Archive for November 2011 - Page 7

Tango master Pablo Aslan has released a new album with his quintet, Piazzolla in Brooklyn. For the project, Aslan took a failed 1959 album by Astor Piazzolla called Take Me Dancing and re-interpreted it to prove its musical worth. The result is influenced by Aslan’s “immersion in the Brooklyn scene.” “I was attracted by the idea of recreating this damned...

Some basses are a piece of history, and then some are made from pieces of history. As part of their Master Builder Collection, Polish company Mayones unveiled the Elegance 5 Paper, a limited edition 5-stringer covered with reprints of newspapers, some dating back 100 years. The clippings are from all over the world: Poland, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and...

In this installment of our new bass lesson series, we’re focusing on a slap-based, percussive bass technique widely known as “Double Thumbing” or the “Victor [Wooten] style”. This technique involves an approach to slap where you hit the string with your thumb and follow through, landing on the next string. So the first note – an open E – would...

Editor’s note: Bass play-along week continues! If you have one you’d like to submit (by you or someone else), send it to [email protected]. Bassist Adrian Bartol sends us his bass play-along of John Mayer’s live recording of “Who Did You Think I Was?”, which also includes Jimi Hendrix’s “Power of Soul” at the end. In the original, Pino Palladino really...

In a complete 180 from his recent big band album, Christian McBride has released an album of duets called Conversations with Christian. The project began as podcasts in 2009, where the bassist got together with his musical companions to interview them, as well as play through some songs. The podcast eventually led to the bassist’s popular Sirius-XM radio show, The...

The veteran rockers of Rush have released the live concert footage of their recent “Time Machine 2011” tour on both CD and DVD. Recorded on April 15, 2011 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the concert features performances of the power trio’s best selling 1981 release, Moving Pictures, which includes the still popular “YYZ”, the tune that features...

Q: Do you have any tips on how to memorize tunes? I have the hardest time remembering tunes! A: I’ve been there. But a few years ago, I discovered the key: repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition… For years, I’ve always been a chart reader on gigs. I never understood how people could memorize so much music. Then one day...

Editor’s note: Bass play-along week continues! If you have one you’d like to submit (by you or someone else), send it to [email protected]. Bassist Alex Myers submitted his bass play-along video of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Around the World”. He plays his Washburn Bantam bass through a BOSS GT-10b for the video. Alex says that without Flea and his “crazy...

Blending hip-hop, rock, go-go and even a little country, bassist/singer/multi-instrumentalist Meshell Ndegeocello makes her return with her ninth studio album, Winter. The album, as diverse as the bassist herself, is the first studio effort since the 2009 release, Devil’s Halo. Even with the diversity, Ndegeocello describes Weather as organic and “song-based,” with an emphasis on groove. Among her original tunes...

Meet Vuyani Wakaba, a bassist from South Africa now living and playing in Chicago. Vuyani is our player in the spotlight for November 8, 2011. Bio: South Africa’s Vuyani Wakaba is the bassist for the Chicago blues legend and Delmark Records artist Eddie C. Campbell. Vuyani is also the bassist and founder of the Chicago jazz fusion band Vuyani Wakaba...

Essential Sound Products has introduced two new Signature MusicCord-PRO power cords: the Victor Wooten and Gerald Veasley models. The new cords have colors chosen by the artists, with Wooten’s cord being purple with clear crisscross tracer and Veasley’s being red with black crisscross. Brochures with unique photographs, pictorial discographies, and biographic information are included in each package. Designed and assembled...

Our question of the week: What is your style? Rock? Metal? Funk? Jazz? … Give us the scoop! Answer below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.