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Archive for November 2010

Reader Spotlight: Rick Reese
Reader Spotlight

Reader Spotlight: Rick Reese

Meet Rick Reese, a bassist from Nashville, TN and our player in the spotlight for November 30, 2010. Bio: Born in Baltimore, MD in 1969, Rick has been playing bass for 27 years. His innovative style is a unique blend of jazz improvisation, funk punctuation with driving energy of rock and roll. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Rick...

An Interview with Percy Jones
Interviews

An Interview with Percy Jones

Percy Jones is one of the definitive figures who carved out a role for the fretless bass and helped establish its place on the contemporary music scene. Best known for his work with jazz-fusion band Brand X, Percy collaborated with likes of Phil Collins and Robin Lumley. Brand X’s early 70’s debut Unorthodox Behaviour established the band as one of...

Marcus Miller and Larry Graham: Release Yourself
Bass Videos

Marcus Miller and Larry Graham: Release Yourself

Bass history was made when Marcus Miller and Larry Graham performed together at Billboard Live Tokyo in September. Luckily for everyone who wasn’t there, a fan caught the duo performing “Release Yourself” on camera.

Esperanza Spalding to Host New PBS Show
Player News

Esperanza Spalding to Host New PBS Show

PBS has just announced bassist, vocalist and composer Esperanza Spalding has been asked to host a new program, “Find The Beat”. The show’s format will include Spalding joining a group, band or solo musician to explore the roots of their music, cultural connections and music history. “Find The Beat” is a joint venture of PBS and the Corporation for Public...

System of a Down Reunites for 2011 Tour Dates
Concerts & Tours

System of a Down Reunites for 2011 Tour Dates

System of a Down has announced new tour dates, which will be the group’s first performances since August 2006. The shows will be scattered through Europe in June with more dates in the works. An official statement from the band’s website explains “We have no master plan of sorts — we are playing these shows simply because we want to...

The Treatment: Gaining Familiarity With a New Tune (Part 2 of 2)
The Lowdown with Dr. D

The Treatment: Gaining Familiarity With a New Tune (Part 2 of 2)

My jazz students and I often work through a process we call “The Treatment.” It’s a tune-based approach and I view it as a preparation for high-level study of improvisation. Once you can navigate a tune using the Treatment, you can more easily work on musical and artistic elements of improvisation. I adjust the Treatment to suit a student’s individual...

Michael Manring: Adhan
Bass Videos

Michael Manring: Adhan

Here’s bassist Michael Manring performing a solo piece entitled “Adhan”. Manring often uses the EBow in his performances. For this tune, he uses two.

Weekly Top 10

Rewind: Teen Town Duo, Building Orchid, New Bass Gear and Awesome Bass Videos

Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of November 21-27, 2010. Video: Will Lee and Darryl Jones: Teen Town Custom Shop: The Making of Orchid (Part 1) Gear Watch: Luthman Introduces Jazzette Bass Ask Damian Erskine: My Sense of Groove Player Spotlight: Jeff Clark Player News: Bootsy Collins Brings Jimi Hendrix...

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones Announce Holiday Tour
Concerts & Tours

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones Announce Holiday Tour

Bela Fleck and the Fleckones are hitting the road for a special holiday tour of western USA and Canada, with Jeff Coffin and special guest Alash Ensemble. The “original Flecktones” have been hard at work on their next album, due out in late Spring 2011. The original Flecktones include Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten, Futureman and Howard Levy. Bela Fleck &...

Daniel Ziegler: All Bass Version of “Little Wing”
Bass Videos

Daniel Ziegler: All Bass Version of “Little Wing”

We love new arrangements of Jimi Hendrix tunes, especially when performed as solo bass pieces, and performed well. That’s just what bassist Daniel Ziegler did in this version of the Hendrix classic “Little Wing”.

Bob Cranshaw Honored as a “Giant of Jazz”
Player News

Bob Cranshaw Honored as a “Giant of Jazz”

Bob Cranshaw will be honored at the upcoming “Giants of Jazz” concert to be held in South Orange, New Jersey. The Giants of Jazz focuses on celebrating under appreciated players in jazz, and Cranshaw is surely in that category. In addition to working with legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins on and off for over 50 years, Cranshaw was the house bassist...

Zander Zon: “She Danced” Solo Bass
Bass Videos

Zander Zon: “She Danced” Solo Bass

Here’s the latest from Zander Zon, performing one of the tracks from his debut CD, Sonorous. This track, “She Danced” shows off Zander’s unique combination of his Zon bass and piccolo strings, effects and loops, and his compositional skills. Zander shares, “Harmonics take the melody at the start and the tune ends with several looped patterns. I haven’t performed this...