Brian Bromberg Releases “Compared To That”
Backed by a ten-piece horn section and full orchestra string section, bassist Brian Bromberg has released his 20th solo effort, Compared To That. The new album is rooted in straight-ahead acoustic jazz, but in classic Bromberg style, there are many twists and turns along the way. “One thing I feel that makes Compared To That a unique project is that...
Weekly Top 10: Jaco Documentary, Getting the Right Tone, Plus the Top Bass Gear and Videos
Another week, another top 10 list of pure bass awesomeness. Here’s the most read stories and most viewed videos on No Treble for the week of May 27 – June 2, 2012. Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing! 1. Robert Trujillo Financing Jaco Pastorius Documentary Film We’d heard rumors about this, and now a report has come out via USA...
Eve Guitars Introduces Elite Line Fretted 4 Bass
Eve Guitars, run by luthier Douglass Mullen, has introduced a new line of custom basses following a successful debut at the London Guitar Show in March of this year. The basses are constructed with hand-selected, sustainable materials from the east coast of Scotland. The company’s focus in instrument making is as much on ergonomics, weight and balance as it is...
Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stanley Clarke & Omar Hakim: Cantelope Island, Live (1991)
Live Under the Sky 1991 featured a great line-up of Herbie Hancock with Wayne Shorter, Stanley Clarke and Omar Hakim. Here’s the quartet playing Herbie’s “Cantelope Island” and ripping it up. Stanley plays a solo after the half-way mark, and really locks in with Omar. Stanley even quotes MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”. Ha. Awesomeness.
Peter Gabriel Announces “Back to Front” Tour with Tony Levin and ’80s Line Up
Peter Gabriel is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his landmark album, So, with a tour that will feature music from the album. So reached multi-platinum status (five times over), with hits including “Sledgehammer,” “Big Time,” “Red Rain,” “Don’t Give Up” (duet with Kate Bush) and “In Your Eyes.” Gabriel is enlisting many members of the original band he toured with...
How To: Play Victor Wooten’s “U Can’t Hold No Groove”
Here’s something to keep you busy this weekend. Bassist Jan Stankiewicz breaks down the Victor Wooten classic “U Can’t Hold No Groove”, in a really easy to follow format. The tune comes from Vic’s 2004 album, A Show of Hands, which was re-released last year. Jan shares “I would like to emphasize that this is how I play the song,...
Top 10: The Best of No Treble – Top Bass Gear, Lessons and Stories (May 2012)
May was another great month for gear news (and some sweet basses of the week picks by Kevin), and No Treble readers ate it all up. We also shared the sad news of the passing of Duck Dunn, and some good news with a Jaco documentary planned and backed by Robert Trujillo. Plus, some of the best lessons and how-to’s...
Stanley Clarke Announces Tours with George Duke and Stewart Copeland
Bassist Stanley Clarke is gearing up for two tours this summer – one with George Duke in the US, Japan and a Carribean cruise, and another with Stewart Copeland with dates across Europe. Clarke Duke 4 “Bring It!” Tour The Clarke Duke 4 “Bring It!” Tour pairs the duo for the first time in six years for the long-time collaborators...
12-Bar Blues: The Complete Guide for Bass
Hal Leonard’s Inside the Blues series released earlier this year has an edition focused solely on bass, penned by Dave Rubin. 12-Bar Blues: The Complete Guide for Bass is a book/CD combo offering up a well-rounded approach to learning – or improving – playing various forms of the blues. Rubin starts off with the basics, including tuning and breaking down...
Hot Tuna Releases “Jorma’s 70th Birthday Celebration” DVD
In early December, 2010, Hot Tuna took the stage at New York City’s Beacon Theater to celebrate the 70th birthday of guitarist and Hot Tuna co-founder Jorma Kaukonen. The two night event featured an all-star cast, anchored of course by the other co-founder of the group, bassist Jack Casady. The band was in their “electric” format, with mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff...
Marcus Miller: Run for Cover, Live (2007)
Recorded live at the Java Jazz Festival in 2007, here’s Marcus Miller and his band performing a groovy take on “Run for Cover”. Love the bass tone on this one. Love the solo. Love the bass face. This is not the first time we’ve shared a video of Marcus playing this tune… the other time featured a performance with the...
Michael Manring and Kevin Kastning Release “In Winter”
Take two musicians who love to push the boundaries of their respective instruments, put them together, and they still probably won’t sound like the pairing of bassist Michael Manring and guitarist Kevin Kastning. The duo have just released In Winter, a twenty track album offering what Manring describes as “avant garde, improvised music with a mysterious, atmospheric quality.” The album...