Archive for 2014 - Page 58

Q: I am a high school musician in a relativly serious band with my friends, and we are about to make the transition into college. Unfortunately, our fantastic lead guitarist is going away for college, so rather than find a new lead guitarist, our frontman asked me if I would be willing to play lead guitar, since he’s seen my...

Today we’re celebrating Paul McCartney’s birthday with this Beatles video. The bass line to “Don’t Let Me Down” has always been a favorite of mine for its big round tone and melodicism, and this video from their final live performance on the rooftop of the Apple building is palpable, to say the least. Happy birthday, Sir Paul!

Sax player and bandleader Joshua Redman’s latest 7-song set, , combines two live jazz club performances of two of this trios – distinguished by the presence of a different bass player in each. The performances captured at Jazz Standard in New York City feature bassist Matt Penman, while the music from Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. features Reuben Rogers. Both...

Meet Spencer E. Zubrow, a bassist who currently attends Berklee and got his musical start by stealing a guitar from his brother before coming to his senses and picking up the bass. Spencer is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of June 16, 2014. Be sure to check out his “Bernadette” play-along below! Bio: I grew up...

Here’s a fun lick you can use any time the music calls for a fat, dirty groove. This is in E?, built predominantly on a E? minor pentatonic fill (with a 9th added). To achieve this sound, you’ll need a couple of effects: an octaver and an overdrive. I’m using the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, the MXR Bass Overdrive and...

Today is bass legend Chuck Rainey’s birthday, and we’re celebrating with a jam of epic proportions. Here’s Rainey jamming the 1968 Archie Bell and the Drells song “Tighten Up,” from the 1993 “Coolin’ ’N Groovin’” performance in Japan. The session includes a who’s who of R&B session players, including drummer Bernard Purdie, guitarist David T. Walker, organist Sonny Phillips, saxophonist...

Pianist/composer Hiromi’s ninth album, , marks the return of her trio project, with contrabassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips. This is the third album for the trio, following the 2011 release Voice and the 2013 release, Move. For Hiromi, the album’s title has two meanings — one is related to the experience of living. The other is about playing...

Fender is adding a Jaguar model to their American Standard bass lineup, which will be the first U.S.-made Jaguar bass. Built in their Corona, California plant, the American Standard Jaguar Bass will be built with an alder body finished in 3-color Sunburst, Olympic White, Black, or Mystic Red. Each bass will be loaded with a P/J pickup configuration consisting of...

Be it on the bandstand, the concert stage, or the corner of a bad club, most musicians yearn for great musical communication in an ensemble. Great musical communication between players leads to great ensemble playing. If you have experienced it once, you will want it again. To have the shot at this, we need to: Play our part, with complete...

If you have young kids, you may have heard this song many more times than you’d like. But we think you’ll appreciate this arrangement by Simon Fitzpatrick, who takes the song and performs one of his trademark solo bass arrangements. If you dig this, Simon has released an album featuring 12 solo bass tunes.

CruzTOOLS has announced a new tool set for bassists and guitarists called the Stagehand Compact Tech Kit. Adding to their line instrument maintenance tools, the kit centers around a screwdriver-style bit holder and a 19-piece magnetic bit set that comes complete with hex wrenches, screwdrivers, and sockets in imperial and metric sizes. The company says the range of bits allows...

This week was a week for videos. Bass videos dominated the top 10 for the first time in a while, including a top 10 list within the top 10 list. But there were also a couple of how-to’s, some new gear and the Bass of the Week to throw into the mix. Here are the top 10 most popular stories...