Reader Spotlight: Ricardo Ferrari
Meet Ricardo Ferrari, a guitarist-turned-bassist who said was thanks to “the absence of one more lower octave on the standard guitar.”
Ricardo is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story…
Bio:
I began playing nylon guitar at 16. First, pop Brazilian music and then classical.
I graduated from Berklee in 1985. I took up bass guitar a year before.
In 1988, after playing in many bands, I formed with a friend, a pop Brazilian band (Banda Bel) which I later gave exclusivity. I performed all over Brazil, New York, and Tokyo, and made two albums.
In 1993 I started working with music production, a task I carried on until 2008. From this period I produced some few albums and composed many soundtracks for websites, short movies and theater.
In 2011 I began composing non-program music. From this period I wrote few pieces including two brass quintets and few solo pieces.
In 2016 I started the creation of “The Lone Bassist Project,” which comprises solo bass guitar compositions and arrangements.
Location:
Nova Friburgo/RJ/Brazil
Day gig:
Information technology
Years experience:
30
Bands & Gigs:
No.
Gear:
My bass is almost all handmade by a local luthier.
I have no amp for now.
Why I play the bass:
The absence of one more lower octave on the standard guitar.
My bass superpower/claim to fame:
I know Jaco’s ultra-mega secret: he swang within his sixteen-notes.
My influences:
I think my playing can remind one about Jamil Joanes (a great Brazilian bassist). I hear some of Chis Squire too. And others.
Some day I will catch them all.
I took two private classes with Kai Eckhardt that gave me the confidence to switch to bass guitar.
Probably Jaco is the player that I most listened and studied. Second, Marcus Miller.
More on the web:
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