the seven pieces that he improvised in full and in the order of performance in one single take on the track. As he says: "One day, one bass, one bow, one reel. Nothing spectacular, just pure feeling, focus and spontaneity in a legendary place (Electrical Audio in Chicago) recorded directly on tape and presented to you in the same order they were recorded."
Despite his somewhat downplaying of his own art, it's worth checking out.
David Bowden - Unsung Songs (Self-Released, 2026)
His music starts with composed material, and often more rooted in pop, folk and other more accessible genres, which makes this album a kind of contradiction. It is nice and welcoming, yet not the kind of album that will find a large audience in these genres, and it's maybe a little too unadventurous for jazz audiences.
Since 2019, New York-based Henry Fraser has focused heavily on solo music for the double bass, culminating in now four releases and establishing himself as a technical and creative force among his generation of bassists.
His music is adventurous, multi-layered and dark, switching between ethereal landscapes and brutal noise.
Fraser describes the philosophy behind the work as “I approach my solo music as a collaboration with the instrument itself—working with the bass’s resonance and materiality so that form can emerge through deep listening.”
Kyle Grimm - Forever Eve (Neuma Records, 2026)
Like so many young musicians, finding a personal musical voice is often a challenge. Grimm has it at moments on this album, which make it worthwhile to explore.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Mark Urness - Asuka Kakitani Kakitani - The Garden (Neuma Records, 2026)
Mark Urness - Asuka Kakitani Kakitani - The Garden (Neuma Records, 2026)
The music is excellent. A little gem in my eyes. The main theme is the growth of plants in a garden, a tiny micro environment that is ideal to expand and grow the intimacy of the music. Urness's sound is precise and controlled, ideal to illustrate the slow movement of nature in its most essential forms.
Without a doubt one of my favourites in this long overview.
Kuba Dworak - Roots (Brooklyn Records, 2026)
Born in 1991, Kuba Dworak is a Polish bass player coming from a musical and artistic family. He started with piano at age six, then discovered his love for the double bass at thirteen, initially focusing on classical music before transitioning to jazz. He completed his BA and MA degrees specializing in jazz double bass at the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. He travels when touring and spends his time between his native country and New York.
Born in 1991, Kuba Dworak is a Polish bass player coming from a musical and artistic family. He started with piano at age six, then discovered his love for the double bass at thirteen, initially focusing on classical music before transitioning to jazz. He completed his BA and MA degrees specializing in jazz double bass at the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. He travels when touring and spends his time between his native country and New York.
On "Roots", he shows his art and technique in twelve relatively short pieces, moving from intimate plucked pieces, such as the opening track "Angels—The Feeling of Death", a Polish traditional song, laying the foundation or roots for the rest of the album, to more dramatic arco compositions such as "Ober No 5". Two of the arco tracks - "Kujawiak No 7" and "Mazur No 6" - also have several overdubs, sounding like a chamber ensemble.
Amanda Irarrázabal - Imprimiendo (Relative Pitch, 2026)
Bruno Råberg - Circulus (Orbis Music Records, 2026)
He has been a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston since 1986.
Across fifteen relatively short tracks, Råberg showcases not only his technical mastery of the bass but also his remarkable ability to craft a distinctive narrative within each piece. His improvisations unfold naturally, never compromising the coherence or character of the music. His deeply resonant pizzicato tone and precise, expressive delivery are captivating throughout. The album exudes intimacy and warmth, making it the perfect companion for dark winter evenings spent beside a crackling fire. Råberg's rich, enveloping sound only adds to the sense of comfort and quiet contemplation.
Birgir Steinn Theodorsson – Live at Hannesarholt (Self-Released, 2026)
Birgir Steinn Theodorsson is an Icelandic bass player who initially started playing brass instruments (tuba, horn, and trumpet) before moving to the electric bass in rock and pop bands, and eventually settling on the double bass.He graduated from the Tónlistarskóli FÍH in the spring of 2015 and later pursued graduate studies in Berlin and New York. He teaches electric and double bass at the Garðabær Music School and Reykjanesbær Music School in Reykjavik.
Live at Hannesarholt features eight relatively short pieces, all delicately plucked, intimate, restrained, and measured. At times, I found myself wishing for a little more boldness and adventurousness, though that is, of course, a matter of personal taste. Still, for anyone seeking a warm, comforting album to accompany another wintry evening, this is an easy recommendation.
There is also a vinyl version of the music.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
His technique on his instrument is exceptional and all his own. I can recommend to look at this video on Youtube to get an idea of his playing. Not all tracks have this nervous repetitiveness, yet it's clear that this is stylistically not really jazz.
He says: "Experiences gathered in the last few years of more intense solo playing have converged into this album. The many solo performances have also allowed me to go deeper in my research of the six-string electric bass. New playing techniques, sounds and ways of improvising and composing for and with this instrument have found direct ways into my musical practice, and not only in a solo context"
He says: "Experiences gathered in the last few years of more intense solo playing have converged into this album. The many solo performances have also allowed me to go deeper in my research of the six-string electric bass. New playing techniques, sounds and ways of improvising and composing for and with this instrument have found direct ways into my musical practice, and not only in a solo context"
It's worth checking out for anyone interested in bass playing. The sound quality of ECM is excellent as can be expected.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Håkon Thelin – Heiwa (Peninsula Audio Records, 2026)
With Håkon Thelin we stay in the Nordics, but now in Norway. He is an exceptional musician, active in many bands and ensembles. He is a member of the ensembles POING, Oslo Sinfonietta and Cikada, and regularly visits Ensemble Modern and Musikfabrik. For many years, he was working with all the major Norwegian symphony orchestras, with longer stays as principal double bass in the Norwegian Opera and Ballet.
As a solo artist, he's been quite prolific, with three new solo albums this year already. It's hard to categorise his music stylistically. He himself speaks about zen music, folk music, modern classical music.
"Heiwa" is built around a programmatic algorithm: "Seven chords in random order, symbolizing spiritual awakening, the completion of a cycle, and the journey toward enlightenment. Four notes in each chord, based on the Four Noble Truths. Duration determined by the sacred numbers 4 and 108". And perfomed by tuning forks on strings.
Håkon Thelin – echoes and traces, together (Peninsula Audio Records, 2026)
"Echoes and Traces, Together" is of a different nature. Performed arco and with occastional overdubs, Thelin demonstrates again is phenomenal skills on the instrument. In the liner notes we read: "Thelin is explicitly reacquainting himself with the fundamentals of his compositional practice, which he has defined, essentially, as negotiating between poles: tension and release, dynamism and stasis, solitude and togetherness. His musical materials, many of which he repeats or remixes throughout these three pieces, seem relatively economical in scope to begin with, but dispense their bounty over time as the listener learns to perceive their direction and resonance".
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Håkon Thelin –Abyss (Peninsula Audio Records, 2025)
If we can believe him, there is more solo work to come: "This is the first release of what will hopefully become a series of releases documenting the works that are being composed for me".
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
The eleven pieces are relatively short, each clocking around two to three minutes.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Gonçalo Almeida - Goz - Bone Medo (Zona Watusa, 2026)
Of a totally different nature is this album by Portuguese bassist Gonçalo Almeida who no longer needs an introduction on this blog. In two sixteen-minute soundscapes, he creates heavily distorted double bass sounds into a drone-like noise, exploring "a dark and immersive landscape where time seems to dissolve".
Despite the closeness to a tonal center, the sound does evolve, gradually, slowly, patiently, while layers are added, and added and new sounds are introduced, "creating a dense, hypnotic sound world where physical resonance meets decaying memory".
Listeners will recognise some of his work with The Selva in his music: its darkness and slow relentless power.
Not for the faint of heart.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Borguefül - Vêtue (Carton, 2026)
Helen Svoboda – Headwater (Self-Released, 2026)
Borguefül - Vêtue (Carton, 2026)
We will end this series with two outliers: two young female musicians who play double bass and sing. They are not jazz musicians, but something else entirely, merging folk music (avant-folk?) with modern classical music, singer-songwriter, free improvisation and jazz.
The first one is by Mélanie Loisel, whose artist name for this project is "Borguefül". She studied classical double bass and Baroque music at the Tours Conservatoire. She has also devoted herself to the regular practice of improvised music. Her influences include The Dirty Three, The Ex, Electre Lane, Joëlle Léandre, traditional Albanian music, Noir Désir and Claude Tchamitchian.
Her language in French is the Haute-Loire dialect, with its strange syllables, dissonances and rhythm. The sound of the double bass, played mainly with a bow, unfolds here in all its richness: melodic and rhythmic fragments, changes in timbre, distortions of texture, deep vibrations.
It's great to hear young musicians carve out their own musical space, unbothered by commercial or crowd-pleasing interests, but just stubbornly developing their own voice and sound.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Please give this album a try too: you will wonder why we review it here since its has nothing to do with free improvisation or free jazz, yet it's worth listening to. With Finnish/Australian heritage, Svoboda lived and studied in the Netherlands and Germany, specialising in soloistic double bass composition.
Her singing is like open-ended, folk singing, with a fine level of innocence and gravity. Listen to "Child", with its crystal clear purity and simplicity to be followed by "Blur", a mad and intense arco bass intense for two basses, Jacques Emery playing the second instrument.
Like her voice, her bass playing possesses a natural beauty—precise and clear, delicate yet deeply expressive.
Her music defies genre, and that alone makes it compelling. She has a voice entirely her own and has carved out a sonic universe that belongs to no one else. In a world saturated with harsh noise and commercial beats, to create something so original, intimate, and deeply personal feels not only refreshing, but genuinely precious.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
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