Sting Announces “Back to Bass” Tour
In celebration of a 25 year solo career, former Police frontman and bassist Sting has announced the “Back to Bass” tour, where he will will take a “stripped down” 5-piece band across North America. The shows will highlight many songs that haven’t been played in years, ranging from 1985’s The Dream of Blue Turtles to last year’s Live in Berlin,...
Carol Kaye, Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey Jam at NAMM
Old school meets new school in this clip from Winter NAMM 2000, where session legend Carol Kaye jams with bass virtuosos Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey on a blues. They may have different backgrounds, but one thing they all share is a groove that just won’t quit.
Overwater Basses Revamps String Lines
Overwater has refreshed their line of strings with new Regular and Extra Long sets. Made in the UK, the strings are available as nickel or stainless steel. According to the company, the Regular length best suits all 34″ and 35″ scale instruments, while the Extra Long is designed for 36″ scale basses as well as those with “through body” stringing....
In Memoriam: Graham Collier
British jazz bassist and composer Graham Collier has passed away at the age of 74. After three years as a musician in the British Army, he won a Down Beat magazine scholarship to Berklee School of Music, where he became it’s first British graduate in 1963. Collier’s lifelong career included 19 albums of his original works, his last being 2009’s...
Skjold Design to Revive JP Basses This Fall
Skjold Design Guitars will be reintroducing JP Basses, beginning this fall. Luthier Pete Skjold worked closely with JP proprietor Jean-Philippe Ferreira to keep the basses in the same spirit of their predecessors. As the new moniker suggests, JP Basses USA instruments will be handmade in the USA. Familiar features on the basses will include custom preamps by John East, custom...
Squier Releases Vintage Modified Jazz Bass V
A five-string version of Squier’s Vintage Modified Jazz Bass is now available. Similar to the four-string model, the Vintage Modified Jazz Bass V is styled after Fender’s mid-70’s Jazz basses and features a natural finish, soft maple body with a maple neck. The neck has black binding, block inlays, and 20 medium jumbo frets. Pickups on the bass are Duncan...
The Big 4 to Perform at Yankee’s Stadium
The Big 4 tour will be making its second U.S. stop at Yankee’s Stadium in Bronx, New York on September 14th. The show, which has been hyped for the last four years, brings together four of the biggest metal bands – Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. The groups, of course, are in turn held down by four of the strongest...
Bass of the Week: Kenneth Lawrence “Joust” 11-string ChamberBrase I
The world of extended-range basses has taken off over the last few years, and if you’ve ever searched for the term “bass” on YouTube, you’ve likely seen this week’s bass of the week: the Kenneth Lawrence “Joust” 11-string ChamberBrase I, built for Nuclear Rabbit and solo bassist Jean Baudin. A customization of Lawrence’s models, the bass features a chambered North...
Fuzzrocious Pedals Releases the Terrordactyl
Fuzzrocious Pedals has released the Terrordactyl, a fuzz that feeds into an envelope filter all in one stompbox. The pedal’s three controls include volume, envelope level, and envelope range. For further control, they included an expression pedal output to adjust the envelope’s range on the fly. The Terrordactyl features true bypass and is powered by a “Boss”-style 9 volt adapter....
The Brothers Johnson: Ain’t We Funkin’ Now, Live on Soul Train
Well, maybe “live” is used loosely here since it’s lip-syncing on Soul Train, but there’s no doubt the Brothers Johnson are funkin’ on this episode, originally aired on August 26, 1978. Slap-bass pioneer Louis Johnson can be seen with an early Music Man StingRay, and gets some time to shine at the 2:46 mark.
Donald Harrison Releases This is Jazz, Featuring Ron Carter and Billy Cobham
Donald Harrison has released This is Jazz, his second effort on the Half Note label with master bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Cobham. The six-track album is cultivated from a set by the seasoned trio at New York’s Blue Note club. Carter, who is lauded as one of the most recorded bassists in with over 2,500 albums under his...
Roger Glover Releases “If Life Was Easy”
Deep Purple’s Roger Glover has released his fifth solo album called If Life Was Easy. The bassist wrote or cowrote all of the 16 tracks, which was reportedly recorded in 2007 and features his daughter Gillian among others. Glover, who is about to tour Europe with Deep Purple, says the eclectic mix of songs are reflections on his recent life....