Archive for February 2010 - Page 6

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones always put on such a great live performance. I’ve always loved how Bela and Victor Wooten (and the rest of the band) play off each other. Here’s the band performing “Kaleidoscope” at the Heineken Jazzaldia in San Sebastian, Spain in 2006.

Ibanez has built upon their already successful Soundgear line of basses with the new SRT models, featuring neck-thru construction to give longer sustain, brighter sound, and easier access to those higher frets than the traditional bolt-on necks. EMG 40DC pickups allow players to reproduce nearly any sound, from clean highs to dirty lows. The SRT models also include 3D-contoured ergonomics,...

Here’s a classic Victor Bailey solo, from Joe Zawinul’s “Weather Update” band in 1986. P.S. Also loving Peter Erskine’s classic Apple Mac t-shirt.

Mark Egan has a new band and a new CD project, Truth Be Told. The band includes long-time Egan colleagues Bill Evans (sax), Mitch Forman (keys) and Roger Squitero (percussion), with Vinnie Colaiuta joining the group on drums. Egan, known for his fretless bass work, dating back to his time with the Pat Metheny Group (1977-1980), says the groove-oriented new...

Markbass has announced a huge new line of amplification products for 2010, along with great new accessories to boot. All of the goods will be manufactured in Italy and available around the world starting in this Spring. Amps Markbass has added to their MoMark modular bass amp system that they introduced last year. The MoMark series was created to let...

Bassist/composer Michael Janisch, a newcomer to the jazz scene, has just released his first album as a leader, Purpose Built. The 12-track release includes performances by Aaron Goldberg (piano), Jim Hart (vibraphone), Jason Palmer (trumpet), Paul Booth (Tenor Saxophone), Mike Moreno (guitar), Patrick Cornelius (alto saxophone), Phil Robson (guitar), Walter Smith III (tenor saxophone) and Johnathan Blake (drums). Since moving...

I’ve been listening to the Donny Hathaway Live album a lot lately, focusing a lot on the last track (“Voices Inside”) and the awesome solo by Willie Weeks. So, I was thrilled to see marlowedk breaking it down in a recent video playalong video: Off to practice!

A lot can be said about someone who has won an award that has only been given out twice, especially when the other winner was Jaco Pastorius. Nathan Watts, who has played in Stevie Wonder’s rhythm section for the last 36 years and has served as Stevie’s musical director for the last twelve, was awarded the International Bassist Award at...

The Manhattan School of Music and Let My Children Hear Music: The Charles Mingus Institute have come together again to announce the 2nd annual Charles Mingus Festival, to be held February 13 and 14 in NYC. Produced by Sue Mingus and Justin Dicioccio, the festival will include films, clinics, the hugely successful Charles Mingus High School Competition, and performances by...

Every musician should have an idea of the foundational concepts that allow us to create music. This lesson series will explore the basis for tonal structure in Western music. I’ll warn you right now, this lesson is not for the faint of heart, or math-phobic. The purpose of this is to add to the conceptual foundation from which we view...

Here’s some great footage of John McLaughlin and Jonas Hellborg (and his double-neck Wal), performing live at Fabric Club in Hamburg in 1987. Things get cooking around the 2 minute mark.

The rockers in Black Rebel Motorcycle Club posted a message on their web site seeking help in tracking down some stolen gear, including a 1968 Ampeg Scrolltop fretless bass and a 1964 Black Fender Precision. The gear, which belonged to bassist/singer Robert Levon Been’s father, was taken out of band’s personal storage locker. Also taken was a Fender 1954 Esquire...