Bassists - Page 52

Bassist Rob Wasserman, who played alongside some of the world’s greatest musicians, has passed away from an undisclosed illness. He was 64 years old. Wasserman began as a violinist, switching to bass as a teenager. He studied bass at the San Francisco Conservatory as well as composition with John Adams. His early career included stints with Van Morrison, Oingo Boingo...

Meet Cole Millward, who started on bass out of necessity (a bass player quit, Cole was handed a bass and asked to learn fast). Today, Cole stays busy with a few bands – including playing upright in a bluegrass Pink Floyd tribute band. Cole is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: I started playing...

Brian Rading, who laid down the low end for Canada’s Five Man Electrical Band, has passed away after fighting throat cancer. He was 69 years old. Rading co-founded the band in 1963 in Ottawa. Originally called The Staccatos, the group changed their name after a handful of albums on Capitol Records of Canada. Rading was instrumental in choosing the name...

Meet Janette Kidd, a bassist from Scotland who has had an interesting career – in and out of music. One of my favorite parts of her story is how she turned a guitar into a bass (way before our how-to video), which set her on a path for life. Janette is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s...

When I had the pleasure of working on a Profiles in Tone interview with metal legend Alex Webster, he sent me a few examples of his favorite bass tones in metal. If I can trust anyone’s ear for metal bass, it’s Alex’s. One clip that particularly caught my ear was a video of a band doing a playthrough of their...

Nashville session bass ace Mike Chapman has passed away after battling an aggressive form of cancer. He was 63 years old. Chapman was an absolute staple of country music. Born in Alabama, he began his career playing in nightclubs “6 nights a week, 5 sets a night for the biggest part of a decade,” his biography states. He decided to...

Meet Eric Messihi, a bassist and Berklee grad who keeps busy playing and teaching music. Originally trained on piano, Eric heard Primus and that was that. Eric is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: Eric graduated from Berklee College of Music where he earned his BM in Bass studies and Professional Music. While at...

Meet Selina Finsel, a relative newcomer on bass who has already enjoyed a nice start to her musical career and on social media. Selina is No Treble’s reader spotlight this week. Here’s her story… Bio: Former A&R Rep and Booking Agent in Los Angeles and former Journalist/Editorial Administrator for the Santa Monica Observer, Selina started playing the bass seriously in...

Meet Kurt Skrivseth a multi-instrumentalist who plays bass and guitar in the band Pale People. Kurt has overcome some pretty amazing physical challenges with playing bass, as you’ll see in this story… Bio: I’m a 27 year old bassist from Montana. I’ve played in numerous local bands, big bands, jazz combos, cover bands, corporate gigs and musical theater productions. Shortly...

Sad news to report today: Ohio Players bassist Marshall “Rock” Jones has passed away after battling cancer and recently suffering a stroke. He was 75 years old. Jones was a founding member of the Ohio Players precursor band The Ohio Untouchables in 1959, though he left after getting in a fistfight 1964. Another shakeup led to Jones rejoining in 1970....

When Prince died on April 21st, the world lost another legend. The Purple One touched so many lives through his music that he was more than a musician; he was a cultural icon. Besides being a world-class bassist himself, Prince always kept top-notch low-enders by his side. Rhonda Smith, Mark Brown, André Cymone, Larry Graham, Ida Nielsen, Andrew Gouché and...

Veteran bassist and educator Todd Coolman has worked with a who’s who of the jazz world. His resumé includes work with Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Tommy Flanagan, Ahmad Jamal, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, and James Moody (with whom he won Grammy), among others. In working with these incredible bandleaders, he’s gathered what it takes...