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Archive for February 2010 - Page 4

Player News

Stanley Clarke helps present basses for charity

Stanley Clarke was a special guest at the Grammy Museum during a ceremony that introduced five new upright basses, which will be auctioned for charity. The basses, which were designed by artists from the Walt Disney Animation Studio, feature a New Orleans theme, an Enchanted Princess, Dumbo’s Pink Elephants, a Cheshire Cat grin, and a Genie. They will be auctioned...

The Lowdown with Dr. D

The Lowdown with Dr. D.: Upright Slap Bass: Starter tips and etudes

This is part 2 of the Upright Slap Bass series by Dr. D. Check out Part 1 and Part 3. Here are a few etudes to help you improve your slapping. We will use a two octave G blues scale (6 note version) as our starting point. You can use any scale, arpeggio or lick you want, but this is...

Weekly Top 10

Rewind: last week’s top 10 features on No Treble

Last week we covered how to have effective practice sessions, even when you’re busy, posted some cool new (and from the archive) videos from Guy Pratt and Pino Palladino, shared some new gear news from Keith McMillen and Ibanez, new releases, player news and more. Here our the top 10: 1. Lesson: Efficient 20 Minute Practice In this lesson we’re...

Concerts & Tours

Michael Manring tour and clinic updates

Michael Manring has just announced his latest tour and clinic schedule. In other news, guitarist Tim Farrell’s latest CD includes a guest performance by Manring. Check out Codas. Tour and clinic dates: February 19-20, 2010, 9:00am – 8:30 pm daily Bass Workout California BASS, Bay Area Sound Studios 6pm Concerts open to the public. $10 at the door Faculty: Michael...

Bass Videos

Medeski Martin & Wood: Think

Here’s a great live performance of Medeski Martin & Wood, filmed at the Umbria Jazz Festival. The tune, “Think”, starts off with some nice bass and gets cooking from there. Medeski Martin & Wood is the trio formed by John Medeski on keys, Billy Martin on drums and Chris Wood on bass.

Bass Gear

Gear Watch: White Horse BP35

The instrument and gear makers at Gear4music.com have debuted a new bass amp in their White Horse line. The BP35 Bass Guitar Amp shares the same sound and controls as the larger White Horse amps, but in a more compact version featuring a 10” speaker. Bright and boost switches in conjunction with a 3 band EQ give you the ability...

Concerts & Tours

Rudder announces European tour

Rudder, featuring Tim Lefebvre on bass, Chris Cheek on saxes, Henry Hey on keys and Keith Carlock on drums, is hitting the road in March for a tour across Europe. The tour is in support of their latest release, Matorning (read our review). Dates: Mar 1: Porgy & Bess in Vienna Mar 3: Charlie Wrights in London Mar 4 &...

Bass Videos

Christian McBride: A Day in the Life

Here’s a cool behind-the-scenes video of bassist Christian McBride, taking viewers on a quick tour of his home, rehearsals and reminiscing about his tours and other musicians.

Player News

Railroad Earth recruits Andrew Altman

Early last month, we reported on bassist Johnny Grubb’s departure from the popular jam band Railroad Earth. The band has recently filled the vacant bass position with Andrew Altman, formerly of the Codetalkers. RRE posted a message on their site saying, “He initially made an impression on the band when The Codetalkers opened for Railroad Earth in North Carolina a...

Efficient 20 Minute Practice
Bass Lessons

Efficient 20 Minute Practice

How often do you hear people claim that it’s not how much your practice but how efficiently you practice? There are always claims that practicing 15-30 minutes every day versus a 3 hour session every Saturday will have a more positive impact on your playing ability – but how do you make the most of those 15-30 minutes? In this...

Bobby & the Midnites: Bahama Mama, featuring Alphonso Johnson
Bass Videos

Bobby & the Midnites: Bahama Mama, featuring Alphonso Johnson

Bobby & the Midnites was a side project for Grateful Dead guitarist/singer Bob Weir, with one album release in 1981. Here’s the band in a live performance of “Bahama Mama”, featuring Alphonso Johnson on bass, with Bobby Cochran on guitar, Billy Cobham on drums and Dave Garland on keys and sax.

New Albums

Flea joins Nathaniel Ayers on new recording

Nathaniel Ayers, the musician who inspired the movie “The Soloist”, has recorded his first album. Ayers plays cello, piano, bass and trumpet on the release and is also joined by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea, and two Los Angeles Philharmonic musicians, keyboardist Joanne Pearce Martin and violinist Robert Gupta. The CD, Putting on Ayers, will be available in several...