News - Page 277

If you love not only the bass on Soundgarden’s classic album Superunknown, but also the numerous guitar tunings found there, you have bassist Ben Shepherd to thank for both. And if you want to revisit the early 1990s Soundgarden sound in the best way possible, you can now with the of the 1994 release. The set is available on four...

Chicago-based bassist Mike Zabrin is feeling Funktastic. That’s the name of his , featuring R&B and jazz sounds, and of course, a heavy dose of funk. Zabrin, who tours with the Joe Moss Band, has enlisted some funk heavy-hitters to guest on the record, too. Vocalist Kendra Foster from Parliament Funkadelic makes an appearance, as do members of The Big...

It’s really happening: King Crimson has just announced the initial tour dates with their latest incarnation – their eighth. The group’s lineup and plans for touring were announced back in September, with bassist Tony Levin returning to the fold. The rest of the band includes founder Robert Fripp, guitarist Jakko Jakszyk, saxophonist Mel Collins, and drummers Bill Reiflin, Pat Mastelotto...

If John Paul Jones is your go-to bassist, then you have some kind of reason to rejoice this year. All the Led Zepplin’s nine studio albums will be re-released in remastered, deluxe (and even super-deluxe boxed) editions, starting with Led Zeppelin I, II and III. Guitarist Jimmy Page oversaw the entire remastering process. Each deluxe edition not only includes the...

The Black Star Riders have announced that founding bassist Marco Mendoza will be leaving the fold after their current U.S. tour wraps up on June 22nd. Mendoza, who also plays in Thin Lizzy, cites other projects and schedule conflicts as the reason for his departure. The group has already named former RATT and Lynch Mob bassist Robbie Crane as its...

Bassist Meshell Ndegeocello has returned with her 11th studio album, . The album was “little labor but a lot of love,” Ndegeocello says of the album which is melodic, yet groove-driven and meditative. You can hear what she’s talking about in this clip of “Conviction” from the new record: Comet, Come to Me is available on , and as a...

Three jazz greats — Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte — prove that excellent music doesn’t always take long to make. The trio’s first record, , was recorded in about three hours in an upstate New York studio. Saft, who composed seven of the record’s 10 tracks, had high praise for bassist Swallow, who has played with Gary Burton,...

The 11th studio album from moe., , was supposed to have a completely different sound than the finished product. “Everything we started out to do turned into completely something else. An album that was supposed to be an acoustic based album recorded in a barn turned into a hard rock album recorded in Connecticut with a hip-hop producer. Go figure....

A new book features just about everything you need to play bass just like Paul McCartney on some of his most well-known songs. includes standard notation, the tab and a CD revealing how the bass should sound as well as the backing tracks to play along with. The melody and lyrics are also included for those who want to sing...

Sludge metal band Crowbar has released its 10th studio album, . It’s the New Orleans-based group’s first since 2011’s Sever the Wicked Hand and its first with bassist Jeff Golden, who replaced longtime bassist Pat Bruders after Bruders left to concentrate on work with Down. The album also comes during Crowbar’s 25th anniversary year. But although the guys are older,...

Don’t keep faking your way through songs. Learn how those great players created the sounds you love. Usually, it’s all about a technique — like Flea’s slapping, or Jaco Pastorius’ finger-style and harmonics. A new book aims to provide you with need-to-know techniques. is a 74-page book that’s accompanied by library of 86 audio tracks and examples available online when...

French bassist/composer Olivier Babaz has released his third album, . Paris-born and now Montreal-based, Babaz usually focuses on working with small, acoustic jazz ensembles, but this 11-song album straddles the line between jazz and acoustic rock. Babaz’s previous recordings include the Akoz Duo record La Lune de Kala and his own Midnight Cafeine. This latest album finds Babaz working with...