Player News - Page 34

Bassist George Porter Jr. from the Funky Meters has taken the time to share some of his insight on the origins of funk and what it was like at the beginning. Porter first played with Art Neville as a guitarist, “I was a rhythm player and Art was expecting a lead player. I took some solos and he looked at...

Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton has been forced to sit out for part of the bands current tour due to recovery from non-invasive surgery. Hamilton, 57 years old and a cancer survivor, has been a part of Aerosmith since their beginning in 1970. The tour “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Presents Aerosmith” kicked off June 10th and has been plagued with postponed dates...

Here at No Treble, we are dedicated to bringing you news about bassists you know and love and introducing those you may not know. If you have not already heard his music, it is worth your time to check out Living These Times by bassist Fernando Huergo. Huergo is an instructor at the Berklee College of Music and has been...

Singer and bassist Jack Bruce was made a Doctor of Letters by Glasgow Caledonian University. Bruce is 66 years old and a founding member of the band Cream with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker. Bruce was quoted saying: “I dropped out and became a professional musician when I was very young, I just wanted to get on with it really...

Bassist Chris Squire from Yes, the successful prog-rock group from the 1970’s gone classic rock/jazz/pop, recently talked about the band’s journey in an interview with azcentral.com over their four-decade career. Squire has been with Yes the entire time, but still did other work including the solo album “Fish Out of Water” released in 1975. When asked about Yes’s 40 years...

A recent piece by AllAboutJazz.com has highlighted the influential musical life of bassist Hugh Hopper. We covered his passing early in June from Leukemia. Hopper grew up in Canterbury area of England starting his music journey on guitar and alto saxophone. He joined Wilde Flowers with his friend and Robert Wyatt. the Wilde Flowers eventually evolved into both Soft Machine...

Legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson is to be inducted into the Fender Hall of Fame on August 7, 2009 held at the Tempe Center of the Arts in Tempe, Ariz. The Fender Hall of Fame was created in 2007 and has celebrated artists, innovators, leaders, and historically significant contributors to the Fender legacy annually as part of Fender’s missions to...

Ray Brown, one of the legendary jazz bassists of our time, has a personal remembrance piece from NPR Jazz. From his work with Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson and many other jazz greats, Brown has always stood out from the crowd with his melodic style and walking bass lines. As the article author remembers Brown’s performance: “For a 75-year-old veteran, let’s...

All About Jazz has posted a tribute piece, “Relentless Groove,” about jazz bassist Jymie Merritt, a musician with a 50+ year career and still actively composing. This tribute gives a brief but thorough account of his extraordinary and influential history. From the article: “Over the past fifty years there have been many stalwarts who’ve directed the course of jazz, but...

Released in March 2009, jazz bassist Iris Ornig’s New Ground is worth checking out. The album showcases Ornig’s melodic compositions with Yoshiro Okazaki (trumpet), Daisuke Abe (guitar), Danny Grissett (piano) and Tony Jefferson (drums). Preview the album: Amazon.com Widgets Be sure to visit Ornig’s home page.

Bassist Nate Mendel has returned to play with Sunny Day Real Estate, after playing with the Foo Fighters. The reunion will be followed by a tour scheduled for this fall. Sunny Day Real Estate has split and re-formed two times already (once in 1998, reuniting without Mendel, and then again in 2001). Mendel’s comments on the reunion: “I wasn’t around...

Lita Ford, the 80’s hard-rock queen and lead guitarist for The Runaways, has recruited P.J. Farley from Trixter/Ra as her new touring bassist. Since her return in 2008 from a 15 year break, Ford has been planning to release a new album, Wicked Wonderland, on her JLRG Entertainment label later this year, as well as playing a 75-date tour. Be...