Archive for 2010 - Page 10

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...

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...

In a recent interview with Artisan News Service, bassist Duff McKagan announced that Velvet Revolver is renewing their search for a new vocalist. The band, which also features ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, had to let singer Scott Weiland go in 2008 after “erratic onstage behavior and personal problems,” claiming he was not 100% committed to the group. The hunt...

Bootsy Collins brings the words of Jimi Hendrix to life in a new 90-minute film included in the West Coast Seattle Boy Box Set. The DVD, entitled Voodoo Child, is Hendrix’s life told using the legendary guitarist’s own words and includes rare footage, photos, and personal drawings. “Every word in the film had to be what Jimi had said… It...

We were in a Willie Weeks mood after featuring MarloweDK’s playalong with Weeks’ epic solo on Donny Hathaway’s “Voices Inside”. That brought us to this audience shot video of Weeks performing a solo during an Eric Clapton tour at Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, back in 2007. Steve Jordan is on drums. Willie Weeks y’all!

Edo Castro has just released his third solo album, entitled Sacred Graffiti. The CD showcases Castro’s innovative bass looping and use of the Ebow to create introspective and artful songs. For the album, Castro called upon his Expandable Trio, consisting of guitarist Erik Lindquist and drummer Alex Aspinall, as well as bass virtuosos Michael Manring, David Friesen and Percy Jones....

Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has announced that he will be answering fan questions online as part of a new column on his official website. Wyman, who laid down the low end for the Stones from 1962 to 1992, will post responses to fan queries as well as reply directly. To kick off the column, Wyman is having a...

I get a lot of emails asking about how to play certain grooves from some of my tunes. I have a new book coming out that deals with many of my techniques, and I explain them in the same way drummers explain drum rudiments. The book will include an mp3 CD with over 100 tracks of all of the exercises...

David Friesen bares his soul for this awesome solo bass piece that starts with a beautiful melody then morphs into a meditative groove jam with the help of a looper. The performance is from the 1995 Poznan Jazz Fair.

Bassist Steve Uccello has been working with Australian percussionist/composer Nat Grant throughout the past year, and the duo has just released an album entitled Melbourne, Monterey. The 8-track collection features an array of string and percussion instruments with a healthy dose of electronics and sound effects to create a cool ambient vibe. The album name comes from the places it...

Meet Jeff Clark, a bassist from Portland, Oregon and our player in the spotlight for November 23, 2010. Bio: I’m a lucky guy who wanted to learn music and did. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do anything. Keep it up and you’ll make it. Location: Portland, Oregon Day gig: I’m an administrator at Intel’s R&D facility. I’m also...

A few months ago, a dear friend gave me an incredible gift. He hired Rick Toone, a luthier, to build a custom bass for me. Since the age of 15, I’ve been a Fender guy. I have a couple of 70’s Precisions, a more recent Jazz, and even a low-cost Fender acoustic bass guitar. So the idea of designing my...