Reader Spotlight: Alvaro Martín Gómez Acevedo
Meet Alvaro Martín Gómez Acevedo, a bassist from Columbia who is a man who has some pretty extensive lists: favorite genres, gear (wow), bands and gigs. (Good ones, too). Alvaro is our player in the spotlight for the week of August 7, 2012. Be sure to say hi. Bio: I consider myself an eclectic musician who can list very diverse...
Jaco Pastorius Big Band: “Domingo”, Live with Damian Erskine
A couple of months ago we featured bassist (and No Treble contributor) Damian Erskine, performing “Invitation” live with the Jaco Pastorius Big Band in Japan. There’s so much that’s great about these performances, including the fact that Damian shared the stage with his uncle, and long-time Jaco collaborator, drummer Peter Erskine. Here’s a fan shot video of the group performing...
Columbia Releases Mingus Collection
Columbia is putting together some terrific “Collection” box sets for bassists and bass enthusiasts. Among those is Charles Mingus – the Complete Columbia & RCA Albums Collection, a 10-disc set spanning seven titles by the late bassist and composer. The set starts with Tijuana Moods, the lone RCA release in the collection, recorded in 1957 and released in 1962 as...
Old School: 1964 Höfner 185 “Artist Bass”
Zsolt Váradi sent us this wonderful story (and video) of his equally wonderful 1964 Höfner 185 “Artist Bass.” Höfner’s “Vintage” site has this to say about the Artist Bass: Introduced in late 1962 as the main two pickup bass for the UK market, it replaced the Hofner “Solid Bass” which was actually the European market Hofner 182 model. The Artist...
Weekly Top 10: Isolated Bass Week 2, Jamerson’s Amp Mystery Part 2, New Transcription Column and More of the Best in Bass
Our second isolated bass week generated a lot of views and comments. Like you, we had a ball watching and listening to all the bass greatness over the week. So it is no surprise that our weekly top 10 list is dominated by isolated bass tracks. Our brand new transcription column by Stuart Clayton debuted last week too – with...
Columbia Releases “Weather Report: The Complete Columbia Albums 1971-1975”
Columbia Records “Complete” box set series rolls on this summer with the introduction of another Weather Report-focused release. Weather Report: The Complete Columbia Albums 1971-1975 kicks off with the legendary group’s original line up, anchored by bassist Miroslav Vitous, and ends up the group’s second incarnation, with bassist Alphonso Johnson. The set packages together remastered versions of Weather Report’s first...
Won’t Get Fooled Again: John Entwistle’s Isolated Bass (Live, 1978)
Has there ever been anyone cooler than John Entwistle? I don’t think so, and here’s Exhibit A – the Ox’s isolated bass from “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, performed live in Shepperton, UK in 1978.
James Jamerson: “Bernadette” Isolated Bass
This wouldn’t be much of an “isolated bass week” without including the legend, James Jamerson. So here’s a (mostly) isolated bass track from the 1967 Four Tops hit, “Bernadette”. There’s some disagreement about whether this is the bass on the actually released single, or if it is an out-take from the Motown vault. Doesn’t matter to us… it is still...
Top 10: The Best of No Treble – Top Bass Gear, Lessons and Stories for July 2012
At the end of every month, we take a look at the most read articles on No Treble. So it only makes sense that we make a top 10 list from there. We lost one of the great bass legends of our time last month, with the passing of Bob Babbitt, who takes the #1 slot for most read in...
Reader Spotlight: Rafael Minerbo
Meet Rafael Minerbo, a bassist from Brazil who made us laugh pretty hard when reading his bio (you’ll see why). Rafael has been playing for about three years and says he wishes he was David Caraccio or Flea. To that, we say: “keep doing your thing, and then someone will one day say, ‘I wish I was Rafael Minerbo.'” Rafael...
Hot Tuna Cancels Remaining Tour Dates
Sad news to report… Hot Tuna has canceled the last three scheduled dates for their Steady As She Goes tour. A representative for the band sent us this note today: “Jack Casady‘s wife, longtime love Diana, is in the late stages of a rare form of cancer. She has fought an amazing fight for over ten years. It is with...
Primus Announces First-Ever Traveling 3-D Tour
Primus is kicking off a “first-ever traveling 3D enhanced live musical” tour in October, featuring two sets per evening the band promises will be “a one-of-a-kind psychedelic experience”. Every show will feature Quad Surround Sound too. The 22-date tour kicks off October 12 in Poughkeepsie, NY and ends on November 10 in Miami, Florida. Primus debuted the video for “Lee...