Archive for 2010 - Page 86

Q: What’s going through your mind when you solo? A: Ideally, nothing! I play my best when I know the song well (don’t need to think about chords, etc.) and am playing with solid players who all serve the music. In that scenario, I am simply letting the music dictate what’s going to happen and if I have to solo,...

Some may remember Jeff Berlin doing this song as a bass/piano duet on his album “Pump it!”. In this video renowned French bass player Jean Bisello plays both parts on his bass (with a short introduction for those of you who speak French).

Motema Music just released Rufus Reid’s new album, Out Front. The album features Reid in a piano trio setting, with pianist Steve Allee and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca. “Out Front suggests several connotations,” Rufus explains. “In addition to being ‘out front’ as the leader, my playing in this setting is somewhat atypical in that this music stretches far beyond the...

Meet Bryan Boyhan, our bass player in the spotlight for March 9, 2010. Bio: I was born and raised in New Orleans, LA where I started first playing piano and taking theory lessons at about age 9. I listened to whatever records or CD’s we had around everything from the Beatles to Creedance. I have been living in Orlando since...

Jean-Michel Pilc has a masterful touch, and True Story is a charming record that is a great example of contemporary piano trio jazz. It’s music that is unafraid to be beautiful and, at the same time, unique and modern. Pilc joins the select group of pianists like Vijay Iyer, Bojan Z and Brad Meldhau who are making music very modern...

Les Claypool has added new U.S. dates to his current tour. Pre-sale tickets go on sale today. Here’s the latest: March 10 Zurich, CH, at Abart March 11 Milan, IT, at Alkatraz March 12 Bologna, IT, at Estragon March 13 Treviso, IT, at New Age March 15 Munich, DE, at 59:1 March 16 Vienna, AT, at Flex March 17 Berlin,...

Jo Sallins refers to himself as “The Most Famous Unknown Musician in the World”. I don’t know if that’s true (actually, I don’t even know how that works…) but I do feel like he’s someone more people should know about. Sallins is a self-taught bassist and pianist and he has several albums out – one of which is a free...

Bassline Publishing has recently released the Mark King Bass Book, which contains transcriptions of the Level 42 frontman’s bass lines, as well as live bass solos with detailed performance notes. The 139-page book, which was written by Stuart Clayton, also includes a biography, extensive bassography, and an exclusive interview. Included Transcriptions: Sandstorm Theme To Margaret Mr. Pink 88 43 Dune...

If you can plug it in or mic it up, you can loop it. That is the conclusion I’m fast coming to when experimenting with live looping technology. Although another very important rule of thumb is, “Keep it simple, stupid” :) I wanted to put a few short thoughts together on having a creative mindset when using the looper, using...

In part 1 of an ongoing video series, Ansir Music’s Jody Michaels explains the build process for their basses. This video shows off the early stages of the prize bass being built, for the contest here on No Treble (enter here, through March 31, 2010).

Rarely have I encountered anyone who can make a bass/drums duo work as convincingly as Doug Johns can. Doug has a very elaborate sense of groove and technique to match, and accompanied by drummer Chris Ceja he’s unstoppable. Behold Doug Johns and Chris Ceja playing “Funk Bomb”:

Here are the top 10 articles on No Treble last week. 1. Player News: RIP Tom “T-Bone” Wolk Sad news to report: long-time Hall and Oates bassist Tom “T-Bone” Wolk, died Saturday, February 27th, of an apparent heart attack. 2. Contest: Win an Ansir Bravura Custom Bass Ansir Music is sponsoring a bass giveaway this month on No Treble. One...