Skip to main content

Karl Clews Archives

Karl Clews: Songbird
Bass Videos

Karl Clews: Songbird

Christine McVie’s “Songbird” is one of my all-time favorite songs. Karl Clews pays tribute to McVie, who passed away on November 30th, with this beautiful all-bass arrangement.

Karl Clews Releases “Nomad”
New Albums

Karl Clews Releases “Nomad”

Karl Clews has released a new album called “Nomad,” which concludes his first trilogy of bass solo and bass-forward albums. The bassist created the album into four thematic “suites” depicting a traveler’s journey.

Karl Clews and Richie Dittrich: D-Code
Bass Videos

Karl Clews and Richie Dittrich: D-Code

I missed this video back in 2020, but I was glad Karl Clews reshared it on Facebook recently. Karl teamed up with drummer Richie Dittrich for this epic cover of Alain Caron’s “D-Code.”

Karl Clews: Desafinado
Bass Videos

Karl Clews: Desafinado

Karl Clews has been busy, so we haven’t heard from him for a while. Now we know why: he’s been thinking about publishing a collection of jazz and Latin-jazz standards arranged for solo bass. Here’s his version of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Desafinado”.

Karl Clews: Detroit
Bass Videos

Karl Clews: Detroit

Karl Clews is back with another fantastic video, and on this one, he doubles up. Here’s his two-bass arrangement of Marcus Miller’s “Detroit”, from Miller’s 2012 album, “Renaissance”.

Karl Clews Returns With “Navigator”
New Albums

Karl Clews Returns With “Navigator”

Karl Clews has always had a fascination for the electric bass and its possibilities. Now he’s exploring the bass even further on a new record called “Navigator”, which features our beloved instrument creating nearly all the sounds on the album.

Karl Clews: Kayoss Endjinn
Bass Videos

Karl Clews: Kayoss Endjinn

Karl Clews reached out to us to share his latest. In this clip, Karl performs an original tune, with the goal of showing how slap bass can be used in a “more lyrical and melodic way”.

Karl Clews Releases “Dissident”
New Albums

Karl Clews Releases “Dissident”

Karl Clews has released “Dissident,” a new album of original music created almost entirely on his four-string bass. Clews has made several solo bass covers over the years, but his use of the style for his own music is a recent development.

Karl Clews: Juggernaut
Bass Videos

Karl Clews: Juggernaut

Karl Clews is known for his impressive bass cover videos. Now we get to check out one of his compositions. He shared this video with us of his tune, “Juggernaut,” arranged for three basses.

Karl Clews & Maciek Zaworonek: “Isn’t She Lovely” (Duet for Bass & Harmonica)
Bass Videos

Karl Clews & Maciek Zaworonek: “Isn’t She Lovely” (Duet for Bass & Harmonica)

Usually when we share a video by Karl Clews, it is one of his excellent all-bass covers. Karl is changing things up with this collaboration with Maciek Zaworonek on harmonica. The duo takes on Steve Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.”

Karl Clews: “Lopsy Lu” Headless Bass Shootout
Bass Videos

Karl Clews: “Lopsy Lu” Headless Bass Shootout

Karl Clews sent me this very cool video of him performing Stanley Clarke’s “Lopsy Lu”, but with a twist. Karl switches between all four of the headless, carbon-fiber neck basses in his collection, to compare and contrast the tones of these instruments.

Karl Clews: A Dream Of Endless Longing
Bass Videos

Karl Clews: A Dream Of Endless Longing

We’ve featured many videos by Karl Clews over the years, with some killer covers. This time around, he shared an original composition with us – and one that comes with some added news.