Rewind: Unreleased Jaco Pastorius Performance, New Bass Gear, Lessons from Scott LaFaro and RIP Gerard Smith
Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of April 17 – 23, 2011.
1. Jaco Pastorius: Unreleased “Teen Town” Live Video 1978
Here’s some amazing and really rare footage of Weather Report performing Jaco Pastorius‘s “Teen Town”, filmed live in Reading, PA in 1978 by a member of the audience. While the video isn’t very good quality, the performance is top notch, with the quartet of Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Peter Erskine and Jaco.
2. Player Spotlight: Jeanette Jones
Meet Jeanette Jones, a busy person and busy bassist from Staten Island, NY, and our player in the spotlight for April 19, 2011. Bio: I am an overextended mother of four who fits playing with multiple bands into my life because of how important it is for me to be connected to music. I stopped…
Q: As someone who wants to practice for hours each day, what advice would you give to prevent injury? Do you have any warm up routines or other advice? A: You know, I’ve been lucky. I’ve never consciously warmed up when practicing, and I’ve never had any pain issues. However, I’ve noticed more recently that…
4. Warwick Announces WA Bass Amps and WCA Cabinets
Warwick has unveiled the WA bass amp series, a line based on their Hellborg series but at a lower price point. Available as rack mountable or in sleeves, the WA300 and WA600 amp heads pump out 300 and 600 watts respectively and feature 10-band EQs with additional Bass and Treble controls. A one-knob adjustable compressor…
5. Carvin Releases Brian Bromberg Signature Bass
After showing the prototype at NAMM, Carvin has released the Brian Bromberg Signature Bass series, available in 4 and 5-string versions. The new Bromberg B24 and B25 models feature neck through construction with alder bodies and maple necks. AAAA flamed maple tops come standard, though you can get a solid color finish. The fingerboard is…
TV On The Radio bassist Gerard Smith passed away yesterday, following his battle with lung cancer. He was 34. The news came via an announcement from the band. “We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer,” the band said in…
7. Phil Jones Pure Sound Releases D-600 Dual Channel Digital Bass Amp
Phil Jones Pure Sound has a new bass amp on the market, the D-600 Digital Amplifier. Taking after their D-200, the new model is rated at 600 watts while weighing in at merely 7 pounds. The dual channel setup give each path it’s own 5-band EQ and mute switch. Other features include an optical limiter…
Facebook friend Eran Fuld shared this video with us, saying “It doesn’t any groovier than that…(definitely bass oriented music), personally I’m sold on these guys…” Now we are too! Francis Hylton is the bassist laying down that nice groove. Thanks Eran. Have a video to share? Drop us a line.
9. Lessons Learned from Scott LaFaro: Playing the 1825 Abraham Prescott Bass
Recently, I had an experience that changed the way I think about instruments. Years ago, I used to get nervous sitting in on other people’s gigs for fear of not being able get “my sound” out of their bass. You know what I’m taking about, right? You grab someone else’s bass, play a few notes,…
10. Stanley Clarke: Live Bass Solo – Royale Boston (2011)
Here’s an excellent fan-shot video of Stanley Clarke taking a solo during a performance at Royale in Boston, MA on March 24, 2011. (Well, the audio is terrific… the video might cause dizziness at times.)
