Reader Spotlight: Seth Tackaberry
We love getting reader spotlight submissions from the younger generation of bassists. Seth Tackaberry is a young man who not only started at an early age, he also has a great outlook for music and learning. Enjoy his story…
Bio:
I am currently 16 years old and I like spend my time grooving / transcribing / composing / arranging / recording / producing / collaborating / improvising / making and studying music of all kinds. My family background is not musical, but I am lucky enough to have parents that support, encourage and enthuse with my pursuit of music. Currently I am studying bass (electric and upright) with a long-time teacher, jazz at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and different kinds of Afro-Brasilian/Afro-Cuban music.
My ambitions for the future are unclear – as there are so many different kinds of music I just love to play, and so many different musical personas to take on, but playing the bass is my speciality, and I intend to plough on into the whole wide world of professional music with a bass on my back.
Location:
London, England
Day gig:
In September I will begin studying at the Purcell School of Music for my A levels in Music, Music Technology, History and English Literature; also doing a first study in jazz bass and second study in classical bass.
Years experience:
5 years (give or take a couple of months)
Bands & Gigs:
After moving through many, many rock bands in the first few years of my musical story, I found my first tastes of *really* good music playing in a session band for under 18’s… Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, James Brown etc, and we regularly swapped instruments which was invaluable for widening my scope of the music. I now play regularly in my group studying jazz in the Royal Academy of Music and various satellite ensembles that have come about from the jazz course there. I gig as often as I can around my school studies.
Gear:
- MusicMan Stingray 4
- Ibanez Soundgear 6 string
- Squier Vintage Modified Fretless P bass
- Antoni 3/4 double bass
Why I play the bass:
My musical life began when I listened to The Beatles for the first time when I was 9 years old and it completely blew my mind – I couldn’t even imagine how to feel about that kind of music. It was Paul McCartney’s tone and lines that captured me the most, and learning to play bass seemed like the most natural thing to do from there. It still feels like the most natural thing to do! Upright bass has been a more recent endeavor in the past six months and it reminds me of how I felt in the first few months of learning the electric. I am completely obsessed with becoming a competent player on both instruments.
My bass superpower/claim to fame
I met TM Stevens when I was only 13 at a clinic. After the masterclass he was distracted in conversation and I picked up his bass and started playing an old Chili Peppers bass line – he jumped over and made me stand centre stage, and started singing a Funkadelic song. I can’t have looked too comfortable with his huge bass hanging at my knees but I loved it. A couple of hours later I won my Stingray in an Ernie Ball raffle. It was a very good day.
My influences
As a bass player: Jaco Pastorius, Michael League, John Patitucci, Pino Palladino, Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, James Jamerson, Hadrien Feraud, Cory Henry’s left hand, Laurence Cottle, Stuart Zender, Willie Weeks etc etc…
As a musician: Charlie Parker, J Dilla, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, J.S. Bach, Miles Davis, Richard Rogers, Donny Hathaway, Michael Jackson, George Gershwin etc etc…
More on the web:
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