Dee Dee Bridgewater Meets Berklee: Fine And Mellow
Berklee shared this video yesterday, and it is so smoooooth. Check out Dee Dee Bridgewater Billie Holiday’s “Fine and Mellow” with students studying in the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice - including Devon Gates on bass.
Steve Lawson: DownWithThe6ness
My friend Steve Lawson is doing some very cool things right now with video lessons he’s posting to Instagram. The series looks at the 6 string bass and what it has to offer, and this track is a demo showcasing some beautiful music.
Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists Virtual Bass Orchestra: Azure
Donovan Stokes shared this video on Facebook, and we’re glad he did. The Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists made the most of this time of social distancing by coming together virtually to record an all-bass arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Azure.”
Stuart Clayton: “Teen Town” Bass Line Tutorial
Stuart Clayton always provides amazing lessons and transcriptions. In this clip, he walks through the bass line on “Teen Town,” written by Jaco Pastorius and released on the Weather Report album, “Heavy Weather.”
Heavytones: Hockepocke
René Flächsenhaar shared this video recently on Facebook, and it was just what I needed. Heavytones hit the studio back in February and recorded this video for “Hockepocke.” So old school cool!
Viaceslav Svedov: Nasty Funk with “Old Smoothie”
Viaceslav Svedov is back! He said this he hasn’t posted a video since 2015, and we’ve missed him. In this new video, he broke out his Music Man StingRay 40th Anniversary “Old Smoothie” bass to perform what he calls “Nasty Funk.”
Vulfpeck: 3 on E
A few days ago, Vulfpeck shared the exciting news that they have a new album coming out. Here’s a preview of “Vulf Vault 001: Antwaun Stanley,” with the tune “3 on E.”
Bass Gear Roundup: The Top Gear Stories in March 2020
The bass gear news we shared last month generated a ton of views. Here are your top 10 favorite stories for March 2020.
Thundercat Breaks Down His Favorite Bass Lines
I love it when bassists share their inspiration – the players and lines that stick out to them over their lives. Pitchfork posted this incredible video with Thundercat, who breaks down some of his favorite lines and players (and more).
Ghost-Note with Cody Wright: Zildjian LIVE!
I’m really digging the Zildjian LIVE! series. Cody Wright shared this video on Facebook yesterday, which features him as a special guest along with Ghost-Note. To make things even cooler, Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas Jr. is also on bass.
Announcing the No Treble Community
As the world deals with the massive impact of COVID-19, we’ve been extremely worried about the impact it is having on the bass playing community. We came up with an idea we hope will help.
Prince: Whole Lotta Love
A few days ago, Jambase shared this video of Prince performing at The Aladdin in Las Vegas. In this clip, Prince and his band - which includes Rhonda Smith on bass (and backing vocals) - perform the Led Zeppelin hit “Whole Lotta Love.”