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Archive for June 2010 - Page 2

Christian Houmann: Béla
Bass Videos

Christian Houmann: Béla

The following video is from the diploma concert at The Academy of Music in Denmark of bassist Christian Houmann, who graduated this year. The quartet consists of Rasmus Toystrup on drums, Lasse Enøe on sax, Mikkel Leth-Nissen on piano and Houmann on bass. This piece is a tribute to Béla Fleck.

Will Lee and the Fab Faux to Perform John Lennon’s 70th Birthday Celebration Event
Events

Will Lee and the Fab Faux to Perform John Lennon’s 70th Birthday Celebration Event

Will Lee, bassist for the Late Show with David Letterman, and his band The Fab Faux have been confirmed for a special event celebrating John Lennon’s 70th birthday. The show, entitled “A Night in the Life- A John Lennon 70th Birthday Celebration,” will include two sets of the songwriter’s greatest music, ranging from The Beatles through his solo career. The...

Marcus Miller Band: Moonlight Sonata Live
Bass Videos

Marcus Miller Band: Moonlight Sonata Live

During a live performance at a 2004 jazz fest in Seoul, Marcus Miller and his band played their version of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Marcus explained that his 14-year-old son (at the time) was practicing the piece on his piano and that they “just needed to put a beat to it…”

Gear Watch: Orange Shows Off Terror Bass Amps at Summer NAMM
Bass Gear, Summer NAMM

Gear Watch: Orange Shows Off Terror Bass Amps at Summer NAMM

After recently naming Geddy Lee as an endorsing artist, Orange Amps was proudly showing off their newest bass goodies at Summer NAMM. Orange expanded their Tiny Terror line to the low end, with the Terror Bass 500 and 1000. A compact head weighing in at 5kg (11.02 lbs), the Terror bass is a hybrid amp with a Class D solid-state...

News

Mark Hoppus Announces New Blink-182 Album in the Works

Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has revealed that the band is working on a new album. From a post on his blog himynameismark.com: “…we’ll be in the studio recording the new blink-182 album. Until it is finished. I cannot be more clear on this: new Blink-182 music is on the way… All of us have ideas from before and after the...

Michael Manring’s Out of Print Solo Catalog to Be Re-released
Player News

Michael Manring’s Out of Print Solo Catalog to Be Re-released

Bassist Michael Manring has announced that Valley Entertainment is re-releasing his entire solo recordings catalog from his days on Windham Hill, High Street, Sony and BMG. After many years of being out of print, Unusual Weather, Toward The Center Of The Night, Drastic Measures, and Thonk will be once again available. No word yet on release dates. In other news,...

Bass Videos

Yorai Oron: Bass Solo on Caravan

Here’s Yorai Oron from Israel taking a bass solo over the changes to “Caravan”. The quartet features Lew Soloff on trumpet, Avi Adrian on piano, Rony Holan on Drums and Oron on bass.

In Memoriam

RIP Pete Quaife

Original Kinks bassist Pete Quaife passed away June 24th at the age of 66. The exact cause of death is uncertain, but he had been going through kidney dialysis treatments over the last 10 years. Quaife was a founding member of the Kinks, which hit the scene in 1962 and was a part of the British Invasion. It was during...

New Albums

Tony Levin’s Stick Men Releases “Soup”

Bassist/Stickist Tony Levin, along with Stickist Michael Bernier and King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto, have released their latest album, Soup. The album consists of material developed over two years of touring, including “the unusual rap/rock title piece (about supercolliders!), a three part epic, ‘Hands’ and four movements from Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite’, and much more.” Preview and download Soup: Amazon.com Widgets

Gear Review: TC Electronic BG500
Gear Reviews

Gear Review: TC Electronic BG500

“Small. Under-powered. Lackluster tone.” These words come to mind when one thinks of a bass combo amp. We’re pre-programmed to assume this as most combo amps are all those things because most combos are beginner amps. TC Electronics’ has set-out to destroy the old combo amp negative connotations with its new BG500. The BG 500 bass combo amp comes in...

Victor Wooten and Felix Pastorius In Studio
Bass Videos

Victor Wooten and Felix Pastorius In Studio

Here’s a great studio session clip of bassists Victor Wooten and Felix Pastorius, taken during the recording of Jeff Coffin’s 2008 release Mutopia. The guys are trading solos on “Al’s Greens”.

Gear Watch: The Vee Strap
Bass Gear, Summer NAMM

Gear Watch: The Vee Strap

The new Vee Strap is an innovative solution to the problem of finding the right way to hold a heavy or uncomfortable bass. It features a dual-shoulder strap design that evenly distributes weight and stabilizes your instrument. Essentially, it is two straps built into one, coming together in a “V” on your back and buttoning onto your bass like any...