Archive for February 2018 - Page 2

After honing his craft with some of the top jazz musicians in the world, bassist Corcoran Holt has released his debut solo album called The Mecca. Holt, who is a regular with sax legend Kenny Garrett’s band, dishes out a mix of original songs and standards with unshakeable bass lines. Besides a solid foundation, Holt offers thoughtful solos throughout the...

G&L Guitars have introduced the CLF Research L-2000 Bass, an instrument that harkens back to the Leo Fender’s original innovations with his CLF Research company in the late 1970s. Fender’s creations with CLF went on to be the foundation of G&L’s instruments, including the Magnetic Field Design pickup and saddle lock bridge. “The new CLF Research L-2000 is a fully...

I’m super excited about the upcoming release of Roosevelt Collier’s new album, Exit 16, which drops on March 9th. Collier has released a new video for one of the tracks on the album, which features Michael League on bass.

As a former member of both Oscar Peterson’s and Ray Brown’s bands, jazz drummer Jeff Hamilton knows how to make the piano trio format work. That’s evident in his latest release, Live From San Pedro. The album features pianist Tamir Hendelman and bassist Christoph Luty, who Hamilton writes “is known for his big, natural sound, melodic bass lines and solos,...

A year after launching the head and preamp pedal, Ashdown has expanded their OriginAL range with two kick-back bass combo amps: the OriginAL C112-300 and the OriginAL C210-300. Both units are rated at 300 watts with the main difference being different woofer combinations. “Each OriginAL combo is loaded with Ashdown Whiteline speakers, proven to deliver Ashdown’s signature bass tone, with...

There are a handful of legendary West Coast session cats that most of us are familiar with… Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, Leland Sklar, Abraham Laboriel Sr., Nathan East, and Chuck Rainey, just to name a few. Dig a little deeper and you may come across the work of Neil Stubenhaus and the hundreds of records that he’s played on. One...

Sometimes you just need some raw, unfiltered energy, and you can always get it from a little Fishbone. Here’s a blazing clip of the band playing “Kung Fu Grip” on KEXP in late 2016. Bassist Norwood Fisher tears through the song with his signature slap style and some insane double-thumbing.

Ever since we first featured the band back in October, we’ve been psyched about Sons of Apollo. The supergroup is made up of Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Jeff Scott Soto, and the amazing bass work of Billy Sheehan. They released their debut, Psychotic Symphony, last year and now they’ve announced an international tour. The outing will start...

Dusky Electronics has expanded their lineup with the Mandorla, a boost pedal inspired by vintage boost pedals from the ’60s. The pedal is designed to work well on guitar, bass, and keyboard while offering control over the bass frequencies with a “meat” knob. “The concept for the Mandorla is to play to the inherent, delicious nonlinearity of the MOSFET transistor...

A proper setup on your bass can make a world of difference in the way it responds to your playing. That’s why it’s so important to have gurus like Jason Brown around to figure out exactly what every bass needs. Brown is not only a luthier that specializes in the double bass, he’s a seasoned player that has three decades...

Stuart Clayton is having a busy year. Each week, he’s posting a “Bass Lick of the Week.” In this seventh episode, Stuart turns his attention to slap bass. “This week’s exercise is a slap bass groove that will allow you to focus on fretting hand slaps and popping double stops. It was performed on a GB Guitars Rumour 4-string,” Stuart...

Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand has returned with their fifth studio album, Always Ascending. The album, anchored by bassist Bob Hardy, is the first to feature their newest member Julian Corrie, who took the place of Nick McCarthy. Always Ascending offers a fresh feel thanks in part to the lineup change as well as the band taking their time...