Bassists - Page 129

Bassist Ben Williams was this year’s winner of the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Competition and has been making a splash in the music scene since. Williams took first prize in the competition with Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” performed with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. Judges included notable bassists Charlie Haden, Ron Carter and Dave Holland. Williams recently performed with his quartet, including...

British bassist and record producer Mark Smith, who has performed and recorded with The Waterboys, Roxy Music, Robbie Williams, George Michael, and many others was found dead at his home in the Battersea district of London on November 2, 2009. A band mate found his body, after Smith did not show up to a gig. Smith regularly played with the...

Ron McGovney, the former bassist for Metallica, is auctioning his bass on eBay. Bids will be open until November, 6th at 7:03pm Pacific Standard Time. The bass is a Fender Precision, purchased in 1985 and used in his post-Metallica band Phantasm. McGovney wrote, “This is an awesome bass and it does have a lot of history to it. I know...

Our good friend Joseph Patrick Moore has just signed an endorsement deal with Analysis-Plus Cables, and shares this demo video with us. (check out the cool t-shirt!)

Meet Derrick Lee Murdock, our player in the spotlight for November 3, 2009. Bio: Derrick Lee Murdock (aka DOCK) A Native of Philadelphia began playing the Bass at the age of seventeen. While most musicians consider this a late start, Derrick was able to overcome this by intensive practice and study of his favorite bassist. Among his early influences were...

In October we reported on Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture training to run the New York Marathon and simultaneously doing a fundraiser for New York Road Runners Foundation’s Team For Kids charity. The great news is that Fraiture met is $5,000 goal and completed the marathon in 4 hours 23 minutes and 35 seconds. He had trained for two and half...

Bassist Michael Janisch is a relative newcomer to the international jazz scene, but definitely worth checking out. The London Times described him as “always hip, melodic, and bouncey” while JazzWise said he’s “a muscular, fluent player with an irresistible pulse and virtuosic soloing technique.” Janisch is releasing his debut solo album Purpose Built on October 26th 2009. Purpose Built features...

Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus will be meeting fans at The Fast Life in Los Angeles, California, on Halloween to give away his one-of-a-kind Fender Mark Hoppus model jazz bass with custom artwork by Chase Tafoya. He says it’s been his favorite bass on Blink-182’s latest tour. The giveaway will be in the form of a bingo showdown for 100 lucky...

Meet Russ Sargeant, our player in the spotlight for October 27th, 2009. Bio: I’m a bass player living near Birmingham, England – playing a fusion of Jazz and Ambient music. I write and record in my home studio and I have recently taken an outing into the wonderful world of live-looping! Location: Dudley, West Midlands, United Kingdom Day gig: I...

On October 21st 2009 legendary free jazz bassist and composer Norris Jones, better known as Sirone, passed away at the age of 69 in Berlin, Germany. Sirone was part of Revolutionary Ensemble, a jazz group formed in 1971 which featured violinist Leroy Jenkins, drummer Jerome Cooper and Sirone on bass. The group was one of the most innovative at the...

Oteil Burbridge, the longest standing bassist for The Allman Brothers (who have been through a few in the past four decades), made a few lucky students’ day by jamming with them at their high school. Burbridge jammed on two tunes with high school band, a few of the students had the following descriptions for the Miami Herald. “It’s pretty crazy...

Meet bassist Dywane Thomas Jr., our player in the spotlight for October 20th, 2009. Bio: I started playing bass at 4 years old, playing a right-handed bass upside down (lefty). I grew up listening to down home blues and funk, playing along with songs on the radio and different albums was how I practiced. I taught myself how to play...