Articles by Corey Brown - Page 550

I just returned from Blues Alley in Washington, DC, where I caught the first show of a tour featuring Stanley Clarke on upright (and an acoustic bass guitar on one song), Lenny White on drums, and Patrice Rushen on piano. If you live anywhere near Washington DC (Blues Alley), Annapolis MD (Rams Head), or NYC (Blue Note), try to get...

Brian Bromberg has released his latest CD, Downright Upright, featuring standards by Herbie Hancock and Joe Zawinul, and several of Bromberg’s own compositions. From brianbromberg.net: Already released in Japan, Downright Upright is a return to the acoustic upright bass Bromberg recently spent time with on 2006’s Wood II. But this record represents a unique progression from that lauded cd, which...

The Police are getting back together. An email sent by Sting.com today confirms the rumors of a 2007 reunion tour. The tour will begin May 28th in Vancouver and continue throughout North America. The announcement was made via live webcast from the Whisky in LA Monday, Feb. 12th. The webcast is available at ThePoliceTour.com.

Stu Hamm has formed a bass version of the highly successful G3 guitar tour, Bx3. The group features Billy Sheehan, Jeff Berlin, and Hamm on bass, with Jude Gold on guitar and John Mader on drums. Bx3 is currently touring in the U.S.

The videos are starting to show up for Winter NAMM. Here’s a fun jam from the King Bass booth.

Line 6, Inc. announced Bass Floor POD, the latest addition to the POD line of products. Bass Floor POD can be used as a front-end multi-effects/tone pedal for an amp, a direct to PA and recording solution, or with headphones. “For the bass player, having professional bass tone usually requires a lot of extremely heavy, and often very expensive gear,”...

And I was worried about moving to five…

Jaco Pastorius: The Early Years Recordings is out. Dubbed as “The Prequel To Jaco’s Solo Debut”, this new release is the music-only version of the 2002 Portrait of Jaco box set, featuring recently discovered early years recordings and compositions of the late, great bass player. The Early Years Recordings is available at CDbaby.

Legendary bassist Stanley Clarke has joined Heads Up International to pursue various audio and video opportunities. Clarke joins a roster including Mike Stern, the Jaco Pastorius Word of Mouth Big Band, Walter Beasley and the Yellowjackets. Cleveland-based Heads Up, which is a division of Telarc, plans to produce and release Clarke’s albums and videos over the next few years.

Jazz bassist Walter Booker died at his Manhattan, New York home on Friday. He was 72. The double bass legend performed with a number of jazz greats and mentored young musicians at his Boogie Woogie Studio in New York City. He began his music career after leaving the US Army and joined a quintet which caught the attention of jazz...

Acoustic guitarist Alex de Grassi, bassist Michael Manring and percussionist Chris Garcia (of Zappa alum group The Grandmothers fame) have released their debut album. With influences from India to Appalachia to Latin America and the Blues, this trio fuses new sounds together with their original compositions and unlikely arrangements. Track listing: This Side Up (Alex de Grassi) Homestyle (Michael Manring)...

Cliff Engel’s Institute of Bass has a lot in store this month, including an exclusive interview with Bass Central’s Beaver Felton, an advanced slap bass lesson by Ray Riendeau, some great new bass tips of the week, and the monthly contest giveaway.