Archive for 2013 - Page 47

When it comes to music, we all have our favorite bands, our favorite songs, favorite singers, bass players and maybe even some guitar solos. Some of us develop a preference for certain genres; they shape our music library, our concert expenditures and our playing repertoire. It’s easy to know that we like something, mainly because we find ourselves singing along...

What a treat this one is. The folks who run the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival have shared Marcus Miller’s entire performance from the 2013 Jazz Festival. The festival took place in March in Kemayoran, Jakarta, Indonesia. The band – which also includes Louis Cato on drums, Kris Bowers on keyboards, Alex Han on saxophone, Lee Hogans on trumpet and...

Steve Swallow has released Into the Woodwork, a new, multi-textured collection of twelve of the bassist’s original tunes. The album features a revised lineup of Swallow’s quintet with longtime collaborator Carla Bley on organ, Chris Cheek on saxophone, Steve Cardenas on guitar, and Jorge Rossy on drums. “This album is very much about what this cast of characters provoked in...

Scottish luthier Alan Cringean makes some fine instruments, and this AC Guitars Recurve Classic 6 is a beautiful example. Topped with a stunning Tasmanian Myrtle Burl, the 6-string bass as much a piece of art as it is a workhorse instrument. Equally stunning to the bass’s top is its back, which shows off the natural wood grain of its swamp...

Michael Manring’s “Come With Me, My Love”, which appeared on Soliloquy, is one of the great solo bass compositions and performances. So it was a thrill to hear bassist Jesús Rico Pérez perform his take – so much so, that I asked Michael to share his thoughts on the performance. Here’s what he said: “Many thanks to Jesús for his...

Seems hard to believe this group started out simply to perform a show at the 2011 Winter NAMM show. The Aristocrats, formed by bassist Bryan Beller, drummer Marco Minnemann and guitarist Guthrie Govan have come a long way since then. This week, the trio released Culture Clash, their second studio album and third overall. Based on the reaction of our...

Five Finger Death Punch’s Chris Kael will have a new signature series bass with Spector, which is set to be released this fall. The Spector Chris Kael CK-4 Signature Model Bass Guitar is part of the company’s Korean Professional Series and features neck-thru construction with a Rex body shape. Available in matte black or matte white, the CK-4 is built...

Q: I know you have covered bass chords before, but what I was wondering is about the actual chords, not the progression played as arpeggios. I try playing chords my guitar buddies have shown me, and they sound awful on bass but great on guitar. What chords played on bass sound good? A: Bass players are somewhat limited with their...

Last time we featured Omar Rojas, he wowed us with his performance of “Timba Funk” – relying heavily on both his bass and iPad. Omar just shared his newest creation, “BassStep”, offering up some dubstep groove with his bass and iPad setup.

By the 1950s, Oscar Pettiford had already made a name for himself as a force in the bebop movement and was working as a bandleader. But when the bass legend first arrived in Germany in 1958, he was lauded even more than he could believe. His signature style and use of bass as a solo instrument was extremely popular with...

Meet Rich Zbaraski, a bass player living in Leicester, UK who has quite a love for bass (read more below to see what I’m talking about). He has some pretty cool stories to tell as well. Rich is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of July 15, 2013. Bio: 18. Cheese fanatic. A fetish for bass that...

Here’s another quick lesson for you, this time focusing on a disco-style bass groove. As with any excercise, it is important to keep playing it without stopping until you find that groove. Follow along with the video and this transcription (PDF). The tempo on this one is 105 bpm. For the gear heads: I’m playing a 1966 Fender Precision bass...