Posthumous Charlie Haden Duo Album with Brad Mehldau Now Available
Jazz great Charlie Haden passed away four years ago, but we’re fortunate enough to be able to continue enjoying his music. Besides his incredible catalog released during his life, there are new posthumous releases of previously unheard recordings. That’s the case for the new duo album of with pianist Brad Mehldau entitled Long Ago and Far Away. The album captured...
Sharay Reed Releases “Be There: A Book of Bass”
Bassist Sharay Reed has self-published a new book called Be There: A Book of Bass. Available in PDF and audiobook formats, the book contains insight into the Chicago-based musician’s style and thoughts on music. “It’s taken me 30 years to learn it and 3 years to write it, but it’s finished and it’s got Bass,” Reed shared on Instagram. “This...
Nicki Tedesco: Halloween Theme
It’s Halloween, so it’s only fitting that we present you with a creepy bass rendition of the theme from Halloween by Nicki Tedesco to set the mood. The bassist doubles on upright and electric basses, using a few effects to help summon the spirit of Michael Myers. Happy Halloween!
Christian McBride Stretches Out on His “New Jawn”
Christian McBride has been working with lots of different bands on his albums over the years with duos, his trio, a quartet, and even a big band. However, his newest release is a format unlike anything he’s done so far. His New Jawn (a slang term for “thing” from Philadelphia) features Josh Evans on trumpet, Marcus Strickland on saxophone, and...
KISS Unveils Initial Farewell World Tour Dates
KISS has just revealed the first 44 dates of their upcoming “End of the Road” farewell tour. The outing, which was revealed in September, is ultimately scheduled to run for three years. The first leg will cover North America starting in Vancouver, British Columbia on January 31st before heading down the West Coast to circle the entire U.S. with a...
Elrick Bass Guitars Unveil the Icon Bass
At this year’s Winter NAMM Show, luthier Rob Elrick showed us a new prototype he was working on that paid homage to a classic bass design. Now that instrument has come to fruition as the Elrick Icon Bass, which adds modern updates to an industry standard. “The Elrick Handcarved Icon Gold Series bass features bolt-on neck construction with a body...
The GRAMMY Museum Presents “An Evening With Leland Sklar”
Leland Sklar will be appearing at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles on November 8th for “An Evening with Leland Sklar.” The event will include an intimate chat with Sklar moderated by museum artistic director Scott Goldman followed by a performance. The legendary session bassist has contributed to over 2,600 albums with some of the world’s greatest artists: James Taylor,...
Glou-Glou FX Introduces the Pralines Pedal
France’s Glou-Glou FX has introduced a new filter/modulation/fuzz pedal called Pralines. Designed for guitar and bass, it has four independently controlled parallel filters that the company says offers a new approach to sound shaping. “Pralines can cover an extremely broad range of effects,” they write. “From classic modulation sounds like phaser, flanger, vibrato, or rotary-speaker to gated-fuzz, self-oscillation and bass-synth,...
Bass of the Week: Michael Bornhak Viennese Violone
This week we’re checking out a gorgeous new instrument with roots that date back hundreds of years. German luthier Michael Bornhak built this incredible Viennese-styled violone, which was an early form of the double bass, and took it out to the Black Forest to photograph it. Complete with beautiful inlays, the bass takes its cues from a baroque instrument. “It’s...
In Memoriam: George Hawkins, Jr.
Sad news to report today: George Hawkins, Jr. has passed away after battling cancer for the past year. The bassist and vocalist was a seasoned member of the music community and worked with artists ranging from Jimmy Reed to Roger Waters to Michael McDonald, who shared his grief on Facebook. “Today I’m wrestling with the sad news that one of...
Cannibal Corpse Heads Out On Fall Tour
Cannibal Corpse is heading out on a 29-date tour covering all of November and stretching into December. The massive trek will see the band start on the East Coast and circle into the Midwest before finishing up in their home state of Florida on December 6th. They’ll be joined by Hate Eternal and Harm’s Way, meaning you’ll be able to...
Cort Guitars Introduces the Vintage-Styled GB54P Bass
Cort’s GB Series has a new member: the GB54P bass. The bass pays tribute to the classic P-style bass with vintage features including an alder body, a 9.45” fingerboard radius, a 20-fret hard maple neck, and its pickup. “The GB54P’s vintage-style VTB-P pickup produces the timeless P-style bass sound that launched a musical revolution,” Cort states. “The resulting tone is...