Archive for October 2010 - Page 8

The contemporary jazz band Yellowjackets have just signed to Mack Avenue Records, and will be making their label debut in 2011 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their first album. The release will be their 21st studio album, following 2008’s Lifecycle. The current band lineup includes founding member and bassist Jimmy Haslip, keyboardist Russell Ferrante, drummer Will Kennedy and saxophonist...

Fender has introduced a new Roger Waters Precision to their line of basses, named after the Pink Floyd bassist. The bass features a black-on-black color scheme (black body and black, single-ply pickguard), and is equipped with Seymour Duncan Basslines SPB-3 Quarter-Pound split-coil Precision Bass pickup, knurled black control knobs (master volume, master tone), brass nut, black bridge and strap buttons,...

Q: I’m curious as to your opinion of secondary instruments for bassists. From a well-rounded musician perspective, I can see the value of being a multi-instrumentalist. From a gigging perspective, I would think that a bassist might be more marketable if he or she had show-ready skills on keys, or guitar, or ???… A: I definitely agree that any musician...

Michael Benjamin says “Most Bassists attempt ‘Donna Lee’, but to this day I haven’t seen anybody pull out ‘Confirmation’ on the bass. I hope this inspires you bass players out there!” Time to practice.

Alfred Music’s No-Brainer series of instructional books has been expanded to cover the low end with the new No-Brainer: Play Bass edition. The bass method is designed for the beginner interested in becoming a working musician by starting with how to hold the bass up through music theory. It also includes lessons on licks in the styles of famous bassists...

Meet Paul Vienneau, a bassist from Nova Scotia, and our player in the spotlight for October 5th, 2010. Bio: I come from a musical family and started bass at 12 years old, after playing drums for four years. My older brother introduced me to jazz, fusion, funk, etc., while my friends and I listened to AC/DC, Rush, KISS, etc. I’m...

Empire, the latest from Scott Colley, is a very special record and must be a front runner for jazz record of the year. Colley has carefully assembled a great team of musicians to interpret his compositions. Empire builds a range of sustained moods and often intense and slow-building, burning grooves. There’s more than a hint of Americana of the kind...

Here’s a clip of Tony Franklin playing one of his original songs at Bass Bash in 2006, accompanied by guitarist Greg Koch and drummer John Calarco.

Black Label Society / Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo will replace Billy Sheehan for the upcoming benefit concert for the newly created Marky Ramone Drum Scholarship. Sheehan has had to pull out of the event due to commitments in Europe. “I’m a real big fan of the Ramones, and this was unexpected,” Sheehan said “Good luck on this amazing concert!” The...

A trailer for Lemmy: The Movie has been released as plans for the official movie release are still being worked out. The documentary, which follows the story and life of Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, was premiered earlier this year at the South by Southwest Festival, and has only had a handful of screenings since. The film is directed and produced...

Having good “time,” or sense of pulse, is an essential skill for all musicians and bassists in particular. So much of what we do is reliant upon having a solid, steady and accurate pulse. In fact, I find a highly developed sense of time to be as important as a highly developed sense of pitch, perhaps more so. Ideally, of...

Here’s Paul McCartney‘s bass track on “Hey Bulldog”, in all its glory. This track was taken from the “Yellow Submarine” DVD.