Archive for March 2011 - Page 3

In the past four years or so, I’ve been asked to write or speak about Scott LaFaro many times. Each time I delve back into the experience, I find another side of the story to tell. That’s because my brain is constantly processing all of the information that I put into my head by transcribing all of LaFaro’s solos from...

Oteil Burbridge lays down one tasty groove behind Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi in this live performance of “Midnight in Harlem”, recorded at the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. This tune was written by Tedeschi Trucks Band vocalist Mike Matteson. Kevin sent this to me, and I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve watched...

For 40 years, Mark Clarke has been asked to make his own solo album by friends and fans. The veteran bassist, who performed with Colosseum, Uriah Heep, Natural Gas and others has finally listened. Moving To The Moon is 10 tracks of “new classic rock”, blended together by a bassist able to draw from decades of experience. Clarke was born...

Gerald Veasley has a new album out, one he calls a “re-imagination” of well-known tunes written by acclaimed jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus. Electric Mingus Project features songs ranging from “Haitian Fight Song” to “Boogie Stop Shuffle”, and performed using instruments such as the EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument) and EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument). Veasley says the album isn’t just...

Q: In your opinion, what is it that separates the “greats” from the rest of us mortals? A: In short, thousands of hours spent working hard at their craft. Great work really is 99% perspiration, and 1% inspiration. I see this constantly in my students and my peers. The one thing that every great musician I know or have read...

Zander Zon has posted his latest video, and his first arrangement of a Beatles tune. Awesome, as usual!

Author Mikko Nurmi’s The Music of Paul Chambers (Volume 1) is a new book offering a comprehensive look at the style of one of the great jazz bassists, Paul Chambers. Through the use of full transcriptions of Chambers’ work, Nurmi includes insights through analysis and theory, as well as related exercises. “It may be helpful just to see what someone...

Meet Becky Baldwin, a bassist from Bristol England and our player in the spotlight for March 22, 2011. Bio: I grew up in Trowbridge, Wiltshire and got my first bass guitar for my 13th birthday. It has been my biggest passion in life since that day! I moved to Bristol in 2009 to study bass performance at BIMM university, and...

The winner of the Ansir Music Custom Bass giveaway is Nick Badgio, a bassist from Salisbury, NC. Check out Nick on Facebook, or via his band, The Chobey Badgio Band. Congratulations Nick! Ansir Music is sponsoring an incredible custom bass giveaway (valued at $2,000) to help all you bassists kick off spring 2011. Ansir’s founder, Jody Michael, will consult with...

Bassist Ufo Walter sent this video in, featuring him playing the Jimi Hendrix classic “Machine Gun” using a looper and Pitch FX for the lead. Buckle up!

Former Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker has just released The Cover Sessions, a six track EP of songs he grew up listening to ranging from the Beatles’ “Come Together” to the Allman Brothers hit, “Ramblin’ Man.” In an interview with OC Weekly, Rocker explained how the project came about. “The story behind [the] EP is that over the past few...

Spector has expanded their Professional Series with the introduction of the Legend 4X Classic. All the features of the new X model are the same as the original Legend 4 Classic, with the exception of a new body shape. The X strays from the NS-Bass design that the company is known for and dives into a more classic rock style....